Comedian Stories: Tales From the Road in Under 5 Minutes

That joke is one of my most memorable jokes and I get a LOT of people telling me they love it. This week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your personal and business life, and today's tip . . because it introduces you. Listen to the humor that people use, it'll tell you about them. If someone makes a snarky comment, then you kind of know the frame of mind they're in. And if you use humor, you can also give people information about yourself. My joke today told you right away that I'm an aunt, and I spend money on my nieces and nephews. Use humor to say things without saying them, and also listen to other people's humor. You'll get insight into their personality.

If you want to learn quick ways to put humor into your written and verbal communications, then check out my book on Amazon Finding the Funny Fast.

That's it for this episode. Take care and enjoy your journey.

I wish I could remember everything from my comedy career because I've had some fun experiences. Names and faces are the worst for me because I just don't have the knack for them. Here's a story about meeting a famous guy, having lunch with him, and now I can't remember all the details. My advice in this episode is something I wish I'd have taken long ago.

Do you have rules for your business? Regardless of whether you're self-employed or working for a big corporation, you should write rules that reflect your values and what you will or won't put up with. Having rules helps guide you when you're faced with a decision that you're not sure about. Here are four rules that I made up for my comedy business.

Having a bad show for a comedian is part of the gig because not everyone likes your humor. But my buddy comedian Frank King had someone who overreacted BIG time to not liking his jokes. So I'm turning this podcast over to him to tell the story about having a bad show.

Whenever you move into something new/different there are new/different worries that come with it. And as I went from marketing employee to comedian full-time, there were LOTS of things to worry about. Here's one thing that helped me take the sting out of the worries. Maybe it'll help you too.

Hecklers are one of the things that scares people away from trying standup comedy. They visualize being on stage and being skewered by a heckler, and yes, that happens, but not as often as you think. Most comedians have figured out how to handle hecklers and keep the show moving. I haven't had a lot of experience with hecklers, but here's a few ways that I have dealt with them.

This is a short episode about how I met my 1 international friend! LOL. I don't travel internationally much, but I'd love to do more. For the moment though, I'll have to settle for my one friend whom I've only met once but have been friends with for over 20 years.

I haven't lost my temper much in this comedy business, but when I do, it's memorable! Here's a quick story of a time that I got so angry at the LAX Hilton parking garage manager. The hotel pulled a really bad trick on me, and I was furious. I get mad just thinking about it. I hope you enjoy this story and what I learned from it. This is a useful for all of us now, during this time when clients are few and far between.

When you think of entertainers and comedy, you think of big makeup. Comedy and makeup tend to go together. But that's not my style. Sure I wear it onstage, but not so much off stage. If I ever got famous, the Tabloids would have a big scoop getting a picture of me wearing it, not without it. In this week's podcast, I'm talking of a time that I actually did need to wear a lot of makeup. I hope you enjoy it!

My main website TheWorkLady.com

My book on writing humor - it's appropriate for everyone! It's the second one down: Finding the Funny Fast

Most comedians are really nice, but with all professions, sometimes you run into some jerks! In this episode, I list a couple of the tricks that comedians have pulled on either myself or some other comedian. Thanks for listening! Check out my main website at TheWorkLady.com

Check out Jan's books here: Jan's Books