Humans love stories – always have, always will. Our brains are innately wired to learn from the experience of others, and when we hear a story, we lean forward and prick up our ears.

So one of the most effective ways to engage employees is through telling stories and in the right context, by adding a little humour.

The influence of humour in professional settings extends beyond mere entertainment. Used in the right way, it can transform communication dynamics, making leaders more approachable and relatable. A recent study by McKinsey found that leaders who are prepared to share a sense of humour are 27% more motivating; employees who work for these leaders are 15% more engaged; and their teams are twice as likely to solve a creative challenge*.

One way to use humour effectively in a business setting is to harness the magic of parody.
Parody, by definition, is all about taking a story an audience a story they already know and repurposing it. This familiarity ensures that the story will resonate because the audience is already connected to it. Using parody as a method of storytelling to deliver key objectives and messages can really work.

Parody works because it’s laced with humour, it’s relatable and therefore memorable. And parody has a long history – from the ancient Greeks to SNL sketches, parody as an art form allows the court jester to say what others can’t and the audience to see their superiors in a light they can’t officially acknowledge, Parody’s purpose has always been to invert, exaggerate, and to employ irony. In short, parody is all about context.

By using parody to tell business stories, half the battle is won – employees are more likely to connect with the content because the audience can contextualise the business messages being weaved into the story within an already familiar narrative.

And there’s psychology behind why parody works… A study in the “Journal of Applied Social Psychology” found that satire and parody create ‘cognitive dissonance’ (the mental struggle we experience when a parody makes us juggle conflicting ideas, laugh at serious things, or rethink our views), which can lead to increased critical thinking about the subjects being parodied.

By using parody in your communications, yes your audience gets to relax into the story being told because it’s light-hearted and humorous, but their brains are aware that there’s more to it than meets the eye (your business messages) and that makes them pay even more attention.

For example, we produced a parody sketch for one of our clients based on the ‘Top Gun’ franchise. When we were in the scripting phase it was really important that we worked closely with the client, incorporating inside jokes and casting employees in roles tailored to their positions and personalities, ensuring relatability and resonance for the target audience.

And whilst the cast had lots of fun making the film, and the audience had a lot of fun watching it, the project was ultimately successful because the jokes and the slapstick existed within the context of the overarching themes of ‘Top-Gun’ and these themes aligned with our client’s key messages – high performance, accountability, and working together as a team despite the odds.

Embracing humour as a leader exudes confidence. It shows that a leader is comfortable in their role and capable of connecting with their team on a personal level. By allowing themselves to be seen in a humorous light by their employees, leaders can show a side of themselves that people don’t often get to see.

A great example of this was The Queen’s own parody sketch during the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, when she sky dived into the Olympic stadium alongside Daniel Craig during the London 2012 Opening Ceremony. It was funny, it was innovative, it was unexpected – but what was the underlying message? The Queen lived to serve her country, not herself.

And Parody can enable the revealing of underlying truths in a way that might not usually be possible. For a leader, it essentially gives them a free pass to acknowledge truths that in other contexts they may not feel comfortable addressing – because it’s not them saying it – they’re playing a character ; )

The power of parody in communications lies in its ability to connect, engage, and entertain. It transforms routine communications into memorable experiences, helping to build stronger, more cohesive teams and enhancing overall workplace engagement, all while having a laugh and potentially winning awards.