| Acknowledgments | p. xi |
| List of the 95 Ways | p. xiii |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Part I The What and Why |
| Chapter 1 You've Got to Start Here: What Is Humor, Anyway? | p. 7 |
| The Case Against Teaching Through Stand-Up Comedy | p. 9 |
| The Case for Using Humor in Teaching (and Life in General) | p. 10 |
| Chapter 2 Come to Think of It, What Is Brain-Compatible Learning? | p. 17 |
| Uniqueness | p. 21 |
| Cycles, Rhythms, and Making Meaning | p. 22 |
| Intrinsic Motivation | p. 22 |
| The Von Restorff Effect | p. 23 |
| States | p. 24 |
| Nonconscious Learning | p. 26 |
| Multipath Learning | p. 27 |
| Rhyme, Rhythm, and Music | p. 29 |
| Chapter 3 Okay, So Why Use Humor to Deliver Brain-Compatible Learning? | p. 33 |
| The First and Best Reason: It's Easy and Everyone's Naturally Good at It | p. 35 |
| The Second Reason: It Substantially Reduces Stress and Threat | p. 36 |
| The Third Reason: It Draws People Together | p. 37 |
| The Fourth Reason: It Enlists Two of the Communicator's Best Friends--Relevancy and Visual Memory | p. 37 |
| The Fifth Reason: It Engages Emotion | p. 38 |
| The Sixth Reason: It Allows the Brain to Take Regular "Breathers" for Meaning-Making, Heightened Attention, and Review | p. 39 |
| Part II The How |
| Chapter 4 It's Easy--And You Can Make It Easier! Five Rules for Using Humor Naturally, Successfully, and Without Fear | p. 47 |
| Rule #1 Cut Yourself--and Others--Some Gosh-Darned Slack! | p. 49 |
| Rule #2 Don't Be Original | p. 57 |
| Rule #3 Make Positive Choices | p. 59 |
| Rule #4 Focus Out, Not In | p. 66 |
| Rule #5 Always Acknowledge the "Bomb"! | p. 74 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 79 |
| Chapter 5 Deposing the Brain's Great Oppressors: Threat and High Stress | p. 81 |
| Stress-Buster #1 Give Your Learners a Sense of Choice | p. 87 |
| Stress-Buster #2 Keep It Positive | p. 93 |
| Stress-Buster #3 Keep Assessment Nonthreatening | p. 95 |
| Making Sure Exams Measure Mastery, Not Fear | p. 99 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 104 |
| Chapter 6 Drawing People Together to Enlist "the Social Brain" | p. 105 |
| Safety Item #1 Your Credibility | p. 106 |
| Safety Item #2 Your Approachability | p. 112 |
| Safety Item #3 Rapport Among Your Learners | p. 116 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 124 |
| Chapter 7 Relevancy and Visual Memory--Two Powerful Mnemonics | p. 127 |
| Personal Relevancy | p. 128 |
| Visual Memory | p. 142 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 149 |
| Chapter 8 Engaging Emotion | p. 151 |
| Step 1 "Reading" Ourselves Accurately | p. 154 |
| Step 2 Accepting the Emotions of Others | p. 156 |
| Step 3 Emotional Management | p. 156 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 166 |
| Chapter 9 "I Need My Space!"--Giving the Brain Regular Breathers for Enhanced Learning | p. 167 |
| Axe-Sharpener #1 Making Meaning | p. 169 |
| Axe-Sharpener #2 Heightening Attention | p. 173 |
| Axe-Sharpener #3 Reviewing Information | p. 179 |
| Some Next Steps | p. 188 |
| Part III The "Who, Me?" |
| Chapter 10 Laugh in the Face of Fear! | p. 193 |
| Fear #1 "My Audience/Subject Is Too Serious" | p. 195 |
| Fear #2 "I'm Not Funny!" | p. 196 |
| Fear #3 (and the Only Well-Founded Fear): "Will I Offend Someone?" | p. 197 |
| Fear #4 "How Do I Control These People?" | p. 200 |
| Chapter 11 I Can't Believe I'm Writing This Chapter | p. 211 |
| Step 1 Keep It Short | p. 212 |
| Step 2 Make It Specific | p. 214 |
| Step 3 Put the Punch Line at the End! | p. 214 |
| Step 4 ...Pause | p. 215 |
| Chapter 12 The Best Chapter in the Book | p. 217 |
| Day One on the One-a-Day Plan | p. 219 |
| Month One on the One-a-Day Plan | p. 220 |
| Month Six on the One-a-Day Plan | p. 221 |
| Month Twelve on the One-a-Day Plan | p. 223 |
| Endnotes | p. 227 |
| Bibliography | p. 231 |
| Appendix | p. 235 |
| Index | p. 249 |
| About the Author | p. 255 |
