Stefano Iaboni: Experiential Training through Laughter

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[Music]

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And now the podcast we're together, we discuss proactive aging on your terms, connecting

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to the professional advice of our special guests while creating better days throughout the

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aging process.

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Now here's your host, Mark Turnbull.

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And I want to welcome everybody back to another lively discussion on aging today.

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We are the podcast where together we're exploring the many options to aging on your terms.

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You can find aging today and our past eight years of programs on our website all you got

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to do is go to agingtoday.us and you can scroll through all the many topics that we've

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discussed over the eight years on the aging process.

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And if those of you that are podcast and that you want to follow us on your favorite podcast

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to be able to expand our footprint onto YouTube.

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And then for those of you that want to ask any questions on the aging process or if you

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have an incredible guest that you think would be intriguing to have on the aging today

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podcast, all you got to do is reach out to me your host, Mark Turnbull.

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And my email is mark@agingtoday.us.

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And as you know, this is a podcast about the aging process and we're so excited to have you

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join us.

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And one of the things that we always say if you're not too busy being born, you're too busy

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aging and we want you to know that we're trying to get every angle to the aging process.

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And one of our missing links, believe it or not, has been the best medicine of all time,

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even all the way back to the biblical times and the book of Proverbs that that laughter is

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a incredible medicine.

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It's an incredible therapeutic tool.

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And here to guide us along that way is the funny man himself.

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It is Stefano Iaboni Stefano.

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Welcome to aging today.

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I'm Mark.

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Thank you so much for having me such a pleasure to be here.

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And so I am very excited about this conversation because I love laughter.

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I love people that are funny.

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And I'm not funny.

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I don't know what it is about, you know, me, but my sense of humor is probably drier than

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people like.

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But I do enjoy laughter.

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I think that the best medicine that anybody can have is laughter.

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Oh, yeah.

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It's all I agree with you.

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And I want to make a distinction between laughter and humor.

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They do go together, but they're not exactly the same thing.

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So humor, maybe it's more personal, it's more cultural.

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I'm from Italy.

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So maybe something that is funny in Italy might not be funny in the United States or the other

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around.

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But laughter is universal.

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We all know how to do it.

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We are very speaking.

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We all know how to laugh.

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And as a matter of fact, as human, we first learn how to laugh before we learn how to speak.

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Yeah.

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And I think that's well said.

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And I'm also, you know, curious about a little bit of your story.

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And so what, you know, I'm curious about your story.

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We always start every one of our segments out with what's in your story.

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And I think that our audience would love to hear about you.

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And, you know, in particular, when was it in your life story that you realized that you were

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actually funny?

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That's a very good question.

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You know, I don't know.

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I felt as a child, I was like one of those funny kids, like the clown of the classroom.

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I don't really know.

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I guess I was kind of shy, you know, maybe a little introverted, but I was exposed because

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of my dad, my dad was in the movie industry.

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I was lucky enough to be exposed to like arts and from a very young age.

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So I had that, there were a lot of artists and performers that were like come to our house.

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And maybe that, that, that was maybe my initiation into that kind of word.

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When I was in my 20s, I started, I wanted to become like a circus performer, a professional

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circus performer.

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So I joined the circus school with no idea what that meant, you know, there was a lot of

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physical stuff that I had no idea that was part of the training, right?

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But I think that laughter really helped me out in that because maybe I wasn't so skillful

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as like an aqua bat, but I could always rely on the laughter.

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I could always like rely or like make people laugh.

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And there was like the first experience that I had as a performer there, like we would go

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and do shows, you know, and some of my like all the, the people, all the other students that

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were in the school with me were very, very skillful, you know, physically.

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Maybe I wasn't as much as they were, but I was kind of like the funny guy.

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I was like the ringmaster that could bring everybody together through laughter.

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So that was maybe the first exposure that I had as a performer in comedy.

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And then basically from there, I kind of like continued through that part.

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I kind of like stopped with the circus and I was more into the improv and just performing

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itself that didn't really necessarily rely on skills.

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I felt like with the circus, like people also, a lot of time did rely on the circus.

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And I was in a skill, right?

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But I was having a lot of fun being the ringmaster or like getting the crowd together.

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That was the funniest part of the thing.

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The coolest part of the thing for the show for me, to get the people together.

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Because I was able to like play.

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I was able to like look people in the faces and it wasn't about, you know, the skill.

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I was also jugging at that time and I felt like, the moment that I would like grab that a

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juggling clumps of the juggling balls, I would like lose my crowd because then I would

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like be so focused on the skills that I would lose the eye connection.

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And that was to me, that was the main thing.

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That was the best part of the show.

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Oh, I have in that moment, I'm connecting.

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We're looking at you into the eyes.

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I can see if people are enjoying this, if people are getting more, if they need more, they

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need less.

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That was the best part for me.

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So I've been doing this for the past 20 years.

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I've been producing and directing and performing comedy for the past 20 years.

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And I was lucky enough to travel around the world with my comedy show and I went to over

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15 countries around the globe.

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And I was also in places where I did not speak the language.

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They did not speak my language.

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But there was this thing that brought us together.

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They helped us connect and that thing was laughter.

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Yeah.

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And you mentioned the distinction between humor and laughter and I love that definition,

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never thought of it that way.

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What is the main as you traveled the world?

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What are some of the main tenants to humor that works in, you know, the, the, the elicits,

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the response of laughter in Italy or other parts of the world as opposed to the United States.

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Yeah.

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So the type of humor that I do, it's mainly visual, non-spoken, not a mind, but like, think like

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Mr. Bean, right?

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So I don't really rely on language, which is also making more universal.

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I think we love when we can relate, when we experience where I recreate a situation that

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you experienced before.

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So you create that complicity and you feel like, oh, I know that feeling.

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Oh, I've been there or, oh, I know how does it feel like, let's say, to walk in my office

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and having like something stuck between my teeth that I haven't noticed.

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And I'm talking to everybody.

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And at one point, somebody's like, hey, Stefan, you got something there.

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You know, I mean, that thing of like, oh gosh, you know, that eventually makes you laugh.

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So I think we generally speaking, we laugh at things that we can relate to.

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And then also it depends on the culture, it depends on where you are, you know, and depends

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on the age of your crowd, you know, maybe like younger audiences laugh at things that they

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can relate to the most, let's say, most basic primitive way of comedy, which is slapstick,

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right?

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So it's like somebody falls, somebody gets hit.

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Or, you know, there's a fart or something like that.

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They laugh at that thing because for a little one, that's their world, right?

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That's the thing that they relate to, you know, and for us, for adults, maybe it's more

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emotions, you know, that we experience, you know, and interesting enough, apparently, we

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don't laugh the majority of the case.

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We don't really laugh about the joke itself, but we laugh because of what laughter creates

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and because laughter is also contagious, right?

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So if I hear somebody laugh, generally speaking, I will laugh with them.

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It's very interesting.

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It's fascinating to see why do people laugh at certain things that do not laugh at other

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things?

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But I would say in general is because we can connect, we can relate because we had dead

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experience in our life, so we know what it feels like.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And is there one particular joke that works cross culturally?

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I mean, if there was one that could stand out for you?

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I say, every time I introduce myself, I say, hi, everybody, my name is Stefano, and I'm

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familiarly, I'm sorry, nobody's perfect.

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Okay.

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And that works no matter where you go.

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Crossbounders.

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Yeah, it's just as be your words.

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Yeah.

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And that probably may be true for, like, if I went on the road and said the same thing, I

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could say the same thing about me and apologize for being an America.

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Exactly.

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You could be a different country and say, hey, my name is Mark, I'm from America, I'm sorry

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about that, nobody's perfect, and then usually get laugh.

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And this is a show about aging, and we're going to talk a little bit about the humor.

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We're going to talk about laughter.

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We're going to talk about laughter in the aging process.

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As you describe, you know, nationality, you know, as being one of those transferable, you

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know, jokes that can cross boundaries, does age also do that?

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So in other words, if you used an age joke here in America, would that also work in Italy?

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Would it work in Russia or in China?

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Yeah, I would say so.

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And because I think that laughter is like the easiest and the most way of communication

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between two people, right?

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And it also is a very simple way to have people connect.

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In my experience, like, with the work in a system-limin facility, it has a performer and

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as a facilitator, the most interesting things that happens is, like, I'm not sure, I'm

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not sure, is not really about the performance itself, is not really about the joke itself,

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but is what laughter creates, which is that.

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It's the bonding.

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It makes us all together.

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It makes us all of us.

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We are all the same.

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We are all sharing one experience at the same time together.

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And that's the beauty of laughter, in my opinion, right?

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We all, like, having that moment, we have been present and just having that experience

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through laughter.

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And would that be the goal, your mission?

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That is what attracts a group of people.

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How important it is for you to know who your audience is.

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So in other words, if you go into a senior living community, or if you, whether it's here in

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the United States or whether it's in Italy, how different would it be?

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Or are the principles the same?

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Because senior space doesn't matter your nationality.

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I'm assuming that senior space is some of the same issues.

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Yes, I totally agree with you.

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They do face the same thing.

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And I like to know, generally speaking, the audience that I've been working with, you know,

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but I also love the fact that, like, I want to be surprised.

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I don't want to know exactly how many people are going to be there, or what kind of demographic

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I like the element of improvisation.

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And I like to be, because that's one thing that happened with laughter.

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We have to be present.

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We have to be in the moment.

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And having 20 years of performance experience, giving me the ability, giving me the ability

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of like, be able to read the room very easily.

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So I can understand this is not working.

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This is not appropriate.

