Humor as a Tool for Leadership Under Pressure
One of the things I love most about speaking — besides luxuriating in the cheap validation of strangers — is meeting other speakers.
Most professional speakers are doing it because their lives and careers have given them a unique perspective on the world, which means they have some pretty amazing stories to share.
Many become my one-to-one clients, where I help them upgrade their keynotes by enhancing the humor, humanity, and storytelling for increased connection, clarity, and engagement.
One speaker/friend/client is Squash Falconer, who is the first British woman to climb and paraglide from the summit of Mont Blanc, having ridden there from the UK on her motorbike. She's also summited Everest and is the world’s highest ever bum boarder. (And you thought I had an interesting CV!)
Because I'm a humor nerd, I love asking highly successful people this question:
Beth and Squash on a London meet-up
How Do You Use Humor as a Tool?
When I asked Squash, she immediately answered:
“I use it to cope. If I’m in a life or death situation, I’d rather die laughing."
I asked her for a specific example, so she told me about the time she fell off Mt Blanc (you heard me), still tethered to her climbing partner.
As she tells it:
"We were literally tumbling to our death, and we stopped ourselves with ice axes.
When we finally came to a stop and realized we were still alive, it was total silence. So, to break the silence, I said, ‘Sorry about that.’”
For any comedy nerds, the technical term for that is understatement.
Humor Isn’t Extra — It’s Essential
Humor at work isn’t gratuitous. It’s an incredibly powerful tool that lets us communicate a whole lot in a short space — things like, “OMFG, we almost just died!!!”
And while you may not be hanging off a cliff with your team, there’s a good chance you’re leading them through moments that carry their own kind of pressure — major changes, tough announcements, or meetings where the stakes feel impossibly high.
In those moments, humor can do exactly what it did for Squash on that mountain: cut the tension, create connection, and remind everyone that you’re in it together.
What This Means for Leaders
Leaders who use humor as a strategic tool don’t just get laughs — they:
Cut through tension
in high-pressure conversations.
Clarify key messages
when the stakes are high.
Build stronger connections
that make teams feel safe, engaged, and aligned.
Humor in business isn’t about telling jokes. It’s about using humor as a tool for clarity, humanity, and resilience.
👉 Want your teams to communicate with more impact? Book me for a keynote, or let’s run an interactive workshop where I’ll show your team how to use the BETH framework to harness the power of humor for clarity, connection, and stronger results in business. [Schedule a call]
