7:00-8:00 AM		Optional Laugh & Learn Sessions
7:30-9:00 AM		Breakfast
9:00-10:15 AM	13	Using the ABC's and Humor to Defuse Difficult People and Situations Margie Ingram Have you ever faced a "difficult person" or been in a group with "difficult people"? Have you ever been a "difficult person" yourself (of course not! ☺)? This fun-filled, practical, interactive program will teach you a simple 3-step (AA-BB-CC) method to effectively interrupt difficult behaviors and efficiently move toward resolution of challenging situations. You will learn an array of potentially positive responses to turn these negative situations around. Rather than moving "against" the difficult person, you will learn how to move "with" the person toward satisfactory problem-solving. In short, you'll learn easy ways to keep your wit and wits about you in dealing with difficult people. Margie Ingram, Co-Director of The HUMOR Project, is one of the pioneers in the fields of stress management and the humor-resilience connection. Margie is a popular speaker and workshop leader throughout the U.S. and abroad. She is also a very successful life coach helping individuals and small groups to create fulfilling lives, move gracefully through life transitions, identify and build on personal and professional strengths, and overcome obstacles by optimizing optimism with a touch of humor. Margie has been an educator for the past 44 years. A public school teacher from 1968-1975, she went on to supervise student teachers and teach grad courses at many colleges on effective teaching methods and developing effective classroom environments. Margie's speaking career, which began 39 years ago, grew out of her love of teaching. Her programs are lively, engaging, and practical as she creates opportunities for participants to apply the content to their immediate lives and jobs. Margie has also served as coordinator of The HUMOR Project's international conferences for decades. She was honored with the Distinguished Service Award from the Reed Foundation and the Prevention Council as well as the Hometown Hero Award. In her spare time, Margie loves kayaking, walking, completing challenging puzzles, and spending time with family and good friends. She practices what she teaches about creating intentional balance in life.
9:00-10:15 AM	14	What's the Story?: Once Upon a Time, There Was a Storytelling Workshop Kat Koppett The I's have it: storytelling is increasingly touted as an important, impactful, and insightful educational and business tool. In the age of instant messaging, Facebooking, and tweeting, we need more than ever to recapture the human touch and the magic of storytelling to communicate with charisma. How do you get your message across to your boss, colleagues, customers, students, clients, patients, family and friends (especially if it requires more than 140 characters)? Come to this hands-on improv session to find out how to: command focus, create compelling stories, hone your storytelling skills, match your message and style to your audience, and see how stories can magically capture attention and increase retention. Kat Koppett is the eponymous founder of Koppett & Co., a training and consulting company specializing in the use of theatre and storytelling. Her book, Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership and Learning, is now in its second edition (jest in time for our conference). Kat has worked with corporations, teachers, administrators, doctors, engineers, lawyers, and young people everywhere from India, Brazil, and France to Oklahohohoma. With a Masters in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University, her areas of specialty include leadership and communication skills, creativity and innovation, teamwork and conflict resolution, and presentation coaching. Kat is also the Co-Director of the funtastic Mop & Bucket improv troupe. FYI... Kat makes a mean banana cream pie!
9:00-10:15 AM	15	The 3 R's: Relaxing, Recreating, and Re-creating Yourself with Humor: The Power of Strategic Disengagement Andrew Tarvin Taking a break, sharpening the saw, strategically disengaging- they all mean the same thing and it's something we don't do enough of: allowing ourselves to recharge to come back more energized and productive. In this session, you'll learn about the importance of the 3 R's and how working less can actually mean accomplishing more. Drawing from time-tested research and practices, you'll address such topics as Pareto's Principle, Parkinson's Law, and the Pomodoro Technique. By the end of the program, you'll understand why you need to recharge your batteries- and how to effectively do it. You deserve a break today... and every day! Andrew Tarvin is a corporate humorist, author, and comedian. As Chief Humorist of Humor That Works, Andrew has worked with many organizations on such topics as humor in the workplace, communication, relationships, problem-solving, productivity, strategic disengagement, and leadership. He also has had "day jobs" as Customer Solutions and Initiative Manager and Product Innovation Solutions Manager at a Fortune 25 corporation. In addition to performing stand-up (100+ shows in venues around the country) and improv comedy (300+ shows), Andrew loves drinking milkshakes and is obsessed with the color orange.
9:00-10:15 AM	16	Presenting with Pizzazz: Exceptional Teaching and Training Tips and Techniques Joan Hebert Here's a great opportunity for you to develop your confidence and competence in speaking, teaching, training, and presenting. You'll learn tricks of the trade to: get prepared, present with ease and energy, and deliver potent presentations. You'll also leave with 20+ simple yet powerful techniques to keep audiences and learners involved... and loving every minute of it. This fun and lively session will offer ideas on learning strategies, how to avoid death by PowerPoint, and how to move people in your classes or programs from a "ho hum" mentality to an "Aha!" attitude. Joan Hebert, MBA, MS, principal of Hebert Performance Training since 1997, specializes in customer service, presentation skills, sales, leadership, and communication training for corporations, government agencies, schools, and non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. Described as "energetic, humorous, captivating, and down to earth," Joan has been a back-by-popular-demand speaker at many ASTD and SHRM conferences. She draws on her 16 years experience with AT&T as an award-winning #1 nationally ranked master trainer, internal management consultant, and assistant marketing director.