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Yes, this is working.

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Oh, yes, I love this.

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Let's dig more.

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Let's go more in that direction.

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But ultimately, I would say that really, like, is there a connection that laughter can create?

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You know, beside everything else, beside the performance, beside the jokes, I always have

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people that want to talk.

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That's the most important thing.

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They want to talk.

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They want to know.

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They want to share the stories.

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They want to tell them when they know that I'm from Italy, they want to tell me they've been

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in Italy, or they have somebody in the family that is for me, but it's because laughter creates

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allow us to do this.

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It's like opens the door to that, to that kind of conversation.

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Yeah.

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You know, I was also, as you were describing that, I was thinking about the audience when

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you get in front of a group.

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What are some of the probing types of jokes that you or material that you would use to

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get to know your audience a little bit better?

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Do you have, like, is there a process that you go through and you go, "Oh, that didn't

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work, so now I've got to adjust."

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I think the first thing is, like, can I get a laugh within the first minute?

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Is there?

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So can I help them loosen up within the first minute or something?

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That's like a good way to start, right?

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So then I understand, "Okay, people here, yes, I'm willing to laugh, they're open for laughter,

235
00:14:11,940 --> 00:14:13,780
this is what they want to go for, right?"

236
00:14:13,780 --> 00:14:18,820
So it's like, try to do something funny or tell a joke or something that, like, might induce

237
00:14:18,820 --> 00:14:19,820
laughter, right?

238
00:14:19,820 --> 00:14:21,500
That's the first approach for me.

239
00:14:21,500 --> 00:14:25,660
So what do you do when you get a group that is just deadpan?

240
00:14:25,660 --> 00:14:28,860
That's very good.

241
00:14:28,860 --> 00:14:33,300
Everything that you pride just isn't getting them to move on their seat.

242
00:14:33,300 --> 00:14:35,540
That could be very painful.

243
00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:37,140
That's another side of laughter, right?

244
00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:38,620
But it doesn't work.

245
00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:43,780
It could be extremely painful for the person that is the living room, trying to deliver

246
00:14:43,780 --> 00:14:44,980
that laughter, right?

247
00:14:44,980 --> 00:14:49,340
So sometimes I work in different environments, like maybe, let's say in corporate words or

248
00:14:49,340 --> 00:14:54,020
different kind of businesses, where you might experience that, right?

249
00:14:54,020 --> 00:15:01,340
So I always try to play with simple stuff or stuff that can relate, like one of the simple

250
00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:06,100
games that it depends on your crowd, but I have two things that I usually work with that

251
00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:10,540
I usually ask people to do is like, first is I try to create a group, try to create a sense

252
00:15:10,540 --> 00:15:13,020
of like belonging, right?

253
00:15:13,020 --> 00:15:17,380
Without going into like, what is your position in your company, what do you do for work?

254
00:15:17,380 --> 00:15:19,940
Because that actually creates separation.

255
00:15:19,940 --> 00:15:24,020
Because then people start thinking like, oh, this guy, oh, he's the CEO, oh, he's a doctor,

256
00:15:24,020 --> 00:15:26,020
so then you create like this thing in your mind.

257
00:15:26,020 --> 00:15:27,020
Oh, it's smarter than me.

258
00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:28,020
He's better than me.

259
00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:31,260
No, I try to just like, let's just work on the names.

260
00:15:31,260 --> 00:15:33,700
I just play where we at now.

261
00:15:33,700 --> 00:15:39,100
So one of the things that I do is like, can you say your name and then maybe say, hi, my

262
00:15:39,100 --> 00:15:45,580
name is such and such, but a lot of people call me and have them repeat their name backwards.

263
00:15:45,580 --> 00:15:52,460
That's it's a funny moment because like, oh, he puts them out of the, the, the, the mindset

264
00:15:52,460 --> 00:15:54,140
and they go somewhere out there for a moment.

265
00:15:54,140 --> 00:15:56,340
He's like, oh, wait, I got to think differently.

266
00:15:56,340 --> 00:16:01,220
And then James Peeck, when you say your name backwards, it makes things a little awkward

267
00:16:01,220 --> 00:16:03,060
any mic generally and laughter, right?

268
00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:05,500
Because maybe your name backwards sounds really funny.

269
00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:10,300
Or maybe you don't laugh at your own name, but some of the folks might laugh at the sound

270
00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:14,420
of that, they're your name backward or another thing that I do that also depends on the

271
00:16:14,420 --> 00:16:15,420
crowd.

272
00:16:15,420 --> 00:16:18,700
I say, could you say your name and say something that you like?

273
00:16:18,700 --> 00:16:19,700
Something very simple.

274
00:16:19,700 --> 00:16:20,700
Keep your brief.

275
00:16:20,700 --> 00:16:25,180
Maybe a fool that you like or a place that you love and then say that, but this time

276
00:16:25,180 --> 00:16:28,540
add your, do it with your songs sticking out of your mouth.

277
00:16:28,540 --> 00:16:29,860
So, feel that there.

278
00:16:29,860 --> 00:16:32,980
And then it's like, yeah, a little ridiculous.

279
00:16:32,980 --> 00:16:34,740
Yeah, yeah, then my induce laughter.

280
00:16:34,740 --> 00:16:36,700
Those are very simple.

281
00:16:36,700 --> 00:16:40,820
So what you're doing with that is you're, you're tearing down some of those barriers that,

282
00:16:40,820 --> 00:16:48,700
you know, we create with titles and roles that are happening in companies or family structures,

283
00:16:48,700 --> 00:16:50,020
whatever it may be.

284
00:16:50,020 --> 00:16:51,020
Absolutely.

285
00:16:51,020 --> 00:16:53,020
So my name would be Kram.

286
00:16:53,020 --> 00:16:54,020
Yes.

287
00:16:54,020 --> 00:16:55,020
Yes.

288
00:16:55,020 --> 00:16:56,020
Mitch Lover.

289
00:16:56,020 --> 00:16:57,020
Right.

290
00:16:57,020 --> 00:16:58,020
Right.

291
00:16:58,020 --> 00:16:59,020
Yes.

292
00:16:59,020 --> 00:17:02,900
So how do you say Stefano backwards?

293
00:17:02,900 --> 00:17:03,900
Stefano back.

294
00:17:03,900 --> 00:17:04,900
Oh, oh, enough.

295
00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:05,900
I can't even say.

296
00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:06,900
Yeah.

297
00:17:06,900 --> 00:17:07,900
I didn't even think it.

298
00:17:07,900 --> 00:17:10,100
Yeah, I mean, there'd be some names that would be very challenged.

299
00:17:10,100 --> 00:17:11,100
Yes.

300
00:17:11,100 --> 00:17:12,100
But the shorter names are easier.

301
00:17:12,100 --> 00:17:13,300
But you just said that.

302
00:17:13,300 --> 00:17:18,420
Yeah, there was absolutely right because they like, they, for a moment, we all the same,

303
00:17:18,420 --> 00:17:24,020
you know, it's not about those, their social status is not about your, you know, whatever

304
00:17:24,020 --> 00:17:25,020
that is.

305
00:17:25,020 --> 00:17:26,020
It like you're being the same.

306
00:17:26,020 --> 00:17:29,660
And for a moment, you can be, you don't have to be perfect, right?

307
00:17:29,660 --> 00:17:33,860
Because I think sometimes in society or in the workplace, or depends, you know, there is

308
00:17:33,860 --> 00:17:38,620
a lot of demand of like, you know, we've been pushed like of like, oh, you've got to be

309
00:17:38,620 --> 00:17:39,620
the best of this.

310
00:17:39,620 --> 00:17:43,540
You've got to be the most, the stronger you've got to be the most good looking or whatever

311
00:17:43,540 --> 00:17:44,540
that is, right?

312
00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:45,540
Always that.

313
00:17:45,540 --> 00:17:51,980
But maybe sometimes it's also good to be, just be and also be silly or just let go and

314
00:17:51,980 --> 00:17:54,140
be ridiculous in front of somebody else.

315
00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:55,140
It's very liberating.

316
00:17:55,140 --> 00:17:55,980
Yeah.

317
00:17:55,980 --> 00:18:04,140
And I think that, you know, laughter is, it transcends, you know, cultures, it transcends time.

318
00:18:04,140 --> 00:18:08,780
I think back in the King's court, there was always the court gesture.

319
00:18:08,780 --> 00:18:09,780
Yes.

320
00:18:09,780 --> 00:18:12,620
And the court gesture had a very important role to play.

321
00:18:12,620 --> 00:18:13,620
Yes.

322
00:18:13,620 --> 00:18:16,380
And if they didn't play it very well, they got their heads cut off.

323
00:18:16,380 --> 00:18:17,380
I know.

324
00:18:17,380 --> 00:18:19,860
I mean, that's, that's, that's, that's commitment.

325
00:18:19,860 --> 00:18:21,460
Oh, for sure.

326
00:18:21,460 --> 00:18:22,460
Right?

327
00:18:22,460 --> 00:18:25,780
But like, interesting enough, I, in a different way, I, like,

328
00:18:25,780 --> 00:18:30,660
experienced that when I was working like in places where the culture was very different

329
00:18:30,660 --> 00:18:37,220
because being this gesture figure, being this clown figure, I was like becoming something

330
00:18:37,220 --> 00:18:38,220
else for them.

331
00:18:38,220 --> 00:18:42,100
I was like a different identity.

332
00:18:42,100 --> 00:18:43,420
I wasn't me anymore.

333
00:18:43,420 --> 00:18:44,420
I wasn't Stephanie anymore.

