Karyn Buxman is the founder of The HumorLab, an organization that researches the art and science of humor. She specializes in opening and closing keynotes. Karyn’s program, “When Funny Means Money: Humor as a Serious Business Strategy,” is a tour de force of education and entertainment. Her presentations provide “insights cleverly disguised as humor.” Karyn is that rare intersection of expert and performer—a bona fide content expert AND masterful speaker—who provides clients practical take-always presented as professional-level entertainment. Karyn shares insights from the emerging field of neuromarketing; she explores the many uses of humor in the workplace; and she gives audiences practical strategies for surviving and thriving by harnessing their own “Seventh Sense”—the sense of humor. “Neuroscientists are now proving what the advertising guys have intuited all along: ‘Logic tells, emotion sells’,” she observes. Researchers like Karyn Buxman are delving into the links between humor and human nature, and her discoveries can give organizations a competitive edge. [GTE, J&J, Lucent, Pfizer] Her keynote is not just another uplifting motivational speech based on platitudes. Rather, it is a speech that functions on two levels: (1) On the surface, it is a motivational and educational keynote, and (2) Underneath, its structure has been designed to utilize humor as a way to bypass the audiences’ logic and psychological barriers, thereby making them open to accepting the practical and helpful information that Karyn has to impart. 

MOST REQUESTED PROGRAMS:

Corporate

• Amazed & Amused: Strategies of the Sane & Successful
[Inspiration/Entertainment]
Success is not measured only in dollars and cents, but also in the moments that you live amazed and amused. Customers are not really “yours” until they have been amazed and/or amused by your products, your services, or your people. Leadership finds its inspiration not in duty, but in grasping the amazing power of one’s vision and will, and in motivating the amusing diversity of many people’s personalities and skills. Bestselling author, business consultant, and observer of the human condition Karyn Buxman will take you on a life-changing, one-hour journey of humor and hope.

• When Funny Means Money: Humor as a Serious Business Strategy
[General Business]
Do you think that humor and business don’t go together? Think again! There’s a good reason why American Express paid Jerry Seinfeld millions of dollars to star in their ads. They know that “While logic tells, emotion sells”—and that humor is the quickest route to the emotions. In this keynote you will learn: How humor functions as a leadership tool, a sales aid, and a customer service strategy; how humor goes to the bottom line; the neuroscience behind how and why humor bypasses people’s logic circuits, and influences their buying decisions through emotion; and specific strategies for utilizing humor in your business—and your life.

• I’m The Leader—Which Way Did They Go?
[Leadership]
Successful people—in business, politics and life in general—have something in common: they understand that humor is an important trait for effective leaders. Ronald Reagan was a master at using humor on the world stage; the characters in M*A*S*H used humor to retain their sanity amid horrendous conditions; and your audience can learn how to use humor effectively in their daily work lives. Properly used, humor is a dynamic communication strategy that strengthens relationships, builds rapport, and enhances effectiveness. Karyn uses (hysterical) personal anecdotes, (solid) medical research, and (practical) tips to help your audience enhance their humor skills in the service of better leadership.

• I’ve Got One Nerve Left –and You’re Standing on It
[Breakout: Stress Management]
Expanding responsibilities, shrinking budgets, cranky coworkers, family demands, too much to do and not enough time to do it!  Is it any wonder that we’re all a little edgy?  Find out how taking care of yourself can affect everyone’s bottom line. Learn how to get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling. Discover how to survive and thrive in a world of change

Healthcare

• Amazed & Amused: How to Survive & Thrive as a Healthcare Professional
[Healthcare Inspiration/Entertainment]
Success is not measured only in dollars and cents, but also in the moments that you live amazed and amused. Balance is achieved not by see-sawing between opposites, but by accepting your place in the scheme of things, and by seeing it all as amazing and/or amusing. Surviving without thriving is not good enough, and we can only do our best when we self-create an attitude of amazement, and a perspective that encourages amusement.  Bestselling author, RN, and observer of the human condition Karyn Buxman will take you on a life-changing, one-hour journey of humor and hope. A great opening or close for your event.

