Karyn Buxman

While in graduate school, Karyn Buxman combined her research with the one thing that enabled her to get through an entire day without losing her sanity: humor. The result became her Master’s Thesis: The Development and Implementation of a Humor Room in a Hospital Setting. Now an internationally recognized expert on humor, she puts her studies to work by delivering energy-charged keynotes that entertain, motivate and educate audiences nationwide.

Karyn realizes that helping businesses, healthcare institutions and associations discover effective solutions to achieving performance recuperation, maintaining healthy work environments and adding balance to work life issues is no joke?but it can be a laughing matter!

Recently bestowed the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH), she?s an internationally acclaimed expert and humorist who recognizes the operational benefits of humor and laughter. Karyn’s highly regarded skills as an entrepreneur and professional speaker help her deliver outcome-oriented messages that move ideas and people forward. Just ask the folks at NASA, Johnson & Johnson, and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, to name a few.

Karyn’s ability to both articulate and entertain have led to her appearances on national television programs such as Iyanla, numerous regional television appearances in conjunction with her speaking tours, and as a frequent radio guest on local, regional and nationally syndicated programs. It’s also why she’s quoted again and again not only in professional journals, such as the American Journal of Nursing and Nursing Spectrum, but in lay magazines such as Marie Claire, Shape, and Woman’s World. American Airline magazine, AmericanWay, included her humor tips for their business article, Job One: Relax, and recently Frontier Airlines featured an entire article, The Good Humor Lady, about Karyn in their monthly magazine. She?s also recognized online for her expertise on sites such as ABCnews.com and Monster.com.

Karyn’s ability to write is evident in her contributions to Chicken Soup for the Nurses? Soul, Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman’s Soul and Humor Me; America’s Funniest Humorists On the Power of Laughter. For 10 years she was a contributing editor for the Journal of Nursing Jocularity and for 5 years edited the national newsletter for AATH. Her articles appear in numerous professional and industry journals such as Professional Speaker, Tax-Pro Monthly and Healthcare Review. Karyn also wrote and published, This Won’t Hurt a Bit! And other Fractured Truths in Healthcare, a 96 page collection of stories, quotes, jokes and cartoons for those on the giving and receiving end of healthcare and is currently working with her agent on her latest book in which Karyn will reveal her Laugh Strategies to the world.

Karyn’s impact is felt globally through her involvement with the International Society of Humor Studies (ISHS) and in 1999 helped co-found The World Laughter Tour, an organization striving for world peace through laughter. Their creed: “Together we can lead the world to health, happiness, and peace through laughter.”

Karyn holds a distinguished position in the world of speaking. She has earned the National Speakers Association?s (NSA) Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation (held by less than 7% of professional speakers), and is one of only 166 experts (26 women) in the world awarded admission into the NSA Speaker Hall of Fame (CPAE). Speaking approximately 40 times a year to audiences ranging in size from 75 to 7500, both her attendees and her peers see her as one of the very best in the speaking profession.

Her fellow nurses sang her praises when awarding her the Missouri Nurse of the Year, 9th District, and recently her Alma Matter, University of Missouri, honored her by designating her as one of the distinguished 2003 Faculty Alumni Award winners. The Mayor of Muskogee, OK designated her as an official ?Okee from Muskogee, and in 1999, the Governor of Kentucky bestowed upon her the elite title of Kentucky Colonel! Most recently, Karyn was honored by the American Association for Applied & Therapeutic Humor with their most prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Being the 2004 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award signifies that Karyn has demonstrated an extraordinary impact on the field of therapeutic humor throughout her career via her speaking, writing, research and professional practice, as well as contributing to AATH’s mission.

Karyn is President and founder of HUMORx, a humor-based management and communications company. Since 1991, HUMORx has provided remedies to organizations seeking simple, workable ideas to their human performance problems. Through her years of research and experience, she’s determined that humor and its powerful consequences (physiological, psychological, social and spiritual) offer benefits in the work place that can be the catalyst for change that will move groups forward and allow individuals to live more positive, productive and happier lives. Karyn is serious about humor!

