5 Exceptional Tips to Become a Classic Comedian
Corporate comedians don’t have it easy. You’re trying to make a traditionally very serious group of people laugh. These guys are used to seeing balanced statistics and balancing spreadsheets all day. What have you got to tell them that will draw them out of that shell of theirs and into your world of comedy?
As it turns out, you can get tips for being a good comedian from just about anywhere. The other day, I was thinking about it and tried to look for the things corporate types and comedians have in common. Perhaps by finding that intersection, it will be easier for corporate comedians to find common ground when doing standup at a corporate event. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that businesspeople and comedians have much in common. I decided to summarize them into tips that you can use to become a classical comedian, whether in the corporate world or elsewhere.
1. Know Your Audience
You need to have an intimate understanding of your audience since that will inform the kind of material you prepare. The same goes for successful business people who learn about their consumers before tailor-making their products to suit the consumers’ needs. Once you have a good understanding of your audience, you will have a better bearing for the kind of material to prepare.
2. Always Be Ready
Have you ever noticed how financial and investment banking types can’t seem to get a break? Every party or other informal event they attend is full of people trying to get them to reveal the “next hot stock” or give them advice on how to get rich. It’s pretty much the same for comedians. All the time you’re around people, those people to expect you to be funny. For some comedians, that’s not a problem since they’re naturally funny. But that’s not always true for all comedians. If you’re the kind of person that needs to think about your jokes for a while, write them down and then rehearse them, then you might have to keep a few handy in the back of your mind every time you’re around a group of people.
3. Be a Good Networker
Here, the connection to business is rather obvious. In business, a lot rides on who you know, rather than what you know. The same applies to comedy. It’s good to hang out with other comedians, attend their shows and support them in every way. You should also make friends with your audiences. You never know who you meet today that might turn into a major supporter tomorrow.
4. Have a Thick Skin
In business, you will meet a lot of challenges and go through many days where you ask yourself why you even bother at the end of the day. The very same applies to comedy. In fact, developing a thick skin is arguably more important in comedy. Few moments are as cringeworthy as when you crack a joke to a large audience that doesn’t laugh. At any rate, you will always have critics, so be ready to weather it all.
5. Have a Great Team
Great comedians, like great businesspeople, don’t go it alone. For you to break it big, you will need a talented and dedicated team of costume designers, vocal coaches, workers, writers and so on. A good comedian is only as good as his or her team.
Related Articles
