Every organization today claims to be “building resilience.”
Usually this involves a PowerPoint presentation, a laminated wallet card, and someone suggesting we all practice mindfulness while our inbox accumulates 147 unanswered emails per minute.
Dr. Linda Henman has different ideas.
After more than forty years studying leaders under pressure—and conducting groundbreaking doctoral research with Vietnam Prisoners of War—she reached a surprising conclusion: resilient people don’t survive because they ignore hardship. They survive because they refuse to let hardship have the last laugh. That’s how the Vietnam POWs avoided PTSD.
The Vietnam POWs endured years of isolation, torture, uncertainty, and deprivation. Yet, they talked about how humor saved them. They found absurdity in an impossible situation because humor reminded them of something their captors could never take away: their identity. Modern psychology eventually caught up with them.
Studies now confirm humor lowers stress, strengthens relationships, improves creativity, broadens perspective, and helps people recover more quickly from setbacks.
In this entertaining and research-based keynote, Dr. Henman combines remarkable stories from the Vietnam POWs, practical leadership lessons, and enough laughter to make audiences temporarily forget they still have 843 unread emails waiting for them.
Participants will discover how humor:
- Reduces stress and emotional exhaustion through psychological muscle
- Improves adaptability during change by reframing setbacks and disappointments
- Strengthens relationships and team cohesion
- Enhances creativity and problem-solving
- Builds resilience in individuals and organizations
- Helps leaders maintain perspective under pressure
- Increases optimism, engagement, and perseverance
Grounded in Dr. Henman’s original research and supported by current studies on humor, resilience, PTSD recovery, emotional agility, and post-traumatic growth, this keynote delivers practical tools audiences can apply immediately.
Because the truth is simple. Life will continue throwing curveballs. The best leaders learn how to hit them, and the wisest leaders occasionally laugh at the pitcher.