When Funny Means Money: Humor as a Serious Business Strategy

Do you think that humor and business don’t go together? Think again! There’s a good reason why American Express paid Jerry Seinfeld millions of dollars to star in their ads. They know that. While logic tells, emotion sells and that humor is the quickest route to the emotions. In this keynote you will learn: How humor functions as a leadership tool, a sales aid, and a customer service strategy; how humor goes to the bottom line; the neuroscience behind how and why humor bypasses people’s logic circuits, and influences their buying decisions through emotion; and specific strategies for utilizing humor in your business and your life.

I've Got One Nerve Left - and You're Standing on It

Expanding responsibilities, shrinking budgets, cranky coworkers, family demands, too much to do and not enough time to do it! Is it any wonder that we’re all a little edgy? Find out how taking care of yourself can affect everyone’s bottom line. Learn how to get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling. Discover how to survive and thrive in a world of change.

This Won't Hurt a Bit And Other Fractured Truths in Healthcare

Sicker patients, irritable docs, cranky coworkers, days that are long on hours and short on resources. It’s obvious that the state of health care today is no joke but it just may be a laughing matter, if we understand that humor is frequently generated by painful circumstances. Karyn understands that those who can’t learn to laugh in the midst of this highly stressful profession usually leave it. In a hysterically entertaining keynote, Karyn connects with fellow healthcare workers to help them get through the toughest of days and still remain smiling. A great opening or closing keynote.

It's Always Something

You’ve got cancer. Three words that strike fear in people’s hearts and conjure up concerns of chemo, radiation, surgery, pain, nausea, stress, anxiety and fatigue not to mention hair loss. And as (comedienne and cancer patient) Gilda Radner would say, “It’s always something.” Cancer survivors and their care givers need lots of tools in their arsenal to fight cancer and humor is a surprisingly powerful tool. Speaker, humor researcher, nurse and cancer-survivor’s-Mom Karyn Buxman will teach you how to twist your perceptions, play with your pain, and experience the gifts of humor and laughter.

Is The Noise In My Head Bothering You? (Humor For Women)

Ever talk to yourself? Answer yourself? Argue with yourself? Self-talk can boost or blast one’s self-esteem. It all depends on the way you think. Karyn has spent countless hours with some of the world’s leading experts in the field of axiology or the study of how a person thinks. Through hysterical examples, Karyn shares insights on how to harness the self-talk for personal and professional success. This general session is appropriate for any general session slot, and is an especially great way to set the tone in an opening session or leave them with a great impression at the closing session.

The response we've received from our conference attendees has been overwhelming! Karyn Buxman's background in nursing was truly an asset in working with our group she understands what they go through on a daily basis, and that was brilliantly conveyed to them throughout her presentation. The high energy delivery of her keynote really kicked the meeting off right Karyn was a tough act to follow for (our next speaker) to follow! — Infusion Nurses Society

You are a joy, Karyn Buxman. Thank you for being a part of our little event. Everyone had great comments afterwards and were as happy as monkeys in a banana tree at the end of the day. You were great! Let's do it again sometime soon! — W5Creative

Thanks you again for being a part of our CKE Team Event in Vegas this year. I very much appreciated everything you did to make our event such a GREAT SUCCESS and BIGGER, BETTER & BOLDER!! Thank you for the GREAT presentation and your wonderful presence at our event. Its an honor and pleasure meeting you and You were FABULOUS! PS: I'm still using my magic wand. It hasn't lost its power yet! LOL!!!" — CKE Restaurants, INC

OMG!!! You are the BEST speaker we have ever had!!! My friends told me if you were talking again, they would fly to hear you! They had tears in their eyes from laughing so much. My cheeks were aching, too. I would be happy to talk or email anyone who wants to know about you. You have a talent and thanks for sharing it with us! — National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses