Despite eating too much cake and finding other people's toilet misfortunes amusing, as you will find out shortly, Kerry is brilliantly talented at engaging a room, getting even the most sceptic of audience members or delegates on board.
Kerry Leigh, one of the longest serving members of the Laughology team, has an amazing knowledge of Laughology for personal and professional development, the science behind it and the psychology to back it all up. She's warm and fun to be around, creative and incredibly passionate about people and helping them be their best or helping them understand how to get the best out of others. She's also very very funny!
Exceptional facilitator, motivational speaker and brilliant at delivering team days and bespoke people development programmes. Particularly skilled in Presentation skills training, Unconscious bias and gender balance programmes as well as delivering the Laughology model for well-being and resilience. Kerry also delivers in schools with teacher inset days and at head teacher conferences.
We asked Kerry:
What do you really enjoy doing?
'Working with different groups of people. The joy of working with Laughology is no 2 days are ever the same. I am always meeting new people who constantly surprise me and keep me on my toes. One of the best parts of Laughology work (and indeed stand-up comedy) is having to think on my feet'.
What has been your funniest moment at Laughology?
It still remains when Stephanie (CEO) dropped her headset down the toilet at a massive corporate (successful!) event and then tried drying it off in the hotel room with a hairdryer! When she told the tech man you'd spilt a drink on it and he just looked at you deadpan and said: 'You dropped it in the toilet didn't you?'
What are your wise words of wisdom for personal development, staying positive and dealing with challenges?
Believe it or not whilst loving Laughology and being good great (correction by HQ) at my job, historically I have not always been a positive person. It's something I've worked hard at with the help of Laughology. I am naturally enthusiastic and have a 'glass half-full' attitude but like a typical artist can sometimes let insecurities get in the way. My advice to others is to accept your foibles (rather than work against them) , use good humour to keep perspective and learn to laugh at yourself when you make mistakes. Don't be afraid of asking for help - it's not a sign of weakness. Oh, and in times of trouble? Eat cake.
What's your favourite part of being in the Laughology team?
Well it just might get a bit schmaltzy here, but I really do enjoy working with such a likeable group of people who think differently and are great fun to be with.
What was the last event you did?
The most recent event I did was the morning of an INSET day in January with 60 staff at Cross Hall Primary School, where we covered laughter, humour and learning and how to create a Happy-Centred School. The staff took part with great enthusiasm, enjoyed an upbeat start to their new term, and left with some new ideas to use humour in the classroom as well as coping mechanism for themselves.
What has been your favourite event to date and why?
That's a hard one! So many to choose from...What's sticking in my mind at the moment is when fellow Laughologists Dave Keeling, Juliette Yardley and I delivered a bespoke session for Flintshire Council that involved lots of improvised comedy involving the employees to illustrate how to deal with different and sometimes difficult situations at work. It was received really well, the staff had a ball and management were ecstatic with the outcome. I think it is one of the most enjoyable events to date because of the variety - working hard planning and designing the day, then we worked so well as a team on the day, with the added frisson of not quite knowing how it would go as you never do with improvisation.
What do you really enjoy doing at Laughology?
Essentially I really enjoy engaging with people and helping them to think differently whichever Laughology course it is that I am delivering. I love introducing the Laughology model, and then facilitating ways for people to explore how to use humour in their own lives / workplaces. I suppose the key word is 'facilitation' - helping people to feel like really taking part and embracing a different way of thinking that can benefit them and seeing them have 'lightbulb' moments. Most recently working with groups looking at 'unconscious bias' has been a liberating eye-opener for both me and trainees.
What you may not know about Kerry is she also regularly performs stand-up and her new show Kerry Leigh Wants to Marry Her Brother is on this month at:
Bar Wotever in the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in London from 20:00 to 23:00.
With her usual mixture of warmth and hilarity Kerry shares a love story with a difference.
This show debuted at the Women in Comedy Festival in October 2014 to a sell-out audience and received a standing ovation.
