A Little Puff of Laughter

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“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” – Mark Twain

The other day I was on a Teams video meeting with a colleague and he burst into laughter. “I cannot take you seriously with that pen,” he howled!

I was taking notes with a ball point pen with a puff ball top with absolutely no awareness that I’d picked it up. I’d plucked it out of the puppy’s mouth just minutes before when I found that he’d stolen it. Well, I removed it only after I took a picture, of course!

When I told my colleague this, we both started laughing so hard that we were crying. And I realized that I missed this facet of face-to-face meetings. Not the crying – but the laughing.

It seems that when I spend my times zooming (pun intended) from one virtual meeting to the next, one of the things that is lost is the chit chat and laughter of in-person meetings. Perhaps I’m just racing to get it done and get off the computer, but I also think we miss the physical cues of humor.

Like the time I was sitting with a colleague in a client’s conference room and was kicking my foot. I inadvertently hit the up/down lever on my colleagues chair and it lowered by a foot. He turned and said, “You trying to take me down a notch?”

Laughter, warmth, listening require extra care when we’re virtual. I need that reminder so I’m keeping my fuzzy pen by my computer to wave every once in a while and laugh!

62 thoughts on “A Little Puff of Laughter”

      1. Umm….laughing…choking…spit takes…Cooper is endlessly entertaining. (I mean…you’re no slouch but Cooper? That furry boy knows how to pose for the camera, doesn’t he?) 🤣😎🤣

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  5. A clever way to focus on a serious subject — to be close enough not to miss the humor, hugs and humanity in others. Thanks, Wynne.

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  6. I am notoriously bad at chit-chat, so I sometimes like the ‘get down to business’ aspect of Zoom meetings. And I like having the ability to secretly multi-task, because people can only see what is happening within the video screen. I have been known to split my attention between the real meeting and something else, unbeknownst to the other attendees.
    But, I know there is a lot missing when you don’t have in-person meetings. So, even though I take advantage of online meetings, I do prefer the interactions of face-to-face in-the-flesh.

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  7. The puppy has grown so much, and looks so cute with your pen. I’ll mention this humor cue to my partner who is also on Teams meetings all day. I think it will appeal to his inner imp. At hs graduation, he offered a fake hand to the principal to shake, who took hold of it with surprise, and the whole gathering erupted in laughter.

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  8. In-person humor always adds another layer of fun. That being said, I have seen some very funny “fails” on zoom calls. That technology has indeed given us another way to laugh with others…and at ourselves.😂

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  12. It’s true that during online meetings it’s very difficult to laugh. We tend to be so serious! But once it happened to me that some of us were bothered by our cats. So we decided to show them on the videos and we all started to laugh without being able to stop, also those without cats!

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  13. I agree, when I taught high school my secret weapon was humor, always. When we were forced to teach via Zoom, that sort of humor was lost and it changed the way you relate to each other. In person is always better. Hugs, C

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  16. Now here’s a dilemma. Yes, I miss some face to face meetings. Some of them. But if I were able to be on zoom call and take notes with a fuzzy green pen, just like that one, I’m pretty sure that I would be more productive. Wouldn’t everyone? Oh the catch-22!!! Ha ha. I need to get a pen just like that. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

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  18. I’m giggling at the photo of Cooper with the pen! Too cute! Yes, humor is something we need! You have demonstrated that even on a Zoom call, humor can be had!

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  19. The chair story, tho…. too funny. My mom, uncle, and I were at the store once. We were waiting in line to check out, and my uncle “tooted.” When people around started to “notice,” he turned to my mother and very loudly said, “Jeez Deb, did you have to do that right here in the line? The bathroom is that way. ” I swear my mom turned 6 shades of red while my uncle and I pretty much laughed until we cried! It’s the best feeling!

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  20. Great points Wynne. I agree, online is less fun generally and with classes it’s much more difficult to build rapport and inject humour. Online does have a purpose, but I’d still rather be face to face in class for engagement

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  23. Last summer, my colleagues and I went back to the office on a hybrid schedule after two years of working remotely. And I have to agree that there is something about the in person that is so wonderful. We had a conversation where we broke into tears from laughing so hard.

    Love the puff ball pen by the way. 🙂

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