Comedy and business share a lot more parallels than you might think, at first glance. For example, the process that a comedian uses to evoke laughter is the same process you can use to engage someone's interest. Here to explain what that process is, as well as other surprising connections between comedy and business, is Ron Tite.
Ron is the CEO of The Tite Group, a successful agency in Toronto. He's also a stand-up comedian who has trained with Toronto's Second City. He's also the author of Everyone Is An Artist (or At Least They Should Be).
On today's show, Ron shares why we don't have to be funny to be effective (and why being effective is most important), how to know if you should use comedy when talking to clients and your team, as well as three traits artists have we can all use in our business practices. Ron is equally entertaining as he is informative so buckle up and listen in to this episode of Grow My Revenue!
Listen to this episode and discover:
· The power and impact of insights, in business and in comedy.
· Should you use comedy when speaking to your clients?
· One great lesson you can learn from my time as an umpire!
· Why we all have the basic ability to be artists.
· People used to vote with their wallets, what do they vote with today?
· And so much more!
Episode Overview
Ron Tite has always loved the pressure of stand up comedy: there are no excuses at the end of your performance, either they laughed or they didn't and that is it. You either did your job and they laughed, or you failed.
Not everyone would thrive under that kind of pressure, but Ron did. And he used the lessons he learned in the comedic world to become successful in the business world. The first lesson we just touched on – no excuses – also ties into the ancillary lesson that being funny is about being effective. Being funny is about capturing someone's attention, you can take them anywhere after that.
And you capture their attention by having an insight, and it is the same whether you are making them laugh, cry or simply think really hard about something. You start with an insight that is surprising and intriguing, and now they are thinking differently about the subject at hand. You have their attention.
Remember, you don't have to be funny to do this. In fact, if funny isn't in your nature or isn't something people associate with your company and your brand, don't try to be funny. You'll come across as trying too hard and people will smell that a mile away, according to Ron.
But, you can share a story or a message that is in line with your brand as a way to share an insight you have had. Doing so will capture their attention just as well as being funny will, it's all about the insight.
On this episode of Grow My Revenue, we also discuss three traits artists have that all business people should adopt. The first is doing things simply to do them. Artists have an idea and they create it, they bring it into the world. They don't create a business plan and pitch the idea to VCs first, they create and explore and see what merit their ideas hold.
The second thing artists do well is they deal with the naysayers and the hecklers. Most of us have no coping mechanism for these experiences, we put up walls and shelter ourselves when someone heckles us. Artists don't let these naysayers get the best of them, they have a way of dealing with them.
Also on this episode of Grow My Revenue, Ron shares more about his book and why there really are no rules in today's business world. Tune into today's Grow My Revenue to hear that and more from comedian and successful businessman Ron Tite!
For full show notes, visit: http://www.ianaltman.com/podcast/ron-tite/
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