Laughter Keeps Your Team Connected笑聲拉近團隊關系

J.斯圖爾特·布萊克

Video conferencing has been around1 for more than 20 years. Until the pandemic， though， you would find that many if not most people needing to attend a meeting remotely would be calling from a real conference room full of their teammates. Today， were routinely holding video conferences that are 100% virtual. And that introduces a problem technology cant fix.

The problem is us， specifically the fact that we havent evolved socially—or even neurologically—to the point where we can bear much isolation. So much of our well being， and by extension2 what makes us productive， is predicated on physical proximity， that the removal of that proximity for any period of time can be severely damaging. One surprising casualty of social distancing？ Laughter.

Normally people laugh about 18 times per day. And 97% of that time were laughing with others—we are 30 times more likely to laugh with others than to laugh alone. Think about it： When was the last time you had a funny thought alone and laughed at it out loud？ Now think a bit more： How often when you laugh and your friends laugh at something， is that something actually funny？ It may surprise， but research shows that 80% of what people laugh at is really not that funny.

So why do people laugh？ They laugh because others laugh. They laugh in order to laugh with others. Just as everyone starts yawning when just one person yawns， most people cant help but laugh when those around them do. This is why comedy shows on TV have prerecorded laugh tracks.

Laughing in response to other people laughing is not just a behavioral phenomenon. When we laugh， our body releases two key chemicals. First， our pituitary gland3 releases endorphins4 into our blood where they make their way into the brain and spine. Endorphins are polypeptides5 that interact with opioid receptors in the brain to help relieve pain and trigger feelings of pleasure. In fact， studies show that people can endure 15% more pain simply by laughing for a few minutes beforehand.

Second， when we laugh， our brain releases dopamine6—a neurotransmitter7 that creates a sense of euphoria8. Dopamine can enhance learning， motivation， and attention. In fact， the overall health benefits of laughter and the neurochemicals involved include improved immune functioning， stress relief， increased tolerance for pain， improved cardiovascular health， reduced anxiety， sense of safety， and improved mood. Laughter is also associated with higher motivation and productivity at work. Which brings us back to Covid-19.

The isolation we have imposed on ourselves to combat the pandemic is severely curtailing social interaction， leading to decreased laughter， and a consequent reduction in beneficial chemicals that our bodies need. To make matters worse， the associated stress and fear we are experiencing alone is pushing our biochemicals in the wrong direction. When we are under threat， danger， or stress， our body releases cortisol9， a glucocorticoids10 hormone produced in the adrenal glands11 on top of each kidney， into the bloodstream. Most cells within the body have cortisol receptors， so its effects are widespread. Too much cortisol can result in weight gain， headaches， irritability， fatigue， difficulty concentrating， and high blood pressure.

So， what can you do as a team leader to mitigate these effects？ When taking on12 the job， you might not have thought that it would be your job to influence the body and brain chemistry of your subordinates. But in todays home-alone， virtual team world， thats exactly what you should be doing： for your team members to stay healthy and productive， you need to get them to laugh more and stress less. Does that mean that you need to become a comedian？ Not at all. But it does mean that you need to take deliberate steps to foster some laughter. Here are five concrete steps you can take to do that：

1. Slow down. Most leaders feel that they need to make every virtual interaction as fast and efficient as possible. When virtual interaction is all people have， this is a mistake. In these times of isolation， an important part of a leaders job is to socially， psychologically， and emotionally connect and reconnect the team and not just get work done. Laughter is one of the best ways to keep a team emotionally connected. But you need to give it time and space， even if you have to put off some of the actual work.

2. Get the video working. Humans are amazingly good at reading both visual and auditory clues and cues13 when it comes to14 laughter. The more channels you can give them to give and read cues the better. For that reason， make sure that all your people can and do attend via video， because that will increase the cue-flow for laughter.

3. Smile a lot and talk in a slightly higher voice. People naturally look to15 the leader of a meeting for signals as to what is okay in terms of behavior， including permission to laugh. The simplest and strongest facial signal that laughter is okay is a genuine smile. The key auditory cue is the pitch16 of your voice. Almost regardless of culture， a slightly higher pitch in your voice signals that you want to set a lighter rather than more serious tone for your group.

4. Set the example. Because like a yawn， laughter sparks laughter， perhaps nothing is more powerful in generating some laughter in your team than laughing yourself. However， just as people can generally differentiate between genuine and fake smiles， they can tell the difference between a real and a forced laugh—which leads to the final recommendation.

5. Get in the mood yourself. You need to start with your own chemistry ahead of any meeting. Its easier to keep laughter （and its neurochemicals） going than it is to start cold17 in front of all the faces on your Zoom page. Ideally get yourself laughing—even for just a few seconds—in advance. Id advise watching a funny video just before the meeting starts.

One day， when we find a vaccine for the coronavirus， well be able get back to more natural social interactions. But it is very likely that even after the crisis is over， more people will work more often from home alone， which means the laughter issue is here to stay—because no matter how much better the tech gets， social behavior and neurochemistry evolve over thousands of years. Since that pace is unlikely to accelerate suddenly over the two， 20， or even 200 years， leaders are going to have to get good at making laughter happen.