334
00:18:44,420 --> 00:18:48,300
It was something else that was like, oh, this person is the one that brings the laughter.

335
00:18:48,300 --> 00:18:53,540
So I was allowed to do things that may be well and allowed if I was just being myself,

336
00:18:53,540 --> 00:18:54,540
right?

337
00:18:54,540 --> 00:19:03,660
I was in places like Kuwait or Dubai, where maybe physical contact is not well accepted,

338
00:19:03,660 --> 00:19:06,540
but being that character, I was able to do it.

339
00:19:06,540 --> 00:19:08,380
I was able to like, I have physical contact.

340
00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:13,620
I was able to like, look, people in the eyes because I became the gesture because I became

341
00:19:13,620 --> 00:19:14,620
something else.

342
00:19:14,620 --> 00:19:18,820
So basically, the society, they allow me to like, okay, no, it's fine.

343
00:19:18,820 --> 00:19:20,620
It's not, it's not, it's not special permissions.

344
00:19:20,620 --> 00:19:21,620
Yes.

345
00:19:21,620 --> 00:19:23,180
It's not like a real, a real human being.

346
00:19:23,180 --> 00:19:24,180
Here's something else.

347
00:19:24,180 --> 00:19:25,180
It's a funny person, right?

348
00:19:25,180 --> 00:19:26,180
Yeah.

349
00:19:26,180 --> 00:19:27,180
You're the laugh of men.

350
00:19:27,180 --> 00:19:30,020
So it's like, you're allowed, you're allowed to do that.

351
00:19:30,020 --> 00:19:35,260
Like the gesture back in the days, it was the only one that could make fun of the king without

352
00:19:35,260 --> 00:19:36,900
getting in trouble, right?

353
00:19:36,900 --> 00:19:41,060
Because he was seen as something else, not really human.

354
00:19:41,060 --> 00:19:42,060
It was something else.

355
00:19:42,060 --> 00:19:44,620
It's like a shaman that brings laughter into this society.

356
00:19:44,620 --> 00:19:45,620
Yeah.

357
00:19:45,620 --> 00:19:49,980
And it was a really good test of that day, also in the King's court.

358
00:19:49,980 --> 00:19:53,540
If the king was laughing, then everything was good in the kingdom.

359
00:19:53,540 --> 00:19:56,660
So when the king stopped laughing, not so good.

360
00:19:56,660 --> 00:19:57,660
Yes.

361
00:19:57,660 --> 00:19:59,500
I didn't want to be the gesture.

362
00:19:59,500 --> 00:20:00,820
Okay.

363
00:20:00,820 --> 00:20:04,660
So let's talk a little bit about your audiences.

364
00:20:04,660 --> 00:20:09,060
Who are the main audiences that you bring your laughter to?

365
00:20:09,060 --> 00:20:15,540
I have, because I perform and I do different, many different things, it really depends.

366
00:20:15,540 --> 00:20:20,380
And like as a performer lately, I've been working along with like an assistant living facility,

367
00:20:20,380 --> 00:20:26,860
which I do love so much because people that are very extremely appreciative, they love

368
00:20:26,860 --> 00:20:28,860
to laugh, they love to be engaged.

369
00:20:28,860 --> 00:20:34,180
And they just, as I said, it's a great way to see people connect, right?

370
00:20:34,180 --> 00:20:41,580
And then I might do comedy show for like different crowds, for adults, or I might do, you know,

371
00:20:41,580 --> 00:20:47,660
team building or workshops or training for corporates, which is a totally different crowd,

372
00:20:47,660 --> 00:20:48,660
right?

373
00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:54,060
And so, after and a new more, it's always the tool to help people connect and help people

374
00:20:54,060 --> 00:21:00,860
bond and boost like creativity and just basically just help people in a good time.

375
00:21:00,860 --> 00:21:01,860
Yeah.

376
00:21:01,860 --> 00:21:08,340
And so you address corporate world, you address the senior world.

377
00:21:08,340 --> 00:21:15,660
Is there any other worlds that you flow in and out of in particular that you've found?

378
00:21:15,660 --> 00:21:21,100
Because I would imagine just like anybody with any craft, you're trying different audiences

379
00:21:21,100 --> 00:21:22,500
to find your niche.

380
00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:27,140
Yes, I also had the experience of working with like, I am a cancer survivor myself.

381
00:21:27,140 --> 00:21:32,140
And I also had the experience of like working with cancer patient and like, and medical staff

382
00:21:32,140 --> 00:21:34,220
that will work with cancer patient.

383
00:21:34,220 --> 00:21:37,620
And these are people that like deal with a lot of stress, right?

384
00:21:37,620 --> 00:21:42,380
Not just because of the illness itself, but you know, also staff, you know, they deal with

385
00:21:42,380 --> 00:21:48,980
a lot of stress and it's just interesting to see, you know, sometimes in that environment,

386
00:21:48,980 --> 00:21:53,940
it feels very hard to like laugh about the situation or laugh about what is going on, right?

387
00:21:53,940 --> 00:22:00,380
But very interesting to see how laughs that can change, you know, people's spirit and perspective

388
00:22:00,380 --> 00:22:04,940
within within seconds, you know, everything changed, the room changed, somebody starts laughing,

389
00:22:04,940 --> 00:22:08,620
everybody joins in, you know, there is always me, my experience I always had like maybe

390
00:22:08,620 --> 00:22:13,460
resistance at first, you know, because we have this concept of like, oh, this is a very serious

391
00:22:13,460 --> 00:22:14,460
thing.

392
00:22:14,460 --> 00:22:18,020
We're dealing with like cancer, we're dealing with a life-training situation here.

393
00:22:18,020 --> 00:22:23,780
So, you know, it's very delicate, but laughter, it's life can really break down barriers and

394
00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:28,420
like help people like connect even in very, very difficult situation.

395
00:22:28,420 --> 00:22:33,020
What when you're addressing a group, you know, we've talked a little bit about, you know,

396
00:22:33,020 --> 00:22:37,980
your mission is to get everybody to laugh, get everybody together.

397
00:22:37,980 --> 00:22:45,700
What are some of the other goals that you're trying to accomplish when you address a group?

398
00:22:45,700 --> 00:22:48,980
You know, and then how do you do that?

399
00:22:48,980 --> 00:22:51,060
How do you bring that group together?

400
00:22:51,060 --> 00:22:59,540
One of the things is also like, allow yourself to be silly, let go and just...

401
00:22:59,540 --> 00:23:01,300
Yeah, but that's tough.

402
00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:02,300
It is.

403
00:23:02,300 --> 00:23:04,180
Especially for people that are very reserved.

404
00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:09,940
Do you have certain techniques that you've found to be effective for those that are more

405
00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:11,420
reserved than others?

406
00:23:11,420 --> 00:23:14,420
So, get them to loosen up.

407
00:23:14,420 --> 00:23:15,420
And you can demonstrate it.

408
00:23:15,420 --> 00:23:16,900
Yeah, so one of the things...

409
00:23:16,900 --> 00:23:17,900
Because I'm pretty uptight.

410
00:23:17,900 --> 00:23:19,900
I'm as tight as the skin on a group.

411
00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:20,900
So you can...

412
00:23:20,900 --> 00:23:21,900
If you can loosen me up...

413
00:23:21,900 --> 00:23:26,100
Well, with the name thing work a little bit, I'm a bit just smile.

414
00:23:26,100 --> 00:23:31,460
I think because a lot of things happen in a brain where we laugh, we don't realize that

415
00:23:31,460 --> 00:23:35,660
there's a huge science behind laughter, right?

416
00:23:35,660 --> 00:23:40,220
One of the things that we do when we laugh, we activate something that is called mirror

417
00:23:40,220 --> 00:23:41,220
neurons.

418
00:23:41,220 --> 00:23:46,260
So basically, and this is funny to me because it was a group of Italian scientists that

419
00:23:46,260 --> 00:23:47,260
discovered this.

420
00:23:47,260 --> 00:23:51,860
They were studying apes and they discovered apes, mimic facial expressions, right?

421
00:23:51,860 --> 00:23:54,260
So they'd imitate each other, facial expression.

422
00:23:54,260 --> 00:24:00,300
And we as humans, I mean, we're just basically smarter apes, we do similar things.

423
00:24:00,300 --> 00:24:04,980
Like a parent that is trying to feed that child, right?

424
00:24:04,980 --> 00:24:09,460
If they approach the child with the mouth open like this, "Oh, oh, oh, the child will probably

425
00:24:09,460 --> 00:24:10,460
take it."

426
00:24:10,460 --> 00:24:11,460
They will imitate the facial expression.

427
00:24:11,460 --> 00:24:12,460
You do the same thing.

428
00:24:12,460 --> 00:24:14,140
I remember doing that with my three sons.

429
00:24:14,140 --> 00:24:15,140
Yes.

430
00:24:15,140 --> 00:24:18,940
If you approach the sons with a face like this, that's probably not going to go that well,

431
00:24:18,940 --> 00:24:19,940
right?

432
00:24:19,940 --> 00:24:20,940
Right.

433
00:24:20,940 --> 00:24:21,940
So one of the...

434
00:24:21,940 --> 00:24:26,180
Like the very simple thing to do, if this is why laughter is like one of the most direct

435
00:24:26,180 --> 00:24:27,180
way of communication.

436
00:24:27,180 --> 00:24:31,380
If I approach a stranger, if I approach somebody and I smile...

437
00:24:31,380 --> 00:24:32,380
Mm-hmm.

438
00:24:32,380 --> 00:24:33,380
Okay.

