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O P I N I O N
Leading while laughing
It might sound a bit odd, but there’s plenty of things the C-suite can learn from stand-up comedians.
A s you can imagine, stand-up comedy can make you a better presenter. After all, it’s one of the hardest forms of public speaking you’ll ever do (aside from effectively teaching second graders), which means if you can do okay in stand-up, all other types of business presentations will seem easier. But stand-up comedy can also make you a better leader.
Andrew Tarvin
The majority of my leadership training has come from two places: 1) the internal leadership development program at Procter & Gamble, and 2) stand-up comedy. The first is expected. P&G is a promote-from-within company, so they have to have good leadership training. The second is surprising, but has been just as valuable in my career development. Here are five important ideas leaders can learn from stand-up comedians: 1)Start strong. The most important part of any stand-up set is the first 30 seconds. It is in that small timeframe that an audience decides if you are worth paying attention to. Those first 30 seconds are just like the first 30
seconds of any recommendation or proposal you give at work. Some people know this concept as “head nodding” – get people in agreement early on, make them realize you’re funny, and they are much more likely to agree with you later. In standup, a good introduction relates to some- thing the entire audience can be a part of, such as a joke about the city, something a previous comic said, or the ridiculousness of your own voice. In the business world, that may mean starting off a presen- tation by establishing that you are all on common ground. If you are proposing a solution to a problem or “opportunity,” confirm with the audience that you all agree that there is, in fact, a problem, and you agree on what it is. Then, once they’ve settled in and
See ANDREW TARVIN, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER July 29, 2019, ISSUE 1306
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