視頻會議至今已有20多年的歷史。然而，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，直到新冠疫情暴發(fā)之前，很多（即使不是大多數(shù)）需要遠程參加會議的人，還是喜歡在一間坐滿團隊成員的真正會議室里發(fā)起視頻會議。今天，我們日常的視頻會議才是100%虛擬的。但是，這帶來一個問題，用技術也難以解決。

問題在于我們自身，確切地說，是我們的社會性——甚至神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)——尚未達到能夠忍受長期隔離的程度。我們的幸福感，乃至讓我們做事高效的東西，過于依賴近距離接觸，在任何一段時間內不和人接觸，就會產(chǎn)生嚴重后果。保持社交距離還會對某樣事物造成傷害，你可能想不到吧？就是笑聲。

正常情況下，人們每天要笑18次左右，而其中97%是我們和別人一起笑——和別人一起笑的可能性是獨自發(fā)笑的30倍。試回想一下，你上次暗自生出可笑的念頭并為之開懷大笑是在什么時候？現(xiàn)在再想想，有多少次，你笑的時候朋友也跟著笑，而你們所笑之事真的好笑嗎？說起來或許出乎意料，但研究表明，人們所笑之事中有80%并非真的那么好笑。

那么，人們?yōu)楹我Γ克麄冃κ且驗閯e人在笑。他們笑是為了和別人一起笑。這就好比一個人一打哈欠，人人都跟著打哈欠;身邊的人一笑，大多數(shù)人也忍不住跟著笑。電視上的喜劇片都配有預先錄制的笑聲，道理正在于此。

別人笑就跟著笑，這并非僅僅是一種行為現(xiàn)象。我們一笑起來，身體就釋放出兩種重要的化學物質。其一，垂體分泌內啡肽到血液中，并通過血液進入大腦和脊椎。內啡肽是一種多肽，它與大腦中阿片受體相互作用，從而緩解疼痛并引起快感。實際上，研究表明，人只要提前笑上幾分鐘就能多忍受15%以上的疼痛。

其二，我們發(fā)笑時，大腦釋放出多巴胺——一種能引起興奮感覺的神經(jīng)遞質。多巴胺可改善學習、提高干勁、強化注意力。事實上，笑及相關神經(jīng)化學物質對健康的總體益處包括增強免疫功能、緩解壓力、提高疼痛耐受度、改善心血管健康狀況、減少焦慮、帶來安全感以及改善情緒。笑還能提高工作積極性和做事效率。談到這里，讓我們再回到新冠疫情。

我們?yōu)榭箵粢咔槎扇〉膹娭聘綦x，嚴重限制了社會交往，笑聲也隨之減少，從而使我們身體所需的有益化學物質分泌減少。更糟糕的是，我們獨自感受到的的相關壓力和恐懼把我們的生化物質引向歧途。當我們處于威脅、危險或壓力之下，身體就釋放出皮質醇——由雙腎頂端的腎上腺分泌的一種糖皮質激素——進入血液。體內大多數(shù)細胞都有皮質醇受體，所以皮質醇的影響甚廣。過多的皮質醇會導致體重增加、頭痛、易怒、疲勞、注意力渙散及高血壓。

那么，一個團隊的領導該如何減輕這些影響呢？你著手這項工作時，可能并未意識到，你的工作就是要影響下屬的身體和大腦中的化學物質。在今天這種人人居家的虛擬團隊環(huán)境中，這就是你應當做的：為了讓團隊成員保持健康、工作高效，你要讓他們多笑一笑，少些緊張。莫非你得變身喜劇演員？大可不必！但這確實意味著你要采取從容的步驟來逗人發(fā)笑。你可以參考以下五個具體步驟：

1. 慢下來。大多數(shù)領導都覺得他們應當盡可能快速高效地進行每一次虛擬交流。在人們只能進行虛擬交流時，追求速度是錯誤的。當此隔離時期，領導者的一項重要工作是從社交、心理和情感方面反復強化團隊成員間的聯(lián)系，而不僅僅是完成任務。笑聲是聯(lián)系團隊情感的最佳方式之一。但你要為此留出時間和空間，哪怕不得不推遲一些實際工作。

2. 發(fā)揮視頻的作用。說到笑聲，人類特別善于領會視覺和聽覺上的線索和信號。你給他們提供傳遞和領會信號的渠道越多越好。為此，要確保團隊的所有成員都能夠真正通過視頻參與進來，因為這會增加引發(fā)笑聲的信號傳播。

3. 多多微笑，聲調略高。人們自然會留意會議主導者發(fā)出的信號，據(jù)此判斷什么行為是適當?shù)?，包括是否允許發(fā)笑。鼓勵笑聲最簡單也是最有力的面部表情信號，是真誠的微笑。聽覺上的主要暗示是你的音調。幾乎不論何種文化，略微提高你的音調都表示你想為團隊設定比較輕松而非更為嚴肅的調子。

4. 樹立榜樣。要在你的團隊中引發(fā)笑聲，可能沒有比你自己先笑更有效的方法了，因為這就好比打哈欠，笑聲才能激起笑聲。然而，正如人們一般都能區(qū)分真誠的微笑和虛假的微笑，他們也能分辨出真心的大笑和勉強的大笑——由此引出下述最后一點建議。

5. 調動情緒。在任何會議前，你都要先開啟自己的“化學反應”。面對視頻會議軟件Zoom界面上的所有面孔，讓笑聲（及其神經(jīng)化學物質）持續(xù)不斷，比貿(mào)然開始更容易。最好自己先笑起來，哪怕只有幾秒鐘也好。我建議在會議即將開始前看一段搞笑視頻。

有朝一日，當我們找到對付新冠病毒的疫苗，那時我們就能回歸更自然的社會交往。但就算危機過去了，很可能會有更多的人更頻繁地獨自在家工作，這就意味著笑的問題依然存在——因為不管技術怎樣進步，社交行為和神經(jīng)化學是歷經(jīng)了數(shù)千年才形成的，其進化節(jié)奏不大可能在未來兩年、二十年甚至兩百年內突然加速，領導者還必須要善于引發(fā)笑聲才行。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）