439
00:24:33,380 --> 00:24:34,380
Possibly.

440
00:24:34,380 --> 00:24:35,380
Yeah.

441
00:24:35,380 --> 00:24:36,380
Possibly.

442
00:24:36,380 --> 00:24:37,380
I got a smile.

443
00:24:37,380 --> 00:24:38,980
You're going to imitate my facial expression.

444
00:24:38,980 --> 00:24:39,980
Yeah.

445
00:24:39,980 --> 00:24:46,380
And it was really funny because when you smiled, my first reaction was, "What are you doing?"

446
00:24:46,380 --> 00:24:48,060
I'm not going to smile.

447
00:24:48,060 --> 00:24:49,540
You can't make me.

448
00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:51,780
And then all of a sudden it went inside of me.

449
00:24:51,780 --> 00:24:52,780
Oh, I smiled.

450
00:24:52,780 --> 00:24:53,780
Yes.

451
00:24:53,780 --> 00:24:54,780
It's like almost automatic.

452
00:24:54,780 --> 00:24:56,980
It's breaking down some of those barriers.

453
00:24:56,980 --> 00:24:57,980
And it did nothing.

454
00:24:57,980 --> 00:24:58,980
There was no joke.

455
00:24:58,980 --> 00:24:59,980
Why?

456
00:24:59,980 --> 00:25:00,980
It was nothing verbal.

457
00:25:00,980 --> 00:25:01,980
I just smiled.

458
00:25:01,980 --> 00:25:02,980
Yeah.

459
00:25:02,980 --> 00:25:03,980
Why do we do that?

460
00:25:03,980 --> 00:25:05,060
Is it for protection?

461
00:25:05,060 --> 00:25:08,780
And then once we feel comfortable that we can be caught...

462
00:25:08,780 --> 00:25:10,580
It'll let loose and then it's safe.

463
00:25:10,580 --> 00:25:11,580
Yes.

464
00:25:11,580 --> 00:25:12,580
Absolutely.

465
00:25:12,580 --> 00:25:13,580
Okay.

466
00:25:13,580 --> 00:25:18,340
That's the direct communication is that you feel that I'm not a track, that I'm not,

467
00:25:18,340 --> 00:25:20,820
you know, this is not a dangerous situation.

468
00:25:20,820 --> 00:25:21,820
I'm smiling.

469
00:25:21,820 --> 00:25:23,180
I'm not doing anything, right?

470
00:25:23,180 --> 00:25:26,940
Sometimes in society, smiling in a stranger, I'm smiling at somebody.

471
00:25:26,940 --> 00:25:27,940
That you never met.

472
00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:29,820
You might even get your own trouble, right?

473
00:25:29,820 --> 00:25:31,220
So that's the easy way of this.

474
00:25:31,220 --> 00:25:33,500
It's like, "Oh, you just look like a friend of mine.

475
00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:35,020
You're a dandagol as a friend of mine."

476
00:25:35,020 --> 00:25:36,020
I'm sorry.

477
00:25:36,020 --> 00:25:37,700
I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, you know.

478
00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:41,260
But I was smiling because you just remind me of this friend of mine that lives in...

479
00:25:41,260 --> 00:25:42,260
Whatever.

480
00:25:42,260 --> 00:25:43,260
Yeah.

481
00:25:43,260 --> 00:25:47,980
Did you know that laughter is actually one of the very first forms of communication that

482
00:25:47,980 --> 00:25:49,700
we learn?

483
00:25:49,700 --> 00:25:54,940
Long before babies can utter their first words or string together coherent sentences,

484
00:25:54,940 --> 00:25:57,340
they instinctively laugh.

485
00:25:57,340 --> 00:26:01,100
This happens as early as three months old.

486
00:26:01,100 --> 00:26:05,340
It's one of the purest most universal languages we have.

487
00:26:05,340 --> 00:26:07,740
No translation needed.

488
00:26:07,740 --> 00:26:13,420
Laughter connects us before we even know how to speak, acting as a powerful social tool

489
00:26:13,420 --> 00:26:22,060
that builds bonds, expresses joy and creates understanding, all without a single word.

490
00:26:22,060 --> 00:26:27,420
This did you know moment was provided by today's guest and is brought to you by Royal Hospice

491
00:26:27,420 --> 00:26:29,420
of Oregon.

492
00:26:29,420 --> 00:26:33,620
And as you were describing that, I was thinking of the senior population.

493
00:26:33,620 --> 00:26:40,140
And when you go into an adult living community of various kinds, I mean, you've got a lot

494
00:26:40,140 --> 00:26:43,620
of challenges to connect with that group.

495
00:26:43,620 --> 00:26:44,620
Yes.

496
00:26:44,620 --> 00:26:45,620
Audio.

497
00:26:45,620 --> 00:26:48,380
I mean, they don't hear well.

498
00:26:48,380 --> 00:26:49,380
Yes.

499
00:26:49,380 --> 00:26:51,300
Sometimes maybe they don't see well.

500
00:26:51,300 --> 00:26:57,060
So do you find that you have to exaggerate some of your expressions, whether it's you

501
00:26:57,060 --> 00:27:02,660
might or might or with my have to exaggerate, but I think I always start with that.

502
00:27:02,660 --> 00:27:03,660
I always start.

503
00:27:03,660 --> 00:27:07,620
I try to look make eye contact with everybody in the room with a big smile.

504
00:27:07,620 --> 00:27:08,620
Yeah.

505
00:27:08,620 --> 00:27:09,620
Hi everybody.

506
00:27:09,620 --> 00:27:10,620
My name is Sachin Sach.

507
00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:14,580
I tell the joke about I'm from Italy and you know, I apologize about that.

508
00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:18,860
I might get a laugh, but as I say that I always try to make eye contact and I have a big smile

509
00:27:18,860 --> 00:27:20,100
in my face.

510
00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:26,220
This comes, this is in, with my ears of like performance experience, you know, when you

511
00:27:26,220 --> 00:27:29,500
are performing with a crowd, there is always going to be somebody that is not going to like

512
00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:31,740
you, that is either going to say, oh, I didn't like that.

513
00:27:31,740 --> 00:27:33,220
I'm not going to laugh.

514
00:27:33,220 --> 00:27:37,140
No matter what, I'm going to try not to laugh at all that person for whatever reason.

515
00:27:37,140 --> 00:27:38,140
They're in a bad day.

516
00:27:38,140 --> 00:27:42,020
They don't like your facial expression, whatever there is, you know, but you're always going

517
00:27:42,020 --> 00:27:43,580
to have somebody that will laugh.

518
00:27:43,580 --> 00:27:47,340
You're always going to have somebody that's going to, you know, like your stuff, like

519
00:27:47,340 --> 00:27:48,340
your joke.

520
00:27:48,340 --> 00:27:49,780
You go with them.

521
00:27:49,780 --> 00:27:51,420
This is my strategy.

522
00:27:51,420 --> 00:27:54,340
I go, I try to make those people my friend, okay?

523
00:27:54,340 --> 00:27:58,940
And because laughter is contagious, that eventually is going to spread into the room.

524
00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:04,020
Same thing when I go into like an assistant living facility, there might be some folks that

525
00:28:04,020 --> 00:28:06,300
I might have some resistance, right?

526
00:28:06,300 --> 00:28:08,340
So they might want to, you know, they're going to hold it.

527
00:28:08,340 --> 00:28:11,940
They're not going to laugh straight away, but eventually because all the people are having

528
00:28:11,940 --> 00:28:17,200
a good time because all the people are laughing, they will eventually join in by the end

529
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:18,200
of the day.

530
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:19,480
So I'm going to put you on the spot.

531
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:20,480
Yes.

532
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:21,480
If that's okay with you.

533
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,080
And I know I want you to take us down a path.

534
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:25,080
Yes.

535
00:28:25,080 --> 00:28:29,320
And I'm going to give you some benefits of laughter.

536
00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:35,840
And tell me how you would accomplish the laughter with these benefits.

537
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,120
So let's take team cohesion.

538
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:44,120
If your purpose was to come in and address my company, your purpose was to come in and

539
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:49,840
do an adult living community and you want to bring the seniors together.

540
00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:50,840
Yes.

541
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:52,600
How would you do that specifically?

542
00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:53,600
Yeah.

543
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:55,480
You simply ask, what are the things that you like?

544
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:57,200
What are the things that you enjoy?

545
00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:02,080
Like, and that could be food, activities, artists, whatever.

546
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:07,360
And what are the things that you do not like in general or things that you cannot stand,

547
00:29:07,360 --> 00:29:12,760
attitude or way of doing things, artists, whatever that is, that brings us together.

548
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:17,360
And within second, we're going to discover things that we have in common.

549
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:21,120
And so one of the things that I know that most seniors have in common when they live in

550
00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:27,120
adult, you know, living communities, most likely not all communities, but most likely is

551
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:28,120
the food.

552
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:29,120
Yes.

553
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:30,120
Did you like it or do not like it?

554
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:31,120
No, they don't like it.

555
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:34,000
And so that is such an easy one.

556
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,800
You know, that's like setting the ball up on the tee.

557
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:37,800
Right.

558
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:38,800
You know, let's go that route.

559
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:40,480
Let's say they did not like the food.

560
00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:41,480
Okay.

561
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:46,800
We come up with an idea of like, how can we name this food in a different way?

562
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,240
Or was the worst food you ever had here?

563
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:55,640
And if that food had a title, let's say that was a slogan, that say was a little pitch for

564
00:29:55,640 --> 00:29:56,640
their food.

