READ THIS BEFORE EVERY MEETING

 

A man walks into a New York comedy club where an MC (= host) is about to open the night🎤 The MC starts warming up the crowd by asking people from the audience about what they did that day. To every answer he reacts with a very funny response and the crowd loves it👏

After the night the man approaches the MC and asks him:
“How did you do that? You had a great joke for every single thing people said to you.”

To which the MC answers:
“I just know my audience.”

The man responds:
“But you can’t predict what they will answer or what they did that day.”

The MC laughs and says:
“I know my audience. This club is a tourist favorite, so almost 90% of our audience consists out of tourists☺️
So, the faces I don’t know yet and ask the questions to, are most likely from out of town.
There are only 9 things they typically do in New York (e.g. Central Park, Zoo, Times Square,…).
I have a joke about each of these attractions. They think I’m making it up on the spot, I just have a backpack full of material that I can pop out at the right moment. If someone happens to answer something I didn’t expect, I’m experienced enough to react and maybe use it for future shows.”

 

Moral of the story💡

Confidence, assertiveness, being fast on your feet in meetings, on stage,…doesn’t come from some magical fountain. It comes from:

✅  knowing your audience
✅  preparing for the unexpected, so it becomes expected
✅  constantly filling your backpack with new insights, stories and experiences that you can use in the future

 

A great athlete works hard, wins and makes it look easy.

A great storyteller prepares, inspires action and makes it look spontaneous💯

(Based on a true story)

#standuptostandout