TEENAGERS JOKE.  People love that joke because they can relate to it. And this week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your business and personal communications. Today's tip – use humor because it gives you an instant connection with others, and it makes you approachable. Don't you love that ah ha moment when people "get" your humor? It's an instant connection, and that's what we're looking for with people– whether it's a client, coworker, new friend, or staff person, you can both get on the same page with a little humor. It also lets others know that you are approachable. Don't you feel like you can talk to someone who's using a little humor? It's usually to our advantage to let people know they can talk to you . . .and humor helps with that.

If you're enjoying these episodes, please give me a positive review and 5 stars here on Alexa. Thanks!

That's it for this episode. Take care and enjoy your journey.

GIFTS JOKE  That joke is one of my most memorable jokes and I get a LOT of people telling me they love it. This week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your personal and business life, and today's tip . . because it introduces you. Listen to the humor that people use, it'll tell you about them. If someone makes a snarky comment, then you kind of know the frame of mind they're in. And if you use humor, you can also give people information about yourself. My joke today told you right away that I'm an aunt, and I spend money on my nieces and nephews. Use humor to say things without saying them, and also listen to other people's humor. You'll get insight into their personality.

If you want to learn quick ways to put humor into your written and verbal communications, then check out my book on Amazon Finding the Funny Fast.

That's it for this episode. Take care and enjoy your journey.

Sister hospital joke. . . This week I'm talking about reasons to use humor, and my first big reason is that it diffuses tension. We used a lot of humor when my sister was in the hospital because it was a very stressful situation. When I go out to talk with businesses about using humor, some people think it's just about telling people how to write jokes and be a comedian. It's not. Humor in business and in your personal life, is extremely important. Think about it, at work if you sit down to a staff meeting and you've just had some big change like budget cuts or no more free coffee in the breakroom. There is tension. If you ignore the subject completely, people think you don't know what they're going through.

But if you toss out a little bit of humor, you can diffuse the tension instantly and get people to relax. It's a great way to acknowledge something, without having to go into it at depth about it.

I presented my keynote on humor to some HR executives, and a couple weeks later I got a nice email from an attendee. He said – it really works. They were having an all-department managers meeting, and everyone came in ready to kill each other. He said he tossed out a little bit of humor and in an instant the tension was gone and they had a very productive meeting!

Try it the next time you're faced with some tension. And remember, every Saturday I give a tip on how to find the funny – since I've written for tons of people and shows. So check it out.

That's it for this episode. Take care and enjoy your journey.

Hey Caterpillar hires me, I'll make a john deer joke.

If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes.

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

And it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to hundreds of radio stations, and websites such as wedding toasts. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business.

So here's your 60 second tip. If you're trying to find humor for a company speech, or even a roast or a wedding, here are 3 questions you should ask. Who is the competition – companies have competitors, and so do people. My joke tomorrow is one I did about a company's competitor. Find out who the competition is so you can write jokes about that.

2 - Is there a theme? Themes are fun because you can make all sorts of analogies with them. If you're roasting someone, is their a central theme in their life…like are they a terrible golfer or an awful cook. If it's company event, then does the event have a theme. Themes are an easy way to find the humor.  And 3. Ask about awards. Are there any awards being given out, and what do people have to do to get them? You can make up silly requirements in order to win the award or make up silly awards. You can also have fun with the people who didn't get that award. I once started out an event with – "we have 500 people and 35 awards. So for the other 465 of you . . .enjoy the free coffee."

Ask these 3 questions – competition, theme and awards - and you'll find comedy gold.

If you want more fast tips on coming up with humor in your communications, then check out my book on Amazon – Finding the Funny Fast. It's how to create quick humor to connect with clients, coworkers and crowds.