565
00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:57,640
What would you name it?

566
00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:58,640
What would you call it?

567
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:03,720
And then can you come up with a very simple phrase that I described the food in the worst

568
00:30:03,720 --> 00:30:05,200
possible way?

569
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,360
Exaggeration is also another way to provoke laughter.

570
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:12,680
To exaggerate, think one thing and expand it to the maximum, right?

571
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:15,960
So if that thing was bad, make it extreme and extreme and it bad.

572
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:16,960
Yeah.

573
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:18,720
So somebody else would relate hyperbole.

574
00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:19,720
Hyperbole.

575
00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:24,600
You're going to use hyperbole and hopefully the chef isn't in the room at the same time.

576
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:25,600
Yes, hopefully no.

577
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,600
If they have good sense of humor, they might get a lot.

578
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:29,360
Yeah, they might get a good laugh.

579
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,000
Because a lot of times, you know, it's not always the chef's fault.

580
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:39,600
It's the restrictions that they have on how much money they can spend on the food.

581
00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:43,320
There's so many other factors, so it's not always the chef's fault.

582
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:44,320
Yes.

583
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:49,560
But if you can get the chef to laugh at himself, you know, you can say, you can do another simple

584
00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:56,520
exercises that like, these food is so bad and then somebody else complete the phrase.

585
00:30:56,520 --> 00:31:01,840
These food is so bad and it's terrible when you combine it with this and somebody else

586
00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:02,840
adds something else.

587
00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,440
We're going around in circle and everybody's going to add a little something, right?

588
00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:07,720
I say something.

589
00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:11,200
Yes, and that's one of the principles we're like improv comedy.

590
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,640
You say yes, and then accept it.

591
00:31:13,640 --> 00:31:19,360
There's acceptance in the sentence in the statement and then and you add something else,

592
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:20,760
exaggerate on something else.

593
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:21,760
Yeah.

594
00:31:21,760 --> 00:31:25,080
And a lot of comedians and I don't know if you do this, but they'll pick somebody out in

595
00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:26,080
the audience.

596
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:31,800
And is that what you're doing in an adult living community where you've got a year

597
00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:38,520
you're going to pick out somebody that can literally, you know, that you can have a conversation

598
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:39,520
back and forth with?

599
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:40,520
Yes.

600
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:41,520
I love doing that.

601
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:43,520
I love that element and improvisation.

602
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:44,520
Yeah.

603
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:49,960
Especially if something unexpected happens, something somebody comes in late or somebody walks

604
00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:55,600
in front of me or that's for me, it's a great element to play with, right?

605
00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:01,440
If people saw it, then if I saw it and people saw it, we'll aware of that moment, right?

606
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,160
It's not used for me to pretend it didn't happen.

607
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:09,000
Or if I'm doing something and I drop something by accident, what's the point of pretending

608
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:10,800
that I didn't drop it, right?

609
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:11,800
Yeah.

610
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:12,800
Let's play with it.

611
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:13,800
That's also, we laugh at that.

612
00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,440
It's a mistake, okay?

613
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,320
And can I elaborate on that?

614
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:20,360
Can I expand on that and then mistake?

615
00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:26,040
That's a good option from opportunity for me to play around and possibly get it laughter.

616
00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:34,680
And a lot of time, when shows mistakes become part of my show, something that wasn't expected

617
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:36,160
it becomes part of my show.

618
00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:37,520
I wasn't planning on doing that.

619
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,360
But then I was like, oh, that moment was absolutely genius.

620
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:41,360
Let's expand on that.

621
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,360
Let's play on that.

622
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:44,360
Yeah.

623
00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:50,000
And one of the benefits of laughter is bringing people together, which we've been talking

624
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,240
about and food is at the forefront.

625
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:59,600
It always is and it's not even if it's in an adult living community, you know, I think

626
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:04,360
about all the holidays in my past and my childhood.

627
00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:11,760
And really the holidays revolve around the food and they were people end up always is in

628
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,260
the kitchen.

629
00:33:13,260 --> 00:33:19,440
And so food really does play a huge role and one of the benefits to laughter is that team

630
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:20,440
cohesion.

631
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:25,720
Here's another one that I want you to address, you know, when it comes to, you know, the benefits

632
00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:30,400
of laughter and that is a, it becomes a stress reducer.

633
00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:37,040
And believe it or not, you know, and I think you know this in many adult living communities,

634
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:39,840
seniors come from all different walks of life.

635
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,000
And so they have a lot of stress.

636
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,200
Even though they're in an adult living, everything is taken care of.

637
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:47,360
They still have a lot of stress.

638
00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:51,840
So how can you show us a way that you release that stress?

639
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:59,320
It's, I remember when my mom was doing canning, you know, as a kid and the, the pot, there

640
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:05,920
was a little release valve on top of the pot that would release the, the pressure and

641
00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:09,800
the steam from as she was canning things.

642
00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:15,680
And I think that we all have stress in our lives and we need that release valve.

643
00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:20,480
And the court jester just happens to come in and to be that release valve.

644
00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:21,480
Yes.

645
00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:26,720
So one thing that happens when we laugh, we produce endorphins, our brain produces endorphins.

646
00:34:26,720 --> 00:34:29,040
Endorphins are natural pain killers.

647
00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:31,960
They're the thing that help us deal with stress, right?

648
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,080
They help us relax, relax.

649
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:39,160
So one thing that sometimes I do, it depends, but sometimes I do this game and I ask because

650
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:44,320
interesting enough, our brain cannot tell the difference from a real laughter to a fake

651
00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:45,320
laughter.

652
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,320
And then after it will be something like this, huh?

653
00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:51,120
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, our brain will still produce endorphins.

654
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:52,120
Yeah.

655
00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:54,560
Okay, while I was doing that, I noticed you were smiling a little bit, okay?

656
00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:59,720
Because when I was thinking of was emails or like that, you know, everybody says LOL or

657
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:01,560
they go, huh, huh, huh, huh, huh.

658
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,920
And it was like, okay, I get it.

659
00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,760
You're trying to communicate to me that it was funny, but it really wasn't.

660
00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:11,600
So when you watch sometimes like, I don't know if they still do it, but like back in the

661
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:14,160
days and tick homes that would have those can laughter, right?

662
00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,080
They would like put fake laughter.

663
00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:18,560
So it's like, it's a way to like, oh, understand.

664
00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:19,560
Oh, that was a joke.

665
00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:24,120
So I'm supposed to laugh, but also say, oh, I'm laughing because I hear the sound of laughter.

666
00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,560
So one game that I play sometimes is do that.

667
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:27,560
The fake laughter.

668
00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:32,200
I put a timer on and I ask everybody, can we do a fake laughter for 30 seconds?

669
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:33,200
Okay?

670
00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:36,320
Let's start with the sound, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah.

671
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,000
Usually within 10 seconds, their fake laughter becomes a real laughter.

672
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:44,800
But first it's like a little awkward, right? because it's like because adults generally speak

673
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,520
and need an intellectual reason to laugh, right?

674
00:35:47,520 --> 00:35:50,320
It's harder for us to like laugh in the reason.

675
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:54,160
Kids, they don't need a reason to laugh all day long, whatever.

676
00:35:54,160 --> 00:35:55,160
Okay?

677
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:58,840
Actually, they did studies and they say kids laughed a half to 200 times a day.

678
00:35:58,840 --> 00:35:59,840
Adults, 15, okay?

679
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:00,840
Wow.

680
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:01,840
That's interesting, right?

681
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,240
But we laugh because of that because of the sound of laughter.

682
00:36:05,240 --> 00:36:09,360
So when I play that game and I say, okay, let's go and everybody starts, ah, ah, ah,

683
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:13,040
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, we didn't second, people start laughing.

684
00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:14,040
We didn't second start laughing.

685
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:18,400
And what happened is like maybe at first it's just one person or maybe there's a couple

686
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:22,920
of people that do laugh, but because of that, because laughter is so contagious, eventually

687
00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:25,080
the old room like end up laughing.

688
00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:26,080
Yeah.

689
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:27,080
Yeah.

690
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:31,280
Well, another benefit of laughter, we've talked about, you know, how it builds team

691
00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,520
cohesion, it's a stress reducer.

692
00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:42,360
Talk a little bit about communication and how laughter can assist in our communication

693
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:47,920
styles because remember a lot of times seniors, you know, that are going through dimensions

694
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:54,840
or different types of dimensions or have some cognition, their, their, their communication

695
00:36:54,840 --> 00:37:02,240
is broken down, but their minds can still grasp some of the laughter, some of the, you know,

696
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:06,920
funny things that are going on there because laughter creates memory.

697
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:10,160
We, we, we, we laugh at something we remember their experience.

698
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:14,960
And so we can always go back and that could either be, or a movie that we watch, a joke

699
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:17,880
that we heard, something that we read about that made us laugh.

700
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:19,240
We create a memory in our brain.

701
00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,920
So going back, especially when you're doing with people like memory loss, going back to

702
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:28,960
a moment or recreating that moment, it's like, ah, we music happens a similar thing, right?

703
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:33,400
If I listened to a song that was like, that I loved like 20 years ago, that, that was going

704
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:37,840
to bring me back to that moment and, and, and, and, and I'm going to re-experience that

705
00:37:37,840 --> 00:37:42,440
moment, like in my body and in my mind and same thing with laughter.

706
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:46,960
If I laugh for something, it was a moment that, if I could remember that moment of, if I

707
00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:52,000
come in one of the things that I also do is like, let's share moments of laughter that

708
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:56,160
we had, maybe this past week, this past month, was their story, was something that happened.

