Know the Room, Own the Room: How Michael Earls Uses Humor to Keep Leadership Human in the Age of AI

Know the Room, Own the Room: How Michael Earls Uses Humor to Keep Leadership Human in the Age of AI

Author: Kate Davis | Keynote Speaker & Stand Up Comedian showing Leaders how to Leverage Humor July 14, 2026 Duration: 38:50
Key topics: Leadership development in the age of AI · humor as an icebreaker in corporate IT leadership · Who are the "new zombies"? · why empathy and emotion are what AI still can't replicate · AI hallucinations and the limits of large language models · curiosity as a leadership trait · knowing your room before you use humor · storytelling as the key to retention. Guest advice: "Own the room. Know the room." Michael's guiding principle for using humor as a leader, learned from a mentor years...

Kate Davis, a comic and keynote speaker, hosts Humor In The C-Suite, a podcast built on a simple but powerful idea: laughter is a serious business tool. Each episode features conversations with leaders, executives, and business owners who have moved beyond seeing humor as just a Friday afternoon perk. Instead, they explore how intentional levity can fundamentally reshape a workplace, fostering a culture where people feel connected, creative, and genuinely engaged. These discussions get into the practicalities and the psychology, asking whether humor can ever backfire, how it reframes challenges, and the ways it builds trust and curiosity within teams. You’ll hear real stories from the front lines of management about deploying wit during tough meetings, the role of personal storytelling in leadership, and how a lighter atmosphere can directly impact well-being and performance. This isn’t about memorizing jokes for the boardroom; it’s about cultivating an authentic, human approach to the pressures of high-stakes roles. The podcast naturally bridges several worlds-business strategy, mental resilience, and personal development-by examining how a sense of play isn’t opposed to professionalism but can be its foundation. Tune in for thoughtful, often funny, explorations of how the sound of laughter in the office might just be the sound of a company thriving.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Humor In The C-Suite
Podcast Episodes
Coding with Humor: Leadership Lessons from Tech CEO Jeroen Derwort [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:30
What does it look like when a shy kid who hated networking accidentally builds a game with 200 million players, survives corporate lawsuits, charms tax inspectors into forgetting why they came, and learns to lead by doin…
The Power of Asking the Right Questions with CEO Scott Burgmeyer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:54
What happens in the silence when nobody laughs? That question sits at the heart of this conversation between Kate Davis and Scott Burgmeyer, founder and CEO of the Become More Group. Scott has spent over three decades mo…