Why good humor makes for good business

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Humor Us.

Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas teach a class at Stanford's business school called 'Humor: Serious Business.' They say humor is vastly undervalued in business and is key to good leadership.

About Jennifer Aaker

Jennifer Aaker is a behavioral scientist and a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Aaker got her bachelor's in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and earned her Ph.D. in marketing and psychology from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2010, she co-wrote the book, "The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways To Use Social Media to Drive Social Change."

About Naomi Bagdonas

Naomi Bagdonas is a lecturer in management at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She runs workshops for companies ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies.

Bagdonas earned her bachelor's degree in economics and psychology from Claremont McKenna College and got her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Aaker and Bagdonas co-wrote the book "Humor, Seriously," which was published in 2021.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Matthew Cloutier and edited by Katie Simon. You can follow us on Twitter @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.