Doni Tamblyn
Doni Tamblyn is president and founder of HumorRules® LLC, a U.S.-based firm that has designed and delivered innovative business skills training since 1993. The HumorRules® system of training is based on common sense plus research, which shows that when people enjoy any task—including learning—they will work harder, “smarter,” and more creatively. HumorRules® has gained international recognition for its cutting-edge system, with a client list that includes Wyeth Europe, IDS Sabah (Malaysia), Wells Fargo Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, Novartis Pharma, the US Department of Agriculture, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, SKC Ltd. (England), Chevron USA Inc., and numerous other organizations in a wide range of industries.
Formerly a professional comedian and commercial actor with clients like Apple, Nestle and Hewlett Packard, Tamblyn got her singular start in the training business in 1990, when she was engaged by a California state-sponsored traffic school to revamp dull public education classes. Drawing from her entertainment background and her degree in Communication, she redesigned the courses using humorous learning activities and funny A/Vs, then recruited and trained a staff of 48 instructors to lead the classes. Within the following year, the school saw a rise of some 25% in attendee evaluation scores, and was ultimately chosen to be included in a quality control study by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
Convinced of the power of humor as a teaching tool, Tamblyn began studying brain research and the biological effects of humor. She discovered replicated studies showing how laughter significantly improves brain function and reverses some of the physiological effects of stress, improving both our health and our interpersonal relations. Indeed, the research strongly suggests that a little appropriate fun may be the cheapest TQM strategy an organization can employ! The best news, Tamblyn says, is that people are astonishingly adept at learning to use humor well. “People want to use more humor and creativity in their work,” she explains, “at first because they know it will make their work more fun, but later because they see it also makes them more productive. Seeing humor as an effective professional strategy, they catch on very quickly to the techniques for using it appropriately in the workplace.”
Doni Tamblyn has traveled the world both as a trainer and much-sought keynote speaker. She is a regular, invited presenter at international conferences for the American Society for Training and Development and the International Society for Humor Studies. She has taught the HumorRules® system of training through the University of California Extension Business and Management program, written numerous articles, been interviewed for radio and journalistic reports, and authored two widely-selling books, Laugh and Learn: 95 Ways to Use Humor for More Effective Teaching and Training (AMACOM Books, 2002) and The Big Book of Humorous Training Games (McGraw-Hill, 2000), both of which are being translated into other languages. She is a member of the American Society for Training and Development, the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor, and the International Society for Humor Studies.
