Remember 90s Britpop band Pulp? The 5th scene in Jurassic Park? That epic pro wrestling match where The Undertaker suddenly sat up and choke-slammed his opponent…TO HELL?
Yeah, me – and the vast majority of the audience at shows I’ve performed on – neither.
Yet, poor comedians craft material around these topics.
They get no laughs because audiences don’t care or relate.
(OK fine. I *have* watched The Undertaker more than I care to publicly admit & aside from Newman being gobbled by a T-Rex while on the can, I don’t remember NOTHING from Jurassic Park).
Open mics are free, specifically for comedians to test out their ideas to see which have potential to become “go-to” material. It’s our prospecting time.
We’re testing topics to see which topics audiences relate to, will elicit emotional reactions & get crowds to give us more time & attention to keep selling ourselves.
But I’ve seen some comedians do this stuff as part of a ticketed SHOW – where they’re PAID to make the crowd laugh.
“You guys like pro wrestling?” a comic asks.
Silence from the crowd.
Comic says “I’m doing this anyway” – then bombs hard.
This comic constantly fails because they make it about THEMSELVES vs. the paying audience – who are both their customers AND prospects.
While getting laughs is the #1 job of comedians, they have zero chance of success if they’re not relevant to their audience..
It’s no different for sellers. Sure, your solution may be whizbang, but unless you’re able to quickly demonstrate & communicate relevance, the audience will go do – or buy – something else.
Need icebreakers/memorable messaging for cold outreach, to connect with trade show prospects, content creation, and beyond? Please check out “HaaS (Humor-as-a-Service)”.
