Professors Are from Mars®, Students Are from Snickers®: How to Write and Deliver Humor in the Classroom and in Professional Presentations

Professors and students seem to come from different planets (or candy bars). Barriers frequently exist that impede their communication, such as age, income and cholesterol level.

Humor can break down these barriers so that professors can better connect with their students and other audiences. It can be used as a teaching tool to facilitate learning. Ron Berk describes and illustrates a wide variety of techniques that can be integrated systematically into instruction and professional presentations. For professors who consider themselves as "jocularly arthritic", this book moreover provides a special feature: it is close-captioned for the humor impaired.

Berk's techniques are "the product of ten years of inadequate development, testing and research." But why take the author's words at their face value? Consider the testimonials of those who have actually attempted these methods in their own classes and presentations:

'Before I tried Ron's methods in my philosophy class, I had an attendance problem. Now, no one comes to class.' -- H.I., Slot Machine U., Nevada

'Applying humor to my engineering courses led me to understand the meaning of humiliation and rejection.' -- J.K., Toyota College, Kentucky