How Humor Can Enhance Safety Culture

How Humor Can Enhance Safety Culture

When we think of safety, we often picture serious discussions, strict protocols, and careful caution. Humor, on the other hand, brings to mind light-hearted fun and entertainment. So, combining humor with safety might seem contradictory—like mixing oil and water or mixing Guinness and ale to create an atrocious concoction that Americans like to refer to as a "black & tan."

However, humor can actually be a powerful ally in promoting safety, making crucial messages more memorable and helping people engage more actively with safety protocols. When used thoughtfully, humor can enhance a safety culture, creating a more approachable environment where people are encouraged to participate and take safety seriously.

As a humorous, motivational speaker to manufacturing and safety conferences, I present serious business messsages which I like to reinforce regularly with a humorous anecdote or incident. Why?

Well, consider how humor catches our attention and makes information stick. Traditional safety messages—whether in signs, videos, or presentations—can sometimes fall flat or even be ignored because they’re perceived as repetitive or overly serious. The message becomes simply wallpaper that garner little attention.

Humor in Presentations Builds Connection and Engagement

But add a little wit, and suddenly you have a message that stands out and invites people to pay attention. Humorous safety videos, for example, can turn routine reminders into engaging content that employees actually want to watch. Instead of feeling lectured to, people feel entertained, and as a result, they are more likely to absorb and remember the information. Laughter helps create connections, making the message resonate on a personal level. It also builds memorability which is critical in the safety environment.

If you as a leader or trainer use humor to admit your own slip-ups (and we've all had them) or share light-hearted stories about learning from mistakes, it will foster a culture where everyone feels more comfortable talking about safety concerns. This openness can lead to more conversations about potential risks, near-misses, and ways to improve safety practices.

Humor Must Not Trivialize your Safety Message

Of course, humor in safety must be used with care. It’s essential to strike the right balance, ensuring that the humor never trivializes the importance of safety. Instead, humor should be used to support the message, making it clear that while safety is a serious priority, it doesn’t have to be intimidating or uncomfortable to talk about. Humor should serve as an invitation for everyone to be engaged and mindful, rather than a way to gloss over the significance of the issue.

Humor should REINFORCE the safety message

Ultimately, a well-crafted safety culture that includes humor can be both effective and enjoyable. Don't have your audience laughing for the sake of laughing. Make them laugh with a message that reinforces your very serious message.

When people can laugh and relate to safety messages, they’re more likely to participate actively and feel invested in maintaining a safe environment. So, don’t shy away from humor—it might just be the secret ingredient to making safety stick.

Interested in Adding Humor to your Presentation: The Course

Your author

Conor Cunneen is IrishmanSpeaks. He is happily exiled in Chicago where he earns a living as a humorous motivational speaker whose mission is to Improve People, Performance & Productivity with a Smile.

His acclaimed course on Adding Humor to your Presentation will ensure your next presentation leaves your audience with a smile on the face, a spring in the step and memorable, actionable takeaways to Keep On, Keepin’ ON.