5 lessons for communicators from stand-up comics

It’s no joke: Just like you, comedians string words together to tell stories and convey ideas, sometimes more effectively than others. (Haven’t you ever had flop sweat?) Try these tips.

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For those of you tired of tedious press releases…

For anyone who’s delivered a speech to a chorus of yawns…

To anyone writing those same stale articles you first wrote when boy bands ruled the earth…

Your audience is just as sick of your anemic prose as you are. It’s not your fault. Business messaging has been dry and boring for so long that it’s practically become background noise.

There is hope, though. Some communicators are so good at what they do, we hang on their every word. They can make anything interesting, from Hot Pockets to the stomach flu. They just happen to call themselves comedians.

So read on to find out why you have stop thinking like George Orwell and start thinking like George Carlin.

1. Comics can make any topic interesting .

Comedians live and die on engaging their audiences. Take Brian Regan—he can talk about the serving size of Fig Newtons, and you’ll still want more at the end. Fig Newtons aren’t funny; they’re completely unimportant.

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