❤️E: Stand Up Comedy & Sales Enablement

What I Learned From Doing Stand Up Comedy For The First Time!

Author

Ryan Parker
June 16, 2024 • Estimated Enjoyment Time: 6 minutes

Are you challenging yourself to learn unique things? I try to do that in a real way each week. They are not always “job related”, but I try to find a connection after I have learned something new to help me improve in all areas of my life.

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When I announced that I would try and do standup for the first time on Linkedin, I heard from many people.

"Oh man, I could never do that."
"That sounds fun, but I could never get on stage."
I even heard words of encouragement, which was great.

Fast-forward a few weeks, and I finally did it.

Last Wednesday night, I took the stage for my 5-minute set, which I had worked on in three previous classes.

Here are a few takeaways from taking a comedy "boot camp" class and how they relate to sales enablement.

Practicing At Open Mic Night

Try New Things:

The instructor told us to bring two or three jokes we had written for the first day of "boot camp." As I got on stage for class, it was easy to tell I had a lot of work to do. The way I had structured a joke was all wrong, and it needed to be in the format that I would actually use. It was nightmarish at best. By the third class, along with a lot of coaching, editing, and feedback, I had a passable 5-minutes of jokes I could tell.

Was I nervous? Yes.
Was I scared? Yes.

However, I tried something new to broaden my experience and bring a new perspective to what I do.

Apply Coaching Immediately:

The best step in coaching is to apply it immediately. As I was on stage in the class, the instructor and other students would give direct feedback. It could be a note on how you said a line, a different word choice, or even a body movement. The expectation was to apply that feedback immediately while you were standing there.

The application of feedback and coaching is what makes you better. Even if the suggestions from the group didn't work, I applied my new knowledge instantly, and it helped me understand how to improve.

Develop A Community Of Like-Minded People:

One of the most significant outcomes of taking the comedy "boot camp" was the people I met there. Twelve perfect strangers at the beginning became eight good friends I can work with now and in the future on my comedy writing to improve. Notice, I didn't say all twelve? That's because you want to find the people that you vibe with, and that will push you to be better.
Four didn't make that cut.

Edit. Iterate. Keep Moving Forward.

Like I said earlier, the first time I was on stage telling jokes was just downright awful. Here's what I did: I edited my material, making it better, tighter, and more cohesive each time. I moved forward.

Take the opportunity to try new things and relate them back to your main work. It’s incredible the connections you can make.

So my question to you is this…
What are you doing to challenge yourself in unconventional ways?
(Hit Reply and let me know!)

Until next time my friends…

❤️, Enablement

PS: If you want to see what I did, check it out…

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