Bob Ross of La Costa likes to create elaborate practical jokes.

And he usually pulls them off with aplomb — especially since they rarely land on April Fool’s Day.

Of course, it helps that his targets are usually unsuspecting businesspeople.

Two weeks ago, Nelson-Keystone, a San Diego-based distributor for graphics arts technology, was expecting Ross to offer his projections on the future of the industry.

Well, actually, they were expecting Dr. Harvey Hollingsworth, the deputy director of the Wallenburg Institute. Of course, there’s no such person — or institute — but he didn’t give the distributors from around the Western United States the chance to find that out before their Fallbrook conference. Hollingsworth’s bio and list of amazing credits weren’t announced until that night, and it was read by CEO Gary Nelson, who was not privy to the gag.

Wearing a suit and thick–rimmed glasses, Ross/Hollingsworth strolled to the podium and read from notes — as many stuffy experts do — about his forecast for graphics technology.

His predictions were so dire even the uninterested, who had been smiling and chatting with co-workers in the beginning, were glued to his every word.

As he dropped bombshell after bombshell concerning the horrendous future he foresaw for the industry, he summarized for the distributors, "Some won’t stay. Some will go on to get real jobs."

After the moans of disbelief faded, he added: "I hope this hasn’t unduly alarmed you."

For 12 minutes, Ross proceeded to insult and confound them, even suggesting they switch to

selling cosmetics or cleaning products door-to-door.

"I can’t help but notice the absence of note-taking," smiled Ross as he took off the glasses, stepped in front to the podium and began talking in his natural, animated style. "My specialty is adding constructive fun to these meetings."

While that brought a few relieved chuckles, it wasn’t until a couple of minutes later that the distributors finally realized they had been had. The room broke into spontaneous applause and hearty laughter.

"He had me fooled," a distributor said to his smiling co-worker.

"I was fired up," admitted another. "I was ready to hit the door."

Now, Ross had the group howling — even at jokes that might otherwise have been simply "grinners."

Now he could deliver his real message: the benefits of humor in the workforce.

And the biggest lesson, said Ross, is "formality and structure inhibit creativity."

Humor, however, enhances it, said the author of the self-published "Funny Business: The Art of Using Humor Constructively" (Arrowhead Publishing, $16.95) and "Laugh, Lead and Profit: Building Productive Workplaces With Humor" (Arrowhead Publishing, $11.95)

For meetings to be productive, he said, they need to start with some fun. He even suggested making it a revolving assignment to find a joke or cartoon to open each meeting.

Ross told his audience that President John F. Kennedy used to start meetings by having each person say: "I’m healthy. I’m happy. I’m here for fun!"

"That," said Ross, "sets the stage for successful meetings. That’s my mantra." Indeed, he has that quote printed on the back of his business cards.

In an interview in his La Costa home, the father of three grown daughters explained: "The spoof gets their attention. It’s the ultimate in hilarity. It’s customizing ‘Candid Camera.’ When they laugh, they open up. They’re receptive, creative.

"Humor sets up a relaxed, spontaneous atmosphere," he added, lounging in jeans and T-shirt on the Wednesday before the Nelson-Keystone speech.

"Healthwise, it does a world of good for you. We cannot smile or laugh without relaxing. When we relax, our blood becomes oxygenated. Our heart rate drops. Endorphins rise. We feel good because we laugh."

Ross, whose slogan is "comedy with content," hasn’t always been able to lounge around in his home listening to jazz as he prepares to impersonate "industry experts" to the tune of $4,500 per 45-minute talk.

He used to have the job of a straight man.

For nearly 20 years, Ross designed and managed urban revitalization programs around the United States. For nine of those years, he was deputy director of the San Diego Housing Commission.

He got out, however, in 1988 "when it stopped being fun.

"My philosophy is if you’re not having fun you can’t excel at what you’re doing," he explained. "What I did before . . . I had to bring together different communities, from the poor to the bankers to the city, state and federal governments. It helped to have a sense of humor. My group (of about 40 in San Diego) always had a lot of fun."

His new career began innocently when he joined Toastmasters, a club that helps members learn public speaking skills. In the contests, he said, "I always did well in humor. People stated paying me $25 to speak. My job was getting sour and a friend who hires speakers said, ‘Why not go professional?’"

For two years he did both. Before work or at lunch, he’d speak for various civic groups.

And then 11 years ago, he took that leap into full-time humor.

"People think it was ballsy, but I never regretted it," he said, relaxing in his favorite chair. "My goal is not to become a millionaire."

He averages 35 speaking engagements a year nationwide. Sometimes that means three a week; sometimes it’s once a month. For the spoofs, which make up 70 percent of his speaking business, he spends at least eight hours working on the introduction to his 45-minute speech.

"Then it takes 10 hours just to get it down," he said, holding an envelope on which he had scrawled notes for his introduction for the Nelson-Keystone talk. "When I do these spoofs, I have to learn the industry so I don’t betray myself. I drop in the buzzwords, and talk as if I’m really knowledgeable. I’ll have them believing I’m an expert. I get them enraged, then say what’s off the wall until it’s ludicrous. I like to push the emotional buttons until the light bulbs come on, and they say, "This guy can’t be for real."

In fact, during the Nelson-Keystone speech, that’s exactly what the CEO said.

That delighted Kari Chipman, who organized the event and hired Ross.

For her, April Fool’s Day had come early, and her hoax had worked beautifully.