EMPATH
Hi. I am the Empath. I am part of Thinkerer's brain. You've got an empath in your brain, too. We empaths are the brain parts that let you imitate people, anticipate what people will do, and feel the feelings that other people are feeling. We are one of the reasons you want to do comedy. When you get other people to laugh with you, you feel their laughter. It is bigger than your own.

But what am I going to do for you here? First, I am going to talk you into calling up your own empath. There are 3 parts to any public presentation: the material, you, and the audience. If you dont listen to your empath, you will focus too much on the material and on yourself. Btw, stage fright is the penalty people pay for a focus on themselves rather than on the audience.

Now let me explain how I wrote the 2 paragraphs above. When you meet a person, you have 2 questions for them.

Who are you?

Why should I be interested in you?

So that's your first task as a stand-up comic. Answer those questions for your audience. This is not just for the first show. It is for all shows till you are so well-known that you don't need an introduction.

Now, why should the audience be interested in you? 

Watch out. That question is going to get you back to talking about yourself. But this is no about you. This is about your audience Call up your empath and put yourself In their seats. What they going to be interested in? Comedic interest generally comes from familiar things treated in an unfamiliar way. So start with what are they familiar with. Then think how you will treat it in an unfamiliar way. An example: people are familiar with crashes. They experience a crash as sit at the computer. But you, Lauren, are an av. DO YOU ANY IDEA WHAT A CRASH DOES TO AN AV?

So call on your empath (or get your writers to call on their empaths). Figiure out how you will introduce yourself and show your audience why they should be interested in you. 

I said show, not tell.

I have lots more to say about empaths, including how to engage the empaths of you audience.   But this is enough for now. 

 
   
Under development  
The Thinkerer 09/12/2009
 Copyright (c) D. F. Dansereau & S. H. Evans

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