9:00-10:15 AM	17	How to Do More with Less: Motivating and Energizing Your People and Your Organization from the Inside Out Jermaine Davis We all know that in the past few years, the national and global economies have not been a laughing matter. Will your organization survive or thrive? Will your organization go from good to great or from bad to worse? How do you plan on doing more with less? This interactive and informative workshop will teach leaders and employees how to: develop a healthy and positive S.R.S. (Stress Response Style), sustain personal/professional motivation using the T.A.G.S. Philosophy (Talents Abilities Gifts Skills), leverage team synergy to achieve organizational goals, achieve priorities by tapping the "Power of the 168" time management system, and increase employee engagement and team morale using the R.A.P. approach. Jermaine Davis is an international speaker who presents at many of America's leading organizations. He is the author of ten books, including Get Up Off Your Butt & Do It NOW and Leading with Greatness. Jermaine was raised in a single parent home in Chicago. After the unfortunate loss of six family members to violent deaths, he began studying motivational principles and success strategies and enrolled in college to change the direction of his life. In fact, Jermaine is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Communication. Along the way, he received the prestigious College Instructor of the Year Award. Jermaine is also a documentary filmmaker who, most importantly, still loves to eat his grandmother's homemade Mac and Cheese!
9:00-10:15 AM	18	I'm Not Lost, I'm Exploring: An Adventurer's Guide to Challenging and Creating Change Jana Stanfield With change accelerating all around us, do you ever feel like you're working with no map or GPS on an ever-changing terrain? Jana's unique interactive tapestry of music, message, and mirth will show you that you're exactly where you need to be on your journey- learning what you need to learn and making the difference that only you can make. This refreshing, renewing, encouraging, experiential session full of fun and laughter will focus on how to: creatively turn life's detours into opportunities for adventure; increase enthusiasm through the much-needed gift of laughter; and build greatness every day through your own personal GPS (Goals Passion Smiles). Jana Stanfield, CSP, our conference troubadour, is an internationally recognized, award-winning recording artist, transformational speaker, humorist, and multi-platinum songwriter. She has shared stages with notables ranging from Kenny Loggins and the Dixie Chicks to Lily Tomlin and Deepak Chopra. Her fun-of-a-kind performances generate standing ovations on world-famous stages from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry to New York's Carnegie Hall. A five-million-selling songwriter, you have heard Jana's compositions, sung by such artists as Reba McIntyre and Andy Williams, on radio stations coast to coast... and on popular TV programs, including Oprah, Entertainment Tonight, and 20/20. Known as "The Queen of Heavy Mental," Jana describes her music as "psychotherapy you can dance to." Showing the universality of her musical medium and message, Jana's soaring vocals, acoustic arrangements, and meaningful lyrics have been heard all over the world.
10:15-10:45 AM		You Deserve a Coffee, Juice, Tea-Hee Break Today
10:45-11:45 AM	Closing Keynote	Last Laughs & Learning That Lasts: Developing A Comic Vision® Tim Gard This conference comes full circle- starting on Friday with a Candid Camera look at life. Now, Tim will leave you in stitches as he encourages you to keep your perspective and keep on truckin' when you leave this conference by seeing reality and sharing the fun of it with laughter and good humor! Portraying the daily (and often overwhelming) challenges found in these hectic times, Tim offers his powerfully humorous approach to stress-diffusion, proven effective both personally and on-the-job. Re-awaken your fancy for fun as you enjoy Tim's side-splitting stories, learn how to use his unique Stress Buster Tools, and discover a new way to look at life... with your own Comic Vision! Tim Gard, CSP, CPAE, is a drop-dead funny, laugh-out-loud humorist who provides a rejuvenating and immediately applicable message that always touches and tickles audiences. As a leading authority in stress reduction through humor, Tim has delivered thousands of unique experiences for an impressive list of public and private sector clients from Bangkok to Boston, from Singapore to Sioux City, and from Texas to Tasmania. Tim is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest earned certification of the National Speakers Association and a CPAE (Council of Peers Award of Excellence) recipient. He was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, an elite honor shared by only 150 other people world wide. Meetings and Conventions magazine tapped him as "The Best Speaker Heard or Used." He is the perfect presenter to "leave 'em laughing."
11:45-Noon AM		The Laughs Round-Up Joel Goodman and Jana Stanfield This closing segment will include surprises and a special song from Jana to help you make your mirthful memories last a laughtime!
12:00-1:30 PM		Lunch either in the dining hall or a bag lunch-to go if you need to hit the road