Comedy
. Getting up at my first open mic was scary, scary, scary. Luckily it went well. But I think what was even scarier than telling jokes on stage was telling my friends that I was doing jokes on stage. I wasn't exactly the class clown, and nobody really told me I should be a comedian. I was funny, but probably not comedian funny. I remember being out with a group of friends when I brought up that I was doing stand-up comedy. Without missing a beat, my friend Mary jumped in and said "I'm funnier than you." And she was funny. I had no come back. Fast forward a few weeks later, and Mary saw me on stage. And then she got it. Afterwards she said, you're great. I'm just funny in small groups. And that's what sets comedians apart. We can communicate well, with people who don't have similar experiences. You can joke about the boss with co-workers at happy hour or your crazy relatives with your family at the dinner table because you all have a similar experience with them. You have a common bond. This week I'm focusing on communications tips. Is to break up the information you want people to know about you into small sound bites. Don't give people too much information all at once. If I go on stage and try to tell you in one sentence that I have a 17 year old female calico cat named Rover, that's too much information. You won't know if my punchline is going to be about an old cat or a girl cat or a calico cat because you're too busy processing all of that information. To communicate clearly, use short sound bites, so you don't confuse people, and they'll miss the message you're trying to communicate. And along with that, use short and simple words and 1 or 2 syllables. People spend more time thinking about longer words, which also causes them to miss the rest of your message. ACTION: Want to learn how to write jokes or add some humor to your written or verbal communications? Then check out my book on Amazon titled Finding the Funny Fast. It's how to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds. That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.