Inspiring Workplaces 
The Way Work Ought to Be!

#1,120- April 15, 2026

"I need to see Ed." This was the line comedic actor Martin Short's late wife would evoke whenever an argument got too heated. It was Short's cue to pull out his adorkable character "Ed Grimley" as a way to lower the temperature in a conflict. 

As we reach the mid-point of official Humor Month, I thought I'd share some ideas on how humor can help defuse the tension during a conflict, so here I go sharing some ideas. Six to be precise. 

1. Call for a "Humor Time Out" (aka "pull an Ed Grimley"). One of my clients uses a rubber chicken in their meetings that anyone can grab if they feel tensions are getting too high, as a cue that they need to take a break. Even in high stakes negotiations, I've heard stories of negotiators stopping the conversation and asking everyone to share a quick joke to help ease the tension. 
2. Use self-deprecating humor. Using a line such as, "You know, I could be wrong about this, according to my children I am wrong about absolutely everything!" can disarm people. 
3. Avoid sarcasm! Sarcasm comes from a Greek word roughly translating into "tearing at flesh like a dog" so during a heated moment tearing at flesh probably isn't the wisest option. 
4. Know your audience and the context. Given the nature of the conflict and who's involved, you may want to avoid any humor unless the opening for humor is super obvious. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, you might want to don a "bonehead" prop, call for a 30-second fun dance party, or suggest having a thumb wrestling contest to cool things down. 
5. Suggest a comedic neutral mediator: "I wonder if Judge Judy is available to mediate this?" 
6. Look for ways to humorously reframe the situation: "Hey this could be worse; we could be arguing about this on the Titanic" or "You know how many people would LOVE to have this be the biggest issue they're fighting over? We could probably sell this argument on Craigslist!" 

Speaking of using humor, in my virtual presentation Putting Humor to Work for Less Stress & More Success! now on Thursday May 7, I'll share examples of humor at work from around the globe and you'll learn how humor can be used to engage and recognize employees, help your communication stand out from the herd to be heard, make your meetings more effective, improve customer experience, and create a more resilient workplace that fuels extraordinary results. 

And if you can't make the live presentation you'll still have access to the recording and the follow-up resources including the eBook "401 Ways to Create a More Inspiring and Fun Workplace" and an access code to view any of my previous virtual presentations at a 50% off rate.