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

Southwest Airlines used to make you line up in order to get on the plane – no seat assignment. The order you were in line was the order you got on. I heard the reason they did that was because their founder Herb started with 3 planes, and so to make his airline routes on time, he had to make sure the planes took off on time . . . and to do that he had to make sure the people showed up on time. And nothing makes people more anxious than getting stuck at the back of a line. So travelers showed up early to get in line. Brilliant.

This week I'm talking about travel tips, and today's tip is to tell you about my two favorite airlines -  Southwest and Delta. Southwest is great because first off, and most importantly, it's THE ONLY airline that you can change your ticket without having a change fee. The new ticket might cost more, but you won't get dinged with a fee. They also give you TWO free checked bags, and they are fun and nice. Plus their frequent flyer program is the best on the planet. And if you rack up 125,000 points in one year, you get the companion pass so that someone can travel with you for free, anytime, even if you're traveling on miles. You can change the name on the pass a couple times a year. Southwest is not on Travelocity or other booking sites. You need to go to Southwest.com. Sure their boarding is weird, but see my other tips this week on how to avoid the dreaded middle seat.

My next go to airline is Delta. They are GREAT, and the only reason I don't travel on them more is that they have a change fee if you want to change a ticket. My schedule changes a LOT, and even though I can call them and usually get the fee waived because of my status with them, it takes an hour out of my day. But Delta has great free movies, food for sale, and a cool app that lets you track your checked bag so you can make sure it made your connection. Their cookies are the best too! And it's pretty easy to get to some status level on their frequent flyer program, plus they go to a lot of little towns.

So those are my 2 favorite airlines – Southwest and Delta.

Don't forget my weekend tips. On Saturday I give you a tip on finding the funny yourself – since I've sold comedy material to everyone. And on Sunday I have a live clip of my clean comedy.

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

I go through a couple of suitcases a year due to my travel. My current suitcase is a white Day of the Dead bag – I've had people stop me to take it's picture. It's kinda cool. I got it because my bag died in between crazy travel, and I only had one day to buy a new one. I couldn't even wait for Amazon so I went to Ross. As I'm looking at bags, they announced that the store was losing power in 5 minutes. I didn't have time to come back, so my friend pointed out a cool bag with a pretty picture, and I grabbed it. Turns out it was a Day of the Dead bag. This week I'm talking about travel tips, and today's tips are a few things that you should and shouldn't pay for when traveling.

• Pay for TSA pre-check - $100 for 5 years. Even if the pre-check line is longer than the regular line, it goes faster because you don't have to take your shoes off or pull your laptop out. Buy it now.
• If you're renting a car then go to Autoslash.com. That's spelled out autoslash.com. My friend Chip at ChipsMoneyTips.com gave me this advice. Subscribe to his ezine and go to autoslash to book your car. Once booked, then register it at Autoslash. They track it, because rental car companies have periodic one day sales, and if your car company has a sale, they will send you an email and you can re-book at the cheaper price. You can register a car you didn't book through autoslash, but autoslash is GREAT. I've saved THOUSANDS of dollars doing this.
• If you're flying on Southwest for a flight more than 2 hours, when you book your ticket, buy the early bird check in. You will avoid sitting in the middle seat. It's only $25 bucks. It is worth it.
• And finally, get a roller bag with DOUBLE wheels. Single wheel bags tend to tip over and aren't as sturdy. You should have 8 wheels – 2 per corner. It makes a big difference.

If you want a peak behind the scenes of my comedy career, and all my travels, check out my book on Amazon – "Convention Comedian: Stories and Wisdom From Two Decades of Chicken Dinners and Comedy Clubs"

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

So I'm in a small airport – I believe it was Fargo, ND. I had just finished an event and I had to fly to New York for a huge event in front of 1100 people the next morning. And Fargo was having weather issues. All at once, everyone in the gate area got the notice on their phones that the flight was cancelled. And a line formed immediately at the gate agent's desk to get rebooked on other flights. I looked over and saw someone from the ground crew standing near a computer. She had on those protective knee pads and headphones, so I knew she worked outside. I already knew the flight that I wanted to be booked on, so I made a beeline for her. And yes, she did have access to the ticketing system, and yes, while people were stacked 3 deep trying to get the gate agent's attention, I got one of the last 3 seats on the flight out. I got into NY at 1 a.m. and was on stage at 8 a.m.  Whew!