709
00:37:56,160 --> 00:38:01,880
Now I always try to go, go personal, go, go like tell something that happened to you, okay?

710
00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,720
And then my make other people laugh, that goes back to the you more and laughter, right?

711
00:38:05,720 --> 00:38:06,720
It's different, right?

712
00:38:06,720 --> 00:38:11,160
So some people might find me funny, some people not, but for that person, in that moment,

713
00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:14,040
you are recreating the moment, you're recreating the memory, right?

714
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,440
That is going to bring you back to that moment of joy that you experienced.

715
00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,280
And by telling somebody else, you might have them join, you know, your thing, or they might

716
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:24,000
relate or they might think, oh, I had a similar story.

717
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,400
So I want to tell my story too.

718
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:30,400
Now, I've seen that quite a bit when I'm talking to seniors that are living with various types

719
00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:35,400
to dimensions, especially in the early stages of that.

720
00:38:35,400 --> 00:38:40,840
What happens is that you can trigger, like you were talking about the memories and then

721
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:48,040
people will open up, or the one next to them was going, I had that same experience.

722
00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:49,880
I had that same memory.

723
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:51,480
And then they begin to tell stories.

724
00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:52,480
Yes.

725
00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:53,480
Yes.

726
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:54,480
Yes.

727
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:55,480
They will be connected.

728
00:38:55,480 --> 00:38:57,320
They want to feel human.

729
00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,920
You know, that's what we are, we are like, we're social, human beings are social, right?

730
00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:03,000
We need other people to be with, right?

731
00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,000
So that's what we want.

732
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,880
We want to connect and laughter is a way.

733
00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:07,120
I recreated this story.

734
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:08,480
I shared it with somebody else.

735
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:09,480
We laugh about it.

736
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:12,360
And then I made somebody else think about their own stories.

737
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:16,160
Oh, wait, I had a similar thing, or something that happened to my cousin, or something that

738
00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:19,360
happened to somebody that I know that was similar to your story.

739
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:20,360
Boom.

740
00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:22,160
That's the moment they were like, we're together.

741
00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:23,160
Yeah.

742
00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:25,880
And we all want to be recognized.

743
00:39:25,880 --> 00:39:28,800
We all want to be valued and appreciated.

744
00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:32,000
And we don't want to be not seen.

745
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,000
Sure.

746
00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:38,680
And the thing about what you can do for a group of people when you bring them together, whether

747
00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:48,800
it's seniors or a business team of some kind, you can bring everybody together and engage

748
00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:51,720
them with the goal of bringing that team cohesiveness.

749
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:52,720
Yes.

750
00:39:52,720 --> 00:39:58,560
And that's all through games, laughter, and just mindfulness and time.

751
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,680
You mentioned earlier that you were a juggler.

752
00:40:01,680 --> 00:40:04,880
You used juggling as I don't, I don't juggle anymore.

753
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:06,400
Now I'm doing magic lately.

754
00:40:06,400 --> 00:40:09,000
I've been like exploring magic.

755
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,360
And I always had like a passion for magic.

756
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:18,080
Maybe the past five or six years have been more, you know, studying and performing magic,

757
00:40:18,080 --> 00:40:20,040
but I always try to make it funny.

758
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,440
Because otherwise to me is just another trick.

759
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,000
I always try to make an element.

760
00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,080
Can I make this trick funny?

761
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,240
Can I create a round this trick?

762
00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:31,760
Can I tell a story around this trick?

763
00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:35,160
Can you give us an example of what that would look like?

764
00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:36,160
Develop laughter.

765
00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:38,560
Oh, that's a good question.

766
00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:39,560
Let me think.

767
00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:41,560
What are the things that I do with magic?

768
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:42,560
Yeah.

769
00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:44,720
When you say magic, what kind of magic?

770
00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:46,720
Are you using cards?

771
00:40:46,720 --> 00:40:47,720
Yeah.

772
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:48,720
I do cards.

773
00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:52,120
I do slider hand and other stuff.

774
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:55,200
Sometimes in my comedy show, I do fake magic.

775
00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:56,200
Okay?

776
00:40:56,200 --> 00:40:57,600
So as I, magic is not a real magic.

777
00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:58,600
Fake magic.

778
00:40:58,600 --> 00:40:59,600
I'm going to show you.

779
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:00,600
I'm going to show you the camera.

780
00:41:00,600 --> 00:41:01,600
Yeah, okay.

781
00:41:01,600 --> 00:41:02,600
I'm not.

782
00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:03,600
Okay.

783
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:04,600
Sounds good.

784
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:05,600
But this is finger magic.

785
00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:06,600
Look, nothing here, nothing there.

786
00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:07,600
Oh, look, look at this.

787
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:08,600
Look at that.

788
00:41:08,600 --> 00:41:09,600
What if I happen to do this?

789
00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:11,600
No, if you can see it there.

790
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:12,600
Hmm.

791
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:13,600
Hmm.

792
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:16,800
Now, throw this up.

793
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:18,400
I'll catch you there.

794
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:19,400
I'm not doing anything.

795
00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:20,400
Yeah.

796
00:41:20,400 --> 00:41:21,400
Yeah.

797
00:41:21,400 --> 00:41:27,700
Because another thing that works with them in comedy it's when things are unexpected.

798
00:41:27,700 --> 00:41:32,280
Okay, that's how you break the rules. I show you something you're gonna expect something you're gonna

799
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:36,040
expect something there's also like, any work sort of any kind of comedy even

800
00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:41,280
in stand-up, right? That's the punch line. I make a statement. I talk about something and then

801
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,980
I change the story completely right, I'm making a completely different so it's like, oh it's

802
00:41:44,980 --> 00:41:48,920
still not unexpected for you so that's the element of surprise that will make your laugh.

803
00:41:48,920 --> 00:41:52,860
When he's like, oh, what is he gonna do with this finger? Well, you don't expect that and

804
00:41:52,860 --> 00:41:58,340
then I do this silly stuff. Oh, that's silly. You don't expect that. That is the moment

805
00:41:58,340 --> 00:42:04,640
that like creates laughter. Yeah, describe some other magic that you use in your

806
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:10,900
presentations when you're getting, you're listening that laughter from somebody. I do love the

807
00:42:10,900 --> 00:42:17,300
finger. I mean, that was so simple and so remedial but it worked. Yeah, another thing

808
00:42:17,300 --> 00:42:23,260
that I like to do, one of my favorite tricks, one of the oldest like magic trick in the world

809
00:42:23,260 --> 00:42:26,980
of magic is called Cops and Balls. You may have seen it before. You may have seen it in

810
00:42:26,980 --> 00:42:30,540
the street. It's like basically involve three cups and three little balls that goes on top

811
00:42:30,540 --> 00:42:35,120
of it, right? So it is basically, there is a lot of slider hand where like I make those

812
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:38,200
balls disappear. It looks like they're gone and then they reappear and they need the

813
00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:42,360
cup or maybe they are not in the cup or maybe they are in my hands. You know, there is a lot

814
00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:47,540
of, you know, it takes practice, you know, but I always try to make a story behind it, right?

815
00:42:47,540 --> 00:42:53,520
I try to tell a little story behind it. One simple joke that I use is like, oh, there is

816
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:57,600
always three cups and three balls, okay? Oh, how can we say that in different languages?

817
00:42:57,600 --> 00:43:01,920
Oh, in Spanish, one, two, three, one of those tricks in French, on the trough in German,

818
00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,640
Einstein's Vydry and then I say, something is really silly, you know, it's not a great joke

819
00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:15,040
but I still, anyway, I say when I come from, we say this, one, one, and another one silly thing,

820
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:20,360
right? But that's the, right there, I just created that unexpected thing, one, one and then

821
00:43:20,360 --> 00:43:22,960
you expect, oh, what is going to say three? No, another one.

822
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:28,600
Another one. Yeah, there's your three. Yes, that's the three. Yeah, yeah, that's good.

823
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:37,560
So, so you use magic? Yes. You use communication, you use jokes, is there, you're not doing juggling,

824
00:43:37,560 --> 00:43:45,000
are there other, you know, forms of communication that you're doing with people to elicit that

825
00:43:45,000 --> 00:43:56,440
laugh? Body language, okay, and physicality, right? So, I think it's like, that's one of the,

826
00:43:56,440 --> 00:44:00,080
that I love people out there that are extremely funny and they're funny because they don't

827
00:44:00,080 --> 00:44:04,120
know they're funny because they're not trying to be funny, okay? I love to observe people,

828
00:44:04,120 --> 00:44:08,040
right? It might sound a little weird, but it's one thing that I do, we all do, right? Yeah.

829
00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:11,640
And you look, look at the body language, look at the posture, look at the way they dress,

830
00:44:11,640 --> 00:44:18,400
right? And to me, that's, like, there is a lot of element of, like, comedy there because,

831
00:44:18,400 --> 00:44:21,320
because of the way the people behave, because the way they are, right? The way they're

832
00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:26,480
carrying themselves, the way they talk, it could be very funny, but because they're not trying,

833
00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:30,160
that's, that's to me is, is, is the best thing when you're not trying to be funny. And now

834
00:44:30,160 --> 00:44:34,680
here, I don't create the expectation of like, oh, I'm going to tell you a joke, okay? So,

835
00:44:34,680 --> 00:44:37,600
you're really thinking you're, oh, he's going to tell us a joke, he's going to be funny,

836
00:44:37,600 --> 00:44:41,960
he's going to make us laugh. Now, let, can I create a situation where it is just funny

837
00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:47,240
because it's just, this is silly, right? Because you can relate because there is something

838
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:52,920
in my body that's on a voice of what I do with my, with my, yeah, the way I present myself

839
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:58,000
that, like, makes you laugh, right? That it's kind of like, very, like, basic clowning to me.

