I’m an improviser and I’m always interested in the intersection of comedy and life and business.
Adam Grant’s interview with Steve Martin had these lovely ideas
- For starters benign validation theory of what makes things funny: it’s funny because it shows us that what we thought was a threat is not a threat.
- Authenticity isn’t “be yourself”, it can be “be someone else”. Martin talks at length about when he needed confidence that he practiced being Carl Reiner
Adam Grant and Jim Gaffigan has this gem which lines up with the whole rapport thing:
I was always aware that speaking for other people, not assuming what they would think, but if you’re late to meet someone, you can either say, “I’m sorry I’m late,” or you can speak for them and be like, “I can’t believe you’re late.” You know what I mean? It’s like, “I’m treating you to lunch and you’re late.” And so if you articulate that, it can disarm how that person perceives the situation. It’s kind of a step beyond an apology and an acknowledgment that you’ve done something wrong.
There is something, I think there is something strangely empowering about that, and you know, I guess people just want to be, people wanna be understood. That’s why I think standup is so interesting because often when an audience turns on a comedian, it’s, it’s not just that they’re not funny, it’s that the audience feels misunderstood
if I can speak for you and show you that I’ve anticipated what you’re thinking and feeling, then it’s more meaningful than me just telling you how I feel about what I’ve done
Jim Gaffigan
Then this Adam Grant interview with Chip and Joanna Gaines.
between ages 25 and 75, the correlation between age and wisdom is zero. Wisdom does not come from experience. It comes from reflecting on experience
Research by Paul Baltes, quoted by adam grant
