I’m on a stage. The lights are too bright to see the audience, I’m about to reveal my most embarrassing personal story, and I’m freaking out inside.
This is how every one of my comedy routines started. Although I sometimes miss the adrenaline rush of standup, I’m glad marketing meetings are less stressful.
Doing standup comedy was a delightfully challenging experience that helped me become a better marketer in a surprising number of ways.
I’m not afraid to make big decisions.
There’s nothing as nerve-racking as standing in front of a bunch of drunk strangers and trying to make them laugh. Now when I’m making choices that affect the future of my company or my client, it’s easier for me to stay calm and calculate risks.
I can think on my feet.
Occasionally I’d get heckled, and I used the opportunity to get more laughs. The interruption kept my mind agile and forced me to explore topics I hadn’t planned to joke about. As a marketer, I stay light on my feet and open to new ideas from any source.
I learned to read an audience.
Like comedy, marketing is all about the right message at the right time. I learned to recognize what was working and change what wasn’t without taking it personally. My ears were tools for data analysis. These days I use software that is a lot more granular.
I heard a lot of bad jokes.
In the process of sitting nervously waiting to go onstage, I heard hours of comedy. Some of it was great, some of it was terrible. I actually learned more from what didn’t land well; paying attention made me funnier faster. When what I’m doing as a marketer isn’t working, I learn from the data and make changes.
I met lots of great, weird people.
What motivates a person to stand in front of a crowd and cause laughter is different for every comedian. Each person brought a completely different view to the stage, just like every team member in an organization has their own valid opinions. I learned to appreciate each person’s unique perspective and experience.
I have a lot of respect for hard-working comedians.
Every time I listen to a routine, I think of all the hours the comedian spent at terrible bars, the college tours they did, and the years they lived on the road. Standup comedy, like marketing, is mostly hard work with a series of small breaks. You have to keep learning and stay motivated.
If you want a crash course in marketing, do yourself a favor:
Pick something you hate, record yourself ranting about it for five minutes, and rewrite it into a two-minute routine. Then share it. There are open mics in almost every city, and they’re usually in a bar with only five people sitting around for their turn onstage. The stakes are low, but the lessons are great.
Break a Leg!
~Alison
Note: Sorry for the low res cell phone photos. As with most jokes, you just had to be there.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
