I tried stand-up comedy! It was hilarious…and not because of me.
If you want to see some footage, check out this video. Shout out to Marky Worthington for the footage!
This is me at the Open Mic in Canberra (I was on holiday) with the hilarious comedians who performed that night. The funniest part? I was introduced as a ‘comedian’ HAHAHA!
Here are the 2 reasons I gave it a go.
- It has been on my bucket list for a long time.
- I have spoke nearly 30 times this year through various keynote addresses, workshops, webinars and lunch and learns. I want to become a world-class teacher. In the book Speakership by Col Fink, Matt Church and Sacha Coburn, the authors explain that “if they are laughing, they are learning”. Stand-up comedy seemed logical.
- Bonus: I could watch Stand Up comedians and call it ‘study’.
Here are the 5 things I learnt
1. Generosity.
The community of comedians and the people who attend these events are ridiculously supportive. Like ridiculously so. It is awesome! Here is an example. I asked Marky Worthington, the comedian/MC at the Baso Open Mic in Canberra, for some advice. Check out his generosity.
“If I could make any recommendations aside from always write bits down even if you don’t know exactly how to make it funny yet and get as much good stage time as you can I would say always record your sets and watch them back over and over.” Thanks again Marky. This advice applies to any speaker.
2. It is ok to ‘try your bits out’.
Stand-up, particularly if you are ‘trying out new bits’, is set up for people to make mistakes and that be okay. We can all learn from this. Imagine how much more growth we could have if it was genuinely okay to try out the ‘bits of life’. Whether it is a new skill, a change in career, a new business, saying ‘Sup’ to that human you have a crush on, applying for a game show or of course, trying stand-up, try your bits out! Forget the growth, think about the exponential fun on offer.
3. ‘Bombing’ is funny.
There is a universal concern about ‘bombing’ when trying stand up. No one cares. People are there to have fun. They don’t expect to see Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart or Ricky Gervais. Whether you are a seasoned pro, an emerging comedian or a first timer, it is funny. If you bomb, it is funny. If you are funny, it is funny. You literally can’t lose.
4. Get comfortable with the boos.
I mentioned to a few family members that I was giving stand-up a go.
“What if you get boo’d?”, I was asked.
“I am used to getting boo’d. I would be more uncomfortable with applause”, I replied.
“That’s so sad”, as they laughed.
Now this is not true. I don’t get boo’d when I speak. In fact, I have NEVER seen ANYONE get boo’d when they speak. It’s a myth. The worst that I have seen is people losing their attention, turning to talk to the person next to them or taking out their phone. If you can become comfortable with the idea of getting boo’d, the rest is gravy.
5. Look for the funny.
One of my most popular posts is about gratitude and stegosaurus clouds. I am a big advocate for a daily gratitude practice because after you do it for long enough, you start ‘scanning the world’ for things to be grateful for. Committing to performing at an open mic had a similar effect. I started to ‘look for the funny’. I knew I had to come up with something funny so I started noting everything that I found remotely funny, even if I didn’t know how to incorporate it (See 1 for Marky’s advice). It turns out, the world is a funny place. My suggestion, whether you are doing stand-up or not, write down when something makes you giggle. Then tell someone about it and make them giggle too. Do it on stage and voila, you are doing stand-up!
If you are considering stand-up, just do it. You can’t lose (see 3).
If you have a ‘bit’ you want to try, in life or on stage, why not give it a go!
If you enjoyed this article, SHARE this with at least one person who can benefit from it.
Much love to you and of course myself,
Dr G
P.S Were you forwarded this article?
You should totally SUBSCRIBE to this newsletter. It’s awesome. I would love to have you as part of this growing community. Click this link to subscribe.
Download my whitepaper on work-life balance here.
For more articles – https://drgihan.com/articles/
