Comedy can help grow your business.
I am originally from a small town in India called Srirangam, located in the state of Tamil Nadu. English is not my first language. While I can speak Hindi, Sanskrit, German and Tamil … American English is tough. It is literally, a completely different language.
I believe I’m a smart guy. I have a Bachelor of English Literature and a Masters in Science. I work primarily in the technology industry (somewhat by accident). I run a software company and a technology non-profit organization. Overall, I’m a pretty happy guy.
I’m also a pretty funny guy. At least, that’s what people tell me. Someone once suggested I try stand-up. So I did. I entered a contest at Charleston’s Famous Theatre 99 and surprisingly did pretty well. I was tapped by The Dave Ugly Show and eventually became part of their comedy team on the Jonas Mount Radio Show.
Since this experience, I’ve realized how much learning stand-up helped my business. I’d like to share a few ways it has helped:
- It ramps up communication skills.This is sort of a no-brainer. Working in stand-up has helped me understand dialects and colloquialisms … and slang. It has improved my understanding of the language and given that the ability to communicate is key to doing business, this is a huge plus!
- You meet cool people.Doing stand-up has given me the opportunity to meet some of the most fun, smart and interesting people. I have built two mobile apps based on contacts I have made in stand-up.
- People like funny.Humans enjoy being around pleasant and/or funny people. I like to make people laugh and make them happy, so my business associates really enjoy working with me. It works out well for everyone!
These are just a few ways working in comedy can help grow your business. Why not grab the microphone and see what stand-up can do for you?
Written by: Sridhar Rangaswamy
Date: July 2014