1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,520 Speaker 1: Have you ever wondered how really funny comedians right jokes? 2 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: I know I have. I mean, is it all scripted 3 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: or do they leave room for improvisation? And where do 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 1: they even get their ideas for what might be funny? 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,280 Speaker 1: Will Anderson is one of Australia's most experienced comedians and 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: after more than twenty five years in the business, Will 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: filters so much of his day to day experiences through 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 1: the lens of comedy. So how does Will approach writing 9 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: a joke or making something that seems pretty ordinary like 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: the bookshelf in my zoom backdrop really really funny. My 11 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: name is doctor amanthe Imbert. I'm an organizational psychologist and 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: the founder of behavioral science consultancy Inventium. And this is 13 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: how I work a show about how to help you 14 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,480 Speaker 1: do your best work. On today is my favorite tip episode, 15 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: we go back to an interview from the past and 16 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,600 Speaker 1: I pick up my favorite tip from the interview. In 17 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: today's show, I speak with Will Anderson about writing comedy. So, Will, 18 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:20,959 Speaker 1: when you're trying to create a joke, how loosely or 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:26,000 Speaker 1: tightly are you scripting that? And the key points or 20 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: things that you need to land on. 21 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 2: I mean eventually tightly, not at the start. I try 22 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:38,119 Speaker 2: to keep it very loose at the start. As I said, 23 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 2: that process of picking apart an idea. So okay, So 24 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 2: on the bookshelf behind you, I love it by the 25 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 2: way that bebe. Obviously not everybody can see this, but 26 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,040 Speaker 2: there's a bookshelf behind you. There's what I'm looking at 27 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 2: at the moment. Is my first observation is that, like me, 28 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 2: you color code your books as opposed to alphabet ties 29 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 2: or you know. So I love that. So that's the 30 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 2: first thing that I noticed. I also noticed that the 31 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,080 Speaker 2: bookshelf is different shapes, you know, there's different shapes and 32 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 2: sizes like on that bookshelf, like you know, which means 33 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 2: that there's only certain books that you could put it 34 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,200 Speaker 2: on different shelves because of the sizes of them, which 35 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 2: affects the way that you would check the stack those books. 36 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:22,799 Speaker 2: I wonder if there's been a choice in the way 37 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,080 Speaker 2: the colors are arranged, if you've like designed it with 38 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 2: the rest of the room, whether you like you know, 39 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 2: there is a procession from like blue to red to 40 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: orange to yellow. You know, you've got a doctor SEUs 41 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,239 Speaker 2: quote up there on the corner like you know and 42 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 2: and you know, so for me, my brain just starts 43 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,239 Speaker 2: to look at all these things and pick them apart 44 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 2: and just think, there's plants in the corner. I wonder 45 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 2: if they're real plants. I wonder if in a room 46 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 2: where you've got carpets, you've got plants on the shelves, 47 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 2: are you're watering those? Like do you have to make 48 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: sure that there's something under those plants that you don't 49 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 2: have a spot there on the carpet that's going to 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:57,240 Speaker 2: get damp? Like what is this room? Like is this 51 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,160 Speaker 2: a place that you actually come to read or is 52 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 2: it just like an office where you record that? Like 53 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 2: is this the place where you read those books? Are 54 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,880 Speaker 2: those books they're in the background because you're trying to 55 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 2: send some sort of signal when you do this podcast 56 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 2: that like, look at me, I'm a person who reads books, 57 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 2: and this is my background. Like these are just I 58 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,359 Speaker 2: don't mean those any of those things as like anything 59 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 2: other than trying to give you an example of these 60 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 2: other thoughts that are constantly happening in my brain while 61 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 2: we are, Like I'm having this conversation with you, but 62 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 2: all these things are also happening in my brain at 63 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 2: the same time. So initially that's how everything gets examined. 