Yes, you can learn to be funny! Do you appreciate humour? Do you ever imagine what it’s like to be on the stand-up comedy stage? Listen as stand-up comedian Hillary Anger Elfenbein (also a fully tenured business school professor) shares her insights on learning comedy, and compares that experience to her experience teaching in the business school classroom. SHOWNOTES Contents * Key Learnings * References & Links * Andrea’s Commentary * Interview Transcript * Conclusion 3 Key Learnings * PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT – Most comedians were not born funny. They had to work very hard. And – confidence comes with practice.  Whether you dream of stand-up or just want to be funnier in general, you will get better if you practice! Hillary said she even had it scripted down to the syllable…   * HECKLERS – I loved what Hillary said about hecklers. She says don’t worry about trying to win over the heckler. Rather — try to win over the rest of the audience! Of course! And this goes for stand-up hecklers, obstinate students in the classroom, and possibly even rude colleagues.   * COMEDY TECHNIQUES TO TRY * Keep it personal – joke about what you know, even if it’s foreign to the audience. Just ensure you provide relevant context. * The 1-2-Punch – Say one thing. Then you say another.  Then you say something ridiculous.  Or put another way, instead of 1-2-punch, it’s normal–normal–funny. Comedians do this all the time. * Call-Backs – Also known as circling back. When you’re in a conversation, relate back to something that someone said earlier.  You’ve probably seen stand-up comedians do this toward the end of their schtick. * Be Self-Denigrating – Share embarrassing moments. Apparently people love to hear others put themselves down because they themselves like to feel superior. * DO NOT – joke about religion or race or politics. And don’t ever say anything denigrating about someone when it’s something that they cannot help. References & Links Hillary Anger Elfenbein * Washington University faculty page – http://apps.olin.wustl.edu/faculty/elfenbeinh/ * 6 minutes of stand-up on YouTube (** note explicit content) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTgRecXW5S4 * Recommendations: * Travis Bradbury’s Emotional Intelligence – https://www.talentsmart.com/ * “Here We Are” podcast with Shane Mauss (Hillary is interviewed in this episode – https://www.herewearepodcast.com/episode/16/hillary-anger-elfenbein   Comedy Resources & References Books: * “Mastering Stand-Up” – https://amzn.to/2No4BOo * “Don’t Wear Shorts on Stage” – https://amzn.to/2JehoO7 * “Do You Talk Funny?” – https://amzn.to/2Jbis5m Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper laughing together: * https://www.insideedition.com/gloria-vanderbilt-giggles-anderson-cooper-hospital-bed-death-53739 How to be funny: *