840
00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:03,200
Yeah. Yeah. And, and there is a art form to being funny. Oh, for sure. And, and it does take,

841
00:45:03,200 --> 00:45:09,440
you know, it's, I think it's a gift. Um, you know, I'm sure it's a gift, but it still takes

842
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:14,200
practice, just like any other gift. And I think that's what people are going to realize. And,

843
00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:19,960
I, you know, hear comedians all the time saying that they're always working new material with

844
00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:25,280
their audiences to see what kind of response they're going to get so that they know, can I

845
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:31,320
use it at the next audience? Yes. And I think that one of the main thing is really like more

846
00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:37,440
than try to be funny by try to be the comedian. Look at what is real. Look at what, look at

847
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:42,200
the reality around you. Look at the things that you do every day. Look at the things they

848
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:47,640
like might help you connect with other folks that they might relate to. Are you a sport fan?

849
00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:52,120
Are you something that you do that is very unique to you that you feel like that might just

850
00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:57,200
be ridiculous to you or to other people, but maybe you might be surprised because other

851
00:45:57,200 --> 00:46:01,840
folks might do the same thing or might have the same practice, right? So I think like the

852
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:07,640
main thing is really like, focus on what is real to you, you know, more than what is funny.

853
00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:11,680
And yes, surely it takes practice. You got to go out there. If you're comedian, you want

854
00:46:11,680 --> 00:46:17,600
to go out there and try that material, right? That's what they do. A lot in setup, I think

855
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,400
that is, well, I'm not necessarily just in comedy in general. You might have an idea that

856
00:46:21,400 --> 00:46:24,560
you think, oh, this is extremely funny. And then you go out there and you fail, right?

857
00:46:24,560 --> 00:46:28,880
Oh, no, maybe yes, it is extremely funny. So, oh, great. That's a great idea. I'm going

858
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:34,320
to write it down. And how can I even deeper with that? You know, can I go further with

859
00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:38,800
that? And how can I expand that concept? You know, making more one of the simplest things

860
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:43,720
that we do in comedy and we do this all the time, it's storytelling, right? It's like,

861
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:47,120
I'm a friend and I tell them a story, I tell them something that happened to me. I made

862
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:51,760
a tell them about somebody that I met or an experience that I had that was funny. And

863
00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:57,240
in comedy, we just exaggerate that, you know, we take something that is, and I think it

864
00:46:57,240 --> 00:47:02,120
works best when it's personal because once again, because we relate because we know

865
00:47:02,120 --> 00:47:06,240
we've been there. We had experience there. So can I take a simple story or something

866
00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:10,400
that happened? My vacation in Croatia this summer, let's say, did something happen?

867
00:47:10,400 --> 00:47:14,880
A vacation that was funny. How can I make it even more funny by telling a story? How can

868
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:19,400
I amplify? How can I exaggerate something that, you know, that might be funny, right?

869
00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:24,640
But something that is going to be funny because maybe in your vacation in Scotland or whatever

870
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:29,800
you went, you know, you might had similarities, something that like, oh, actually, something

871
00:47:29,800 --> 00:47:33,720
happened in my vacation, that was similar to your story, right? Oh, oh, yeah, actually,

872
00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:39,360
I was in a place many years ago and I had a similar experience. Yeah. Yeah. And I can see

873
00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:45,760
where the senior mind does the same thing when you start talking about vacations. Hopefully,

874
00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:50,200
you're transporting them back into time to the times that they used to go on vacation

875
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:56,200
and something funny happened along the way. Yes. And it's amazing how the mind works even

876
00:47:56,200 --> 00:48:02,960
with somebody that is, that is living with dementia. They still can recall long term in

877
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:10,120
their memories and bring up those those funny moments. And it's, it's really fun to watch

878
00:48:10,120 --> 00:48:16,680
seniors laugh. It's the best. And they are, and they love, they love laughing. In my experience,

879
00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:20,880
that I've been working in senior's facility for the past year and a half and so people do

880
00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:25,360
love to laugh. They love to laugh and they love to tell stories. Yeah. And they're not

881
00:48:25,360 --> 00:48:31,120
afraid to laugh at themselves. Oh, not at all. Yeah. Younger people, not so much about laughing

882
00:48:31,120 --> 00:48:37,160
at themselves. It's, you know, just comes with wisdom and age. So glad you said that as

883
00:48:37,160 --> 00:48:42,240
a matter of fact, study shows that were like the laughter peak goes down like around age

884
00:48:42,240 --> 00:48:48,240
25, but then it goes back after like 70s. So something happens in between. Yeah. So maybe

885
00:48:48,240 --> 00:48:53,680
like when we older, we just like look back and then and just think about, oh, I don't

886
00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:58,680
know, guess we get wiser, possibly, right? And we get, we were able to reflect back

887
00:48:58,680 --> 00:49:02,400
and things that happen in life. We're in it with a different perspective. So we're able

888
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:06,800
to like, open up and like, oh, laugh about things that happen. They might even be things

889
00:49:06,800 --> 00:49:10,880
that were very hard, but we know in that time, but like looking back at it, you know, just

890
00:49:10,880 --> 00:49:15,480
like, oh, now I can laugh about it because I'm still here. I can still tell the story and

891
00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:19,960
I can share with somebody else. Yeah. Are you musical? No, not really. Because I know

892
00:49:19,960 --> 00:49:24,560
a lot of people will use, you know, musical instruments. So they'll use music to also

893
00:49:24,560 --> 00:49:32,240
engage people like I'm thinking of like the dueling piano type, you know, you know, platform,

894
00:49:32,240 --> 00:49:37,680
which is, yeah. But I was curious if you had musician friends that do work and they told

895
00:49:37,680 --> 00:49:43,400
me stories about working like, you know, assistant, like living facility. That also the music

896
00:49:43,400 --> 00:49:47,640
is very, very powerful in that regard that we can bring people together, can recreate

897
00:49:47,640 --> 00:49:52,160
memory, right? Even if somebody there is somewhere else, you know, like in a lay state of

898
00:49:52,160 --> 00:49:57,280
dementia, through music, they can come back and it can be in the moment. It's just like

899
00:49:57,280 --> 00:50:05,200
blick like that is magic. Okay. So I'm a senior 66. That's what they tell me. I'm a senior.

900
00:50:05,200 --> 00:50:13,840
So suddenly senior hit in fact, there was a great online presence. It was called suddenly

901
00:50:13,840 --> 00:50:19,000
senior and the premise behind the whole, it was satire, it was senior satire was really

902
00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:23,760
funny. I don't think it's in existence anymore, but I just love that because one of the days

903
00:50:23,760 --> 00:50:28,840
you wake up and you go, I'm suddenly a senior. I mean, there's some, there's some funniness

904
00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:33,800
to that. But at the, you know, at the, in light of all the things that go along with being

905
00:50:33,800 --> 00:50:43,640
a senior. So if you were addressing me as, as we are today, get me to laugh. Yeah. Yeah.

906
00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:48,040
Take me down, take me down the road if we were in a group right here. I know it's just

907
00:50:48,040 --> 00:50:53,000
the two of us. Can I awkwardly? Can you just tell me something? Happy that, that funny

908
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:56,520
that happened to you just last week. Anything happened to you last week? Did you read anything

909
00:50:56,520 --> 00:51:00,960
them? That was funny. Did you watch anything? That was funny. And you recall of anything

910
00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:07,360
that's, see, see, that's where I'm not that funny because I'll tell you what like, when I first

911
00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:11,480
moved to the United States, I might just tell you something. This is personal. Okay. So

912
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:15,520
when I moved to the United States, I was driving, I've been here for 10 years now. The first

913
00:51:15,520 --> 00:51:20,760
couple of years I was driving around with my, my Italian driver's license. Okay. Then my

914
00:51:20,760 --> 00:51:25,280
wife, my American wife said, I think you should convert that, right? And I didn't know that

915
00:51:25,280 --> 00:51:29,360
I had to do the old test again and I had to go through the old process again. I thought,

916
00:51:29,360 --> 00:51:33,400
I'll just go to the DMV, you know, I'm a paper, paste some money and then convert it. And

917
00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:37,000
they were like, no, actually, you have to take the old test. So when I took the test and

918
00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:42,400
when I did the theory, you know, you'd have to answer a certain amount of questions. I

919
00:51:42,400 --> 00:51:46,840
mean, I think it was 10 questions and you need to get seven out of 10 or something like that.

920
00:51:46,840 --> 00:51:50,720
There was a question that to me was very interesting and the question was, if you're driving

921
00:51:50,720 --> 00:51:55,280
down the road and somebody approaches you, like riding a horse and put the end up like

922
00:51:55,280 --> 00:52:01,560
this, what does it mean? And is it please stop the horse's scare that other animal approaching

923
00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:07,160
or is just waving at you? And to me, the funny thing was like, when does it, when does

924
00:52:07,160 --> 00:52:11,360
somebody like, where? Oh, I guess because now I'm in America, maybe things are different,

925
00:52:11,360 --> 00:52:16,520
but when, on the highway, somebody will have approached me like riding a horse, you know,

926
00:52:16,520 --> 00:52:22,080
so that the moment to me was like, it was just funny because it was out of context. Yeah.

