✉ shareen@laughtercoaching.com  ·  ☎ +27 82 337 3777  ·  Johannesburg Request a corporate proposal
Laughter & Happiness Professor · since 2009

Laughter isn't silly. It's one of the fastest ways to reset a stressed human.

Corporate laughter, team building, stress-reset and wellbeing sessions, and conference keynotes, for tired teams across Johannesburg and South Africa.

No awkward sharing. No forced performance. Safe for the person who rolled their eyes at the last team build.

TEDx Speaker2× Amazon Best-Seller50,000+ people since 2009
Shareen Richter, Laughter and Happiness Professor and corporate keynote speaker, Johannesburg
Felt in the rooma reset they can feel
NedbankPwCEskomPfizerMomentumUNISAFlySafair
Trusted by 500+ organisations · 50,000+ people reset since 2009
For the person who thinks this isn't for them

You think laughter is a bit silly? Good. So does your toughest team member.

That's exactly why it works. Nobody has to believe in it. Nothing to perform, nothing to share, no circle to sit in. We just start, with breath, with movement, with structured laughter, and the body does what the body does. The eye-rollers are usually laughing hardest eight minutes in. You don't have to take my word for it. You have to feel it once.

Try one session with your team
Shareen Richter presenting a corporate stress-management session to an engaged audience
More than a giggle

What is Laughter Coaching, really?

It blends guided laughter, breath work, gentle movement and simple connection into one structured session. Not jokes. Not performing. It's a safe, science-informed way to move the body out of stress mode and into something calmer and more open, fast.

  • A noticeable shift in mood and energy
  • Lightness and laughter in a safe, non-judgemental space
  • Quiet release, without sharing anything personal
  • Practical tools to reset when pressure builds
How a session works
A South African corporate team laughing together during a team-building laughter session
The science

It really is more than fun

Laughter is one of the most studied, most accessible ways to shift the body's stress response. Here's what the research actually shows, honestly, without the hype.

+4.3 vs +6.8 mmol/L

People with type 2 diabetes had a smaller blood-sugar rise after a meal following a comedy show than after a dull lecture.

Hayashi & Murakami, Univ. of Tsukuba · Diabetes Care, 2003
+22% blood flow

Blood vessels relaxed and blood flow rose during laughter, and dropped during mental stress.

Michael Miller, Univ. of Maryland · 2005
~10% more pain tolerance

About 15 minutes of laughing together raised the pain threshold, a sign of bonding endorphins.

Dunbar et al., Univ. of Oxford · Royal Society B, 2011
Lower cortisol

Across many trials, laughter significantly reduced the stress hormone cortisol.

Systematic review & meta-analysis · PLOS ONE, 2023
Immune activity ↑

Mirthful laughter has been linked to a short-term rise in natural-killer-cell activity.

Bennett et al., 2003 · Berk, Loma Linda
Calmer kids

Trained medical clowns measurably reduce children's anxiety before procedures.

Dionigi 2014; Golan 2009 · randomised trials

Honest line, always: laughter supports stress, mood, connection and wellbeing. It is not a cure or treatment for diabetes, depression or any medical condition, and never replaces medication or professional care.

0
people reset
0
organisations
0
facilitating since
0
to shift a room

We don't laugh because we're happy. We laugh in order to make us happy.

, Shareen's signature reframe · the science of laughter
What people say

Don't take my word for it

"Her talk was powerful, fun and engaging. The staff left with so much to take away, and they laughed their heads off."

, Carla, Nedbank

"This shifted something in our team that no previous initiative has touched. It was exactly what we needed."

, HR Director, PwC Africa
Watch: "We Make a Difference"Real client testimonials, in their words
Good to know

Frequently asked questions

What is laughter coaching?

Laughter Coaching is a structured, science-informed session blending guided laughter, breath work, gentle movement and connection to move the body out of stress mode and into a calmer, more focused state. It needs no jokes and no performance, and it's safe for corporate groups.

Is laughter coaching the same as laughter yoga or laughter therapy?

They overlap. Laughter yoga and laughter therapy describe the same family of techniques; Shareen's corporate Laughter Coaching applies them in a professional, results-focused way for teams, conferences and wellness days.

Who is the best corporate laughter facilitator in Johannesburg?

Shareen Richter has facilitated for 50,000+ people across 500+ organisations since 2009, including Nedbank, PwC, Eskom, Pfizer, Momentum, UNISA and FlySafair. She is a TEDx speaker, twice Amazon best-selling author and Industrial Psychology Honours graduate based in Johannesburg.

Does laughter really help with stress?

Yes. Research links laughter to lower cortisol, improved blood flow and a higher pain threshold. It supports stress, mood and connection, though it is not a medical treatment.

Will my team find it awkward?

No awkward sharing, no forced performance and nothing personal required. It's designed to be safe for sceptics and mixed groups, the eye-rollers are usually laughing hardest within minutes.

Come in tired. Leave lighter.

Let's plan a reset your team can actually feel.

Tell me what you're planning, team building, a wellness day, a conference keynote, a year-end or a school session. I read every enquiry myself.

Not sure it’s right for your team? Start with a low-risk 30-minute taster.

Request a corporate proposal

Need the full, measured corporate programme?

Laughter Coaching is Shareen's signature laughter and keynote work. For a multi-week reset with an anonymous, board-ready before-and-after for your ExCo, the venue and the Felt Shift Method, that lives at HappiSpace, built on the same science.

Visit HappiSpace →
HappiSpace
Same founder. Same science.
Two doors, one philosophy.
Book Shareen