64 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 2: So if I am looking at my observations of what 65 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 2: it's like to live in the anti VAXs capital of 66 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 2: Australia at the height of a global pandemic, originally I 67 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 2: have thousands of thoughts about that. It's about trying to 68 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,800 Speaker 2: get through the noise to try and work out which 69 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 2: of those thoughts are compelling or interesting or even just 70 00:03:58,760 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 2: a place to start. 71 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: So I want to ask, like, on the on what 72 00:04:04,480 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: you've been observing in the backdrop? Where where then would 73 00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: the humor come in? 74 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 2: Not sure yet, like maybe it would be something like, 75 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 2: you know, if I was going to say this, it's like, okay, 76 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:23,159 Speaker 2: just for example, like and we're really just early on 77 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 2: here as going. Is it mean to put, you know, 78 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 2: plants so next to the thing that plants are destroyed 79 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 2: to make books, Like is that rude to the plants? 80 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 2: Are there? Plants very just nervously there in the corner 81 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,279 Speaker 2: going I hope I never turned into a tree and 82 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:37,919 Speaker 2: then somebody's going to chop me down and turn me 83 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 2: into one of these books. It's really like, you know, 84 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 2: I mean, this feels a little inappropriate to these plants, 85 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 2: like making them seen so close to these books. You know, 86 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:47,960 Speaker 2: it might be something dumb like that, or the idea 87 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,480 Speaker 2: that like literally on the other side you have you know, 88 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 2: there's there's Doctor Seuss, there's paintings of plants that match 89 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,599 Speaker 2: the pots on the other side. And I'm like, you know, 90 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,599 Speaker 2: liked the idea. I mean, to me, the committe idea 91 00:05:00,600 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 2: of how that was arranged, like the idea that That's 92 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 2: one of the things we say I'm growing all the 93 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 2: time is assume everything's on purpose the first time that 94 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,360 Speaker 2: you do something. Assume that every decision that someone has made, 95 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,320 Speaker 2: the fact that your jumper that you're wearing today matches 96 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,839 Speaker 2: the books that are immediately behind you, is that on purpose? Like, 97 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 2: imagine if it was on purpose, what would that mean comediically? Now, 98 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 2: that might absolutely go nowhere, right, But it's just about 99 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 2: exploring that idea, thinking about how can I tear this 100 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:31,600 Speaker 2: apart to see if there's anything interesting in there that 101 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 2: I can then rebuild. So that firstly is about finding 102 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:39,120 Speaker 2: the ingredients, seeing if anything just appears to me, what 103 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 2: is the most compelling thing to me, What is the 104 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,279 Speaker 2: most compelling idea that I am observing? Here and then 105 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 2: trying to get rid of some of the other stuff 106 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,040 Speaker 2: so that you can concentrate on that more and then 107 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 2: try to create something humorous out of the observation. 108 00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: If you like this excerpt from my chat with Will, 109 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:57,359 Speaker 1: you might want to go back and listen to the 110 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: whole interview, which you can find a link to you 111 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:03,880 Speaker 1: in the show notes. If you're looking for more tips 112 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: to improve the way that you work, I write a 113 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: short fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things that I've 114 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,160 Speaker 1: discovered that helped me work better, ranging from software and 115 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,719 Speaker 1: gadgets that I'm loving through to interesting research findings. You 116 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: can sign up for that at Howiwork dot com. That's 117 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 1: how I Work dot co. Thank you for sharing part 118 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: of your day with me by listening to How I Work. 119 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: If you're keen for more tips on how to work better, 120 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: connect with me via LinkedIn or Instagram. I'm very easy 121 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: to find. Just search for Amantha Imba. How I Work 122 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,200 Speaker 1: was recorded on the traditional land of the Warrangery people, 123 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 1: part of the Cool and Nation. I am so grateful 124 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: for being able to work and live on this beautiful land, 125 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: and I want to pay my respects to elders, past, 126 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: present and emerging. How I Work is produced by Inventium 127 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,279 Speaker 1: with production support from Dead Set Studios, and thank you 128 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: to Martin Nimba who did the audio mix and makes 129 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,159 Speaker 1: everything sound better than it would have otherwise.