Laughology Learnings - 2024 

Every year, we ask the team to look back on the previous 12 months and think about an experience they’ve had and what they learned from it. And this year is no exception.  

So, without further ado, here they are for you to enjoy. And while you’re reading through them, why not do a little bit of naval-gazing and reflect on your 2024, too? 

Head of Happiness and CEO, Stephanie Davies 

Okay, I’ll come clean… as a Laughologist and Head of Happiness, I don’t always love spending time with people. Shocking, I know. You’re probably wondering, “Why not? Isn’t that your thing?” And yes, you’re right! My job is all about being upbeat, funny (the clue’s in the name), positive, and smiley.  

And most of the time, I genuinely enjoy it.  

But here’s the thing – the older (and perhaps slightly grumpier) I’ve got, the more I’ve realised I need downtime between events. Think hormones, exhaustion, and hiding under a duvet with zero human contact. Between delivering full days (sometimes two events in one day, thanks to motorbike taxis!) packed with high-energy sessions, I crave peace and quiet.  

Picture this. I arrive at a hotel after a full day of delivering sessions, travelling, and a packed schedule. The bar is buzzing, people spot me, and I’m invited for a drink or dinner. Lovely, right? Well, not so much when I only want sleep and brain space to recharge for the next day.  

It’s taken me nearly 20 years, but I’ve finally learned to say “No.” Sometimes, it’s a simple “No, thanks” or “I’m going to politely decline.”  

But there’s also the disguise strategy – my go-to method for avoiding awkward encounters. In winter, it’s easy: scarf, hat, head down. In summer, it’s trickier, but I’ve perfected the art of sneaking into my room unseen.  

If I say ‘no’ or politely decline, it’s not because I don’t like you. It’s because I’m taking my own advice and looking after myself. Energy reserves are precious, and self-care is vital to do my job well (and stay sane).  

And when someone says, “But you’re the Head of Happiness, let your hair down!” my answer is this: “I am – just not with you.”  

Sarah Creegan 

This year, we’ve supported leaders in many organisations to develop greater psychological safety and trust within their teams. One of the ways to do this is through building warm connections – rather than always and only having business-as-usual conversations.  

I love a warm connection! And a few weeks ago, a couple of unusual things happened to me…  

In Birmingham, I mentioned that I’m a Lincoln City fan by birth, only to find out that The Imps’ manager’s best mate was in the room. Then, in a session in London the next day, I discovered that one of the women was from Lincoln and went to the same primary school as me. Albeit several years apart!  

So, what did I learn? You really do get a warm glow when you find out things that you have in common with people and make those warm connections. Also, it’s a small and slightly spooky world!  

Kerry Leigh 

This year, when facilitating the FOCUS part of FLIP It Thinking, I started offering prizes for weird and/or funny examples of those things you can’t plan for that hijack your day. This has resulted in people sharing the most wonderful stories.  

One of my favourites was ‘Welly-gate’, where an Early Years school teacher had to contend with absolute chaos after a child discovered a live bat in their welly boot. I’ve learned that true facilitation happens when you create safety and opportunities for audiences to share their own stories, making the learning more meaningful to them.  

Laura Drury 

Whilst I’m still in denial that 2024 is drawing to its close, I can’t ignore the fact that this year has had some fab highlights.  

A couple of gems were working back home in my beloved Wales on a few occasions and delivering a session to 300 people in the Science Museum’s IMAX cinema for Adecco’s annual conference. However, anyone who knows Laughology well knows we advocate pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.  

Whether that be taking on new challenges, accepting and acting on feedback, or being truthful when it’s sometimes scary to do so - and I can gratefully say that I’ve been presented with opportunities to do all of these, too.  

As a result, I feel fuller and richer for it! Or is that because I’ve already had too much figgy pudding? I’ll leave you to decide.  

Victoria Maitland 

Picture this: a resilience workshop derailed by technology chaos.  

My PowerPoint crashed spectacularly in a crowded doctors' surgery, leaving me facing a room full of healthcare professionals with nothing but a flipchart and my catastrophically limited artistic skills. 

As I started drawing stick figures meant to represent emotional strength, the irony wasn't lost on anyone. My "bouncing back" diagram looked more like a drunk stick person falling over repeatedly. Limbs were disproportionate, emotions were indecipherable, and my attempts at illustrating resilience became a masterclass in embracing imperfection.  

It was certainly a learning opportunity and time to practice what I preach – teaching resilience through the most unintentional demonstration possible.  

Selina Brown 

Earlier this year, I delivered a session on growth mindset to non-teaching management staff as part of a ‘Big Chats, Little Chats’ management programme. As part of the session, I  gave them a ‘complicated’ task to figure out in pairs.  

In the past, when faced with this task, groups have struggled, complained a bit, and tried to bribe me to get the answer while I smiled and said, “No.” 

However, this wasn’t the case with this group and within record time, under 2 minutes to be exact, someone figured out the task and then promptly showed others how to do the same. Never one to show her panic, I smiled and thought about what I could do next. Luckily enough - and perhaps due to my background as a children’s entertainer - I always have a few games up my sleeve. The group were then able to discuss how they felt when they figured something out, compared to when the answer was given to them.  

So, my learning came from the process as well as the outcome, even if it didn’t look how I’d anticipated. The moral of this story is that I learn more when there are blunders in workshops because I get to problem solve using my creative thinking and practise a growth mindset myself!  

Although, perhaps if you attend one of my future workshops, you’ll just nod and agree? 

Louisa Rodriguez 

I was facilitating at a conference, and a woman attending the FLIP-it Thinking workshop showed me a picture of her copy of the Laughology book. She asked, 

“Is this book attached to your organisation?” 

I let her know that our CEO had written it. She then went on to say that she’d never heard of Laughology before finding the book two weeks ago; she bought it for her mum as she is training to be a stand-up comedian!  

She was so happy as she could now tell her mum the story of Laughology and the FLIP workshop when she gave her the book! 

What have I learned? That people are what make our work fun and an adventure, and we can always learn from the stories and thoughts shared in every workshop.  

Oh, and the importance of being prepared. You can never have too many Sharpies, Curly Wurlys and squidgy people! 

Alison Carter 

I’ve had a lovely year shadowing lots of great facilitators. I’m known for losing belongings - I like to think of it as my subconscious leaving a calling card to show where I have been. (I would make an absolutely terrible criminal.) 

On one occasion shadowing the lovely Kerry, I almost left my scarf, a Christmas present from my husband, behind. Kerry was kind enough to rush back in, retrieve it and meet me to hand it back.  

The day after, I received an email from Kerry with a photo of a pair of sunglasses. I’d left those, too! They’re inexpensive but my favourite pair. The client was super sweet and posted them back to me. However, within a month - yep! You guessed it! I lost them again. 

I think what I’ve learned from this is that this is why I can’t have nice things (or kids!).