This week's tips are on traveling, and today I'm going to give you 4 tips to remember when booking travel 1. Be nice to the gate agent – they have a LOT of power – they CAN change your ticket. And other people have power too – like the woman wearing headphones. If you're having flight issues look around before following the crowd.  2. Join the car rental clubs – all of them are free and you'll save tons of time by skipping the rental counter. The points usually don't add up to much, but skipping the line is priceless. 3. Don't pre-pay for a rental car. They give you ZERO flexibility. If your plans change, you're stuck. My tips tomorrow will show you how to get a rental car CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. But seriously. Don't pre-pay. 4. If you have a C ticket on Southwest, you are one of the last to board – and C is for Center seat. But you may still get an aisle or window seat. As you walk down the aisle, look for people who look like they're traveling together but have a middle seat between them. Couples kinda look similar, or a parent and a kid look similar. Tell them you want that middle seat. . .they'll move over so they can sit together and you'll get the aisle or window. It really works. I've done it.

Now go sign up for all the rental car awards programs NOW.

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

So I'm sound asleep on the plane when I wake up to the pilot announcing Welcome to Little Rock, Arkansas. This was scary because I was supposed to be in Nashville! I asked the woman next to me, and apparently there was so much turbulence that they had to go to a different airport. I called my travel agent and she could get me a rental car that would get me to the gig about 30 minutes late. I called the club and the booker said he'd find a replacement for me instead. This is the only gig I've missed in 26 years of traveling, and it wasn't a big deal because it was an extra bar gig I had added on to the comedy club shows I was doing the next night. So I was easily replaced.

This week I'm talking travel tips. And I travel all. The. Time. And I can tell you how to do it. My tip for travel today is to take the first flight out in the morning. The plane is already there, it's not coming from somewhere, and if there's a problem, then you're one of the first groups to get fixed. Even if I'm not on stage until the next evening, I take the first flight out. I can sleep when I get to the hotel, and I will most likely actually get to the hotel. I've also heard that morning flights are more on time than others, and from my own experience, that's true. Yeah, it's tough getting up at 3 a.m., but it beats stressing over making connections and arriving on late.

If you'd like to hear a few stories about my travels, three times a year send me an email and I'll put you on my newsletter. It only comes out 3 times a year – no inbox clutter!

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.

A few years ago on Southwest Airlines, my favorite airline by the way, we had a stopover in El Paso Texas. It was a bumpy ride in, and right before we landed, the woman behind me got motion sickness . . .and barfed all over ME! It was disgusting! Of course she got off the plane, but I was staying on for another 3 hour flight to LA. The flight attendant handed me a can of club soda and ONE free drink ticket. I thought this was at least a 3 drink ticket experience!

Being barfed on was a top bad travel experience, and this week I'm talking about travel tips. I travel 2 or 3 days most weeks in the year, and todays travel tip is on booking your airline ticket. First, make sure you get the credit card for every airline you travel on. There is a free version of every airline card, and when you book tickets with that card you usually get better boarding times, a free checked bag, and some better service.

And when booking a ticket, I start with Travelocity.com to see what flights are out there. Then when I see a flight I like, I go directly to that airline's website to book it. That way there's no middleman on my trip if I have an issue. Note that Southwest is NOT on Travelocity, so you need to go directly to their site to compare prices. And finally, remember you have 24 hours to cancel your airline ticket for free once you purchase it! I'm about 99% sure every airline in the US has to do this, so don't let them tell you otherwise. 24 hours to change your mind after you book the ticket.

If you want to see some of places I've flown to, check out my website TheWorkLady.com

That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.