927
00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:29,120
We traveled to Scotland this last summer and my wife and I and my son and other family

928
00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:36,680
members and we had a great time. And I think the funniest thing for me is was driving and

929
00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:42,120
driving, they drive on the wrong side of the road. I don't understand that, but I mean, you

930
00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:48,120
could have a whole series of jokes and things about the side of the road that they're

931
00:52:48,120 --> 00:52:54,760
driving on. And there was many, many times that I had forgotten and I was going down the

932
00:52:54,760 --> 00:53:00,480
right side of the road and cars were coming at me. And it was really interesting. Instead

933
00:53:00,480 --> 00:53:06,520
of panicking, my wife and I would just go, oh, we're just dumb Americans. We don't know

934
00:53:06,520 --> 00:53:11,680
where we're going. And then we would move over to the other side, but that's, but nobody

935
00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:14,840
could hear us, right? Right. But like in this moment, you were able to laugh

936
00:53:14,840 --> 00:53:18,800
yourself. Yeah. Okay. And there was a simple moment that instead of getting upset or

937
00:53:18,800 --> 00:53:24,640
stress, or like stressing out, you're like, Oh, I can change the situation just by laughing

938
00:53:24,640 --> 00:53:29,360
at myself, or just by saying, they're like, Oh, whatever, I'm a dumb American. I laugh

939
00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:34,000
at myself. I laugh at my, you know, conditional, like where I'm from and I can just switch

940
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:39,040
the situation so simply without getting upset. I'm having a laugh. I turn, I go to the other

941
00:53:39,040 --> 00:53:45,320
lane. Everybody's safe. Everybody's doing okay. And we continue with our vacation. Yeah.

942
00:53:45,320 --> 00:53:51,280
Yeah. Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about with laughter and that we haven't

943
00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:56,000
covered yet? Oh, no. I just want to like remind everybody that, like, you know, consider

944
00:53:56,000 --> 00:54:00,760
that, you know, like at the end of the day, because I think we live in times that are like,

945
00:54:00,760 --> 00:54:06,160
you know, it could be very stressful, you know, and I'm very demanding and such, right?

946
00:54:06,160 --> 00:54:11,400
Yeah. I think it's a good thing to always consider at the end of the day, every laugh today.

947
00:54:11,400 --> 00:54:15,400
Did I laugh today? Was there anything funny that made me laugh? Is that's the case? Buried

948
00:54:15,400 --> 00:54:20,640
down. And if not, if you feel like, Oh, I got, I had a very terrible day. I didn't laugh

949
00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:24,840
even for a second today. You know, what you could do? You go to the bathroom. You look at

950
00:54:24,840 --> 00:54:28,160
yourself in the mirror and have a big laugh. You might want to warn the people outside

951
00:54:28,160 --> 00:54:32,640
of the bathroom before you do that, right? I think you're crazy. We go in the mirror and just

952
00:54:32,640 --> 00:54:39,600
laugh for like 60 seconds, right? Yeah. Just without reason, just try that. It helps. You

953
00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:45,120
know, it really like changes the mood and it's just a good reminder, you know, to take things

954
00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:50,960
not so seriously, right? Because sometimes we do, we do that and, you know, that my, I don't

955
00:54:50,960 --> 00:54:56,120
know, I think it's good to like take everything in consideration and just like think like life

956
00:54:56,120 --> 00:55:01,640
doesn't have to be so serious all the time. Yeah. And I read an article from the Mayo Clinic

957
00:55:01,640 --> 00:55:07,240
and they were talking about the short and long term benefits of laughter. And how that has

958
00:55:07,240 --> 00:55:13,800
an impact on our bodies. Yes. And as an impact as you were talking about not only on our bodies,

959
00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:21,760
but also on our organs and just even muscle, you know, just when you smile, how many muscles

960
00:55:21,760 --> 00:55:28,000
that you activate in your face is, is incredible. Yes. Over 30 max muscles you activate when

961
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:32,600
you're in your mouth. When you laugh, you produce endorphine, you produce oxytocin, which is

962
00:55:32,600 --> 00:55:37,600
the love hormone and you produce dopamine, which is the, the thing that makes you feel good.

963
00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:41,480
Just by nothing. We definitely need more love in this world. I'll tell you that. That's

964
00:55:41,480 --> 00:55:48,320
for sure. All right, Stefano. Is there anything else that you want to say? And then for those

965
00:55:48,320 --> 00:55:55,000
that want to reach out to you and and potentially draw you into their adult living community

966
00:55:55,000 --> 00:56:00,240
or into their business, how would they best get ahold of you? First, I want to quote Victor

967
00:56:00,240 --> 00:56:05,560
Borgia, which is one of my favorite comedians. He has a quote that says laughter is the shortest

968
00:56:05,560 --> 00:56:11,400
distance between two people. If people want to reach out to me, they can just go on my website,

969
00:56:11,400 --> 00:56:21,880
www. Stefano Iaboni. That's IAB as in boy, oh, and I calm, calm me over the phone 971 276 5109.

970
00:56:21,880 --> 00:56:26,200
And I can help them with like most creativity and bonding and well being through laughter

971
00:56:26,200 --> 00:56:30,720
and humor. Okay. And you can do that whether it's in a business practice, you can do it in

972
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:37,360
the environment of an adult living community. And I'm sure educational communities, I mean,

973
00:56:37,360 --> 00:56:44,000
there's so many ways that you can reach out. Now, you're here in Portland, Oregon. I am. And

974
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:52,120
it do you travel to other states? So if somebody's listening in Maine or in Texas that yes, if

975
00:56:52,120 --> 00:56:57,000
you're willing to pay for my travel call, there you go. And that lists it's a response,

976
00:56:57,000 --> 00:57:04,040
a laughing response. But yeah, yeah, I mean, people travel all over the world, you know, to

977
00:57:04,040 --> 00:57:12,840
entertain people and so if you're listening to this show and you want to invite Stefano, once

978
00:57:12,840 --> 00:57:22,160
again, your website is Stefano Iaboni. And it's I A in your last name is spelled IAB O N I

979
00:57:22,160 --> 00:57:31,280
correct, correct, calm. Yes. So and Stefano was not with a pH STF A N O. Yeah, because I made

980
00:57:31,280 --> 00:57:37,160
that mistake when I was looking you up originally and I was going it says it says there's no website.

981
00:57:37,160 --> 00:57:44,400
Is this guy really real? Or you can look up for also my company, my LLC is called Smile

982
00:57:44,400 --> 00:57:49,440
Solution. Yeah, dentist. But smile solution is the, you know, the company that I work, it's

983
00:57:49,440 --> 00:57:54,680
my own company that offers all those experiential training and such. All right. Well, we definitely,

984
00:57:54,680 --> 00:58:01,080
that's what we need is more people to make a smile. And we we definitely want to do that.

985
00:58:01,080 --> 00:58:06,520
Okay. So is there anything else? Oh, no, I'm so thankful to be here, Mark. Yeah.

986
00:58:06,520 --> 00:58:11,520
Thanks again for the opportunity. Yeah. No, I'm grateful and I'm looking forward to seeing

987
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:18,800
you in in practice in live action as soon as possible. Oh, I love that. Yeah. And and I'm

988
00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:23,960
going to have you come into our company as well. And and see if we can get some laughter

989
00:58:23,960 --> 00:58:28,920
out of. Oh, yeah. We're pretty stoic bunch. But we're all having we're having fun, but

990
00:58:28,920 --> 00:58:33,920
we're not laughing enough. That's it. There's a big difference, isn't there? Yeah. All

991
00:58:33,920 --> 00:58:38,920
right. All right. This is Mark Turnbull. Your host and I want to thank all of you for tuning

992
00:58:38,920 --> 00:58:45,160
into aging today. We are the podcast where together we're exploring the many options to aging

993
00:58:45,160 --> 00:58:51,480
on your terms. Join us every Monday when we release a new episode to aging today to your

994
00:58:51,480 --> 00:58:57,160
favorite podcast channel. And remember this, we're all in the process of aging. And as we

995
00:58:57,160 --> 00:59:01,480
age, we really are better together. So stay young at heart.

996
00:59:01,480 --> 00:59:13,800
You make me feel so young. You make me feel like spring is from and every time I see

997
00:59:13,800 --> 00:59:23,840
your face, I'm such a happy individual moment that she's been. I want to go play hide and

998
00:59:23,840 --> 00:59:34,520
see. I want to go and bounce the moon just like a toy balloon. Well, you and I are just

999
00:59:34,520 --> 00:59:43,960
like a bulletots running across the metal. They can have lots of forget me night so you made

1000
00:59:43,960 --> 00:59:50,760
me feel so young. You made me feel there are songs to be sung. There will still be run

1001
00:59:50,760 --> 01:00:01,580
and run. And you've been listening to aging today where together we explore the options to

1002
01:00:01,580 --> 01:00:08,360
aging on your terms. Join Mark and his guest next week for another lively discussion on proactively

1003
01:00:08,360 --> 01:00:14,280
aging on your terms, connecting you to the professional advice of his special guests with

1004
01:00:14,280 --> 01:00:20,560
the goal of creating better days throughout the aging process. Your host has been Mark Turnbull.

1005
01:00:20,560 --> 01:00:26,320
And Mark and his guest every week on aging today, your podcast to exploring your options for

1006
01:00:26,320 --> 01:00:49,760
aging on your terms. And you went over and raised, you make me feel the way I feel today. Because you make me feel so you make me feel so you make me feel so young. So young.

1007
01:00:49,760 --> 01:00:56,360
You make me feel so young. You make me feel so young.

1008
01:00:56,360 --> 01:00:59,200
(fiddle music)