• This Won’t Hurt a Bit–And Other Fractured Truths in Healthcare
[Healthcare  Entertainment]
Sicker patients, irritable docs, cranky coworkers, days that are long on hours and short on resources. It’s obvious that the state of health care today is no joke—but it just may be a laughing matter, if we understand that humor is frequently generated by painful circumstances. Karyn understands that those who can’t learn to laugh in the midst of this highly stressful profession usually leave it. In a hysterically entertaining keynote, Karyn connects with fellow healthcare workers to help them get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling. A great opening or closing keynote.

• I’m The Leader—Which Way Did They Go?
[Healthcare leadership]
Successful people—in business, politics and life in general—have something in common: they understand that humor is an important trait for effective leaders. Ronald Reagan was a master at using humor on the world stage; the characters in M*A*S*H used humor to retain their sanity amid horrendous conditions; and your audience can learn how to use humor effectively in their daily work lives. Properly used, humor is a dynamic communication strategy that strengthens relationships, builds rapport, and enhances effectiveness. Karyn uses (hysterical) personal anecdotes, (solid) medical research, and (practical) tips to help your audience enhance their humor skills in the service of better leadership. Keynote or concurrent.

• I’ve Got One Nerve Left –and You’re Standing on It
[Healthcare: Stress Management]
Expanding responsibilities, shrinking budgets, cranky coworkers, family demands, too much to do and not enough time to do it!  Is it any wonder that we’re all a little edgy?  Find out how taking care of yourself can affect everyone’s bottom line.  Learn how to get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling.  Discover how to survive and thrive in a world of change. Keynote or concurrent.

• It’s Always Something
[Survivors and support groups]
“You’ve got cancer.” Three words that strike fear in people’s hearts and conjure up concerns of chemo, radiation, surgery, pain, nausea, stress, anxiety and fatigue—not to mention hair loss. And as (comedienne and cancer patient) Gilda Radner would say, “It’s always something.” Cancer survivors and their care givers need lots of tools in their arsenal to fight cancer—and humor is a surprisingly powerful tool. Speaker, humor researcher, nurse and cancer-survivor’s-Mom, Karyn Buxman will teach you how to twist your perceptions, play with your pain, and experience the gifts of humor and laughter. Keynote or concurrent.

Women's programs 

•Amazed & Amused: How to Survive & Thrive as a Woman Today

[Inspiration/humor]

Happiness is not “getting what you want,” it is being amazed when you do happen to get what you want, and amused when you get something else. Relationships are not based on compatibility, but on the ability to be continually amazed at your partner’s positive traits, and amused by his or her shortcomings. Life is the culmination not of years, but of experiences and memories that leave you amazed and amused that you got to enjoy this thing at all. Bestselling author, and observer of the human condition Karyn Buxman will take you on a life-changing, one-hour journey of humor and hope.

• Laughing Your Way to More Money, Better Sex, & Thinner Thighs
In this hysterical presentation Karyn ties together business, relationships and health. Business experts agree that humor is vital to a company’s bottom line in areas such as customer service, marketing and sales.  Relationship experts agree that one of the most highly sought traits, for those seeking long-term relationships, is a sense of humor.  Medical experts have long known that having a sense of humor is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. This presentation is appropriate for any general session slot. 

• Humor as Laugh Strategy (also for general audience) 

Medical experts have long known that having a sense of humor and the ability to laugh are integral parts of a healthy lifestyle. Business experts agree that humor is vital to a company’s bottom line in areas such as customer service, marketing and sales.  Relationship experts agree that one of the most highly sought traits for those seeking long-term relationships is a sense of humor. As a leading expert in the field of therapeutic humor, Karyn Buxman realizes that in order to really reap the benefits of laughter and humor, they need to be incorporated into all aspects of life and practiced on a regular basis. This is why Buxman, founder of HUMORX, developed 10 Laugh Strategies for bringing humor and laughter into our daily routines until they become second nature, part of our emotional and physical makeup.  Listen, laugh and learn how humor and laughter can improve the quality of your life and enable you to get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling.

BOOKS:

When Funny Means Money: Humor as a Serious Business Strategy 

Laughing Your Way to More Money, Better Sex and Thinner Thighs

This Won't Hurt a Bit ... and Other Fractured Truths in Healthcare

The Humor Habit: Tips to Jest for Success

Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul (Contributing Author)

Give Stress A Rest (Contributing Author)

Nursing Perspectives on Humor (editor)

Where The Heart Is: Stories of Home and Family (Contributing Author)

Chocolate for a Woman's Heart (Contributing Author)