Andrew Tarvin

We do good work. We prepare thoroughly, present the data clearly, and communicate with precision. So why do we keep seeing lesser ideas get a better response? Why do our well-researched proposals get polite nods in the meeting and then quietly die in the parking lot?

Most of us try to fix this the way we fix everything: more data, stronger arguments, wordier slides. But the gap between good work and real influence isn’t an efficiency problem. It’s an effectiveness one. And the most effective communicators in the world use a skill the rest of us have been trained to suppress.

That skill is humor. Not telling jokes or being “the funny one,” but a learnable communication skill that gets people to pay attention, care about what you’re saying, and actually do something about it.

In this refreshingly funny keynote, Humor Engineer Andrew Tarvin shares the approach he’s used with organizations like Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and the UN to transform how teams communicate. You’ll discover the improv principle we taught NASA that they now use before meetings, why the Red Cross believes boredom has serious consequences, and what happens when one engineer adds a single line of humor to a routine email.

Your Team Walks Away Able To:

Identify the gap between efficient communication and effective communication, and recognize which one they’ve been optimizing for.

Apply a practical framework for adding humor to professional communication without sacrificing credibility.

Use specific humor techniques to make presentations, meetings, and written communication more engaging and memorable.

Distinguish between humor as entertainment and humor as a strategic communication skill they can develop regardless of personality type.

How effective of a leader are you? Maybe not quite as strong as you think: 81% of leaders consider themselves inspiring while only 18% of their direct reports agree. This disconnect creates the potentially fatal flaw of “unleadership”, the unintentional behaviors that disengage, demotivate, and discourage the people in your organization.

Today’s leaders have to unlock the talent of those around them, adapt on their feet, and show confidence leading through change, regardless of circumstances. In short, they must improvise. This is not about making things up or “winging it,” but leveraging your experience and strengths to execute in the moment.

In this engaging and interactive program, you’ll learn the vital leadership values needed to lead in today’s fast-changing world. Fusing the latest in leadership theory with advanced techniques from improvisation, you will not only learn what it means to lead on your feet, you’ll also develop the skills to do it, today.

Your Team Walks Away Able To:

Spot and close the gap between intention and action to avoid the pitfalls of unleadership.

Follow the five vital leadership values to keep your team motivated, engaged, and resilient.

Elevate your leadership style for any setting (in-person, remote, or somewhere in between) so you can thrive in any environment.

Today’s leaders have to unlock the talent of those around them, adapt on their feet, and show confidence leading through change, regardless of circumstances. In short, they must improvise. This is not about making things up or “winging it,” but leveraging existing experience and strengths to execute with excellence in the moment.In this engaging and interactive program, you’ll learn the vital leadership values needed to lead in today’s fast-changing world. Fusing the latest in leadership theory with advanced techniques from improvisation, you will learn what it means to lead on your feet and develop the skills to do it.

We’re good at our jobs. We show up, deliver, and get things done. So why does it feel like we’re just going through the motions? Why is our default answer to “How was your day?” always “Fine” and never “Incredible,” “Life-changing,” or at least, “Pretty good, actually?”

We keep telling ourselves it’ll get better. After this project. After this quarter. After this one last reorg that’s definitely going to fix everything. But research shows that formula is wrong. Happiness doesn’t follow success. It drives it. And the fastest way to start is a skill most of us abandoned somewhere between our first performance review and our forty-seventh meeting of the week.

That skill is humor. Not mandatory fun or toxic positivity, but an intentional practice that changes how you experience your work… and how your work responds to you.

In this refreshingly funny keynote, Humor Engineer Andrew Tarvin shares the research, stories, and practical tools behind humor as a daily professional habit — not to make your team funnier, but to make their work better. You’ll hear why his mom’s career in HR produced the best (and most annoying) advice he’s ever received, the Austrian tradition of Cake and Champagne that transformed his company’s culture, and the one-smile-per-hour habit that organizations like Microsoft and NASA have adopted to change how their teams show up every day.

Your Team Walks Away Able To:

Recognize the research-backed connection between workplace enjoyment and professional performance, and why the “success first, happiness later” formula doesn’t work.

Practice the one-smile-per-hour habit and other daily humor techniques that shift how they experience routine work.

Create small, intentional moments of celebration and connection that compound into lasting culture change.

Take ownership of their own workplace experience rather than waiting for external conditions to improve.