While you may not typically think your brain is working hard when you are laughing, the exact opposite is true. Taking a humorous approach to a topic more actively engages an audience's brains and actually enhances learning. Here's how:

• Humor explores different dimensions.
  A straight-forward lecture on a topic is a very linear learning experience -- point to point to point. Humor is a more surprising approach, exploring different, often absurd, dimensions to a subject. The audience sees the content in new, unexpected ways.
  
  
• Humor uses both sides of your brain.
  The left side of the brain processes information logically; the right side processes information holistically. Humor occurs when the facts presented (left side thinking) are taken to a different, yet still logical, conclusion (right side). Your audience not only hears the information but also analyzes the outcomes in a more active way.
  
  
• Humor is more memorable!
  An audience must pay more attention to details to "get" what is funny about humorous material; therefore, they are more apt to retain the information and repeat it to others.