1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:05,560 Speaker 1: Will Anderson is one of Australia's most experienced comedians and 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: if you've ever seen him on TV or been to 3 00:00:08,280 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: one of his stand up shows, he makes being funny 4 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: seem effortless. But something Will has learned from performing comedy 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: for over twenty five years is that his job isn't 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,279 Speaker 1: just to be funny. His job is to be funny 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: when the red light comes on. So what is Will's 8 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: approach to turning it on when he's having a bad 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: day and how has he come to relish difficult times 10 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: rather than dread them. My name is doctor amanthe Immer. 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 1: I'm an organizational psychologist and the founder of behavioral science 12 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: consultancy Inventium, and this is how I work a show 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,360 Speaker 1: about how to help you do your best work. On 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: today's my Favorite Tip episode, will you go back to 15 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:00,960 Speaker 1: an interview from the past and I pick out my 16 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 1: favorite tip from the interview. In today's show, I speak 17 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: with Will Anderson about how he puts on a great 18 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: show even when he's having a rough day. When you're 19 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,720 Speaker 1: well into a tour of a show and you're having 20 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: a day or days where you are just not feeling 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: like getting on stage and making people laugh for an hour. 22 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: How how are you getting into the state that you 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: need to be at. 24 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:31,280 Speaker 2: I think it's we might sound weird to people, but 25 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 2: it's actually the opposite. It's it's the easiest when you're 26 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 2: not having a hard when you're not having a good time. 27 00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 2: They people think that, I mean, look that this is 28 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 2: an oversimplification, of course, because but life is hard more 29 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,800 Speaker 2: often than it is easy. I think for everybody. Really, 30 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 2: you know, if you can only perform in perfect conditions, 31 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,840 Speaker 2: whatever your job might be, then it's probably a hobby 32 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 2: not a job. You know, Roy and HG. You know, 33 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 2: I learned something from them very early on. They were 34 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 2: telling me a story that said they would often have, 35 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 2: you know, someone come up to me and say, my 36 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: mates when they get together are funnier talking about sport 37 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,080 Speaker 2: than you guys are. And they said, yeah, that's probably true. 38 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,079 Speaker 2: We're just good at doing it when the red light 39 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 2: comes on, And that is absolutely true. Everyone listening to 40 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,920 Speaker 2: this will have a friend who's funnier than me because 41 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 2: they know all your stories and they can reference that 42 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 2: time that you know, you got too drunk or you know, 43 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 2: whatever happened, and they're hilarious. The job of the professional 44 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 2: comedian is to be able to be funny when the 45 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 2: red light comes on. And so I often think the 46 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 2: job is it's not about creating perfect conditions, for it 47 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: is about your capacity to do it when the conditions 48 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: aren't perfect. That separates the people who are hobbyist from 49 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 2: the people who are professionals. And so, if anything, I 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 2: find it Barry Humphrey is it's a bit unfashionable, unfashionable 51 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 2: to quote Barry Humphries these days, but I think this 52 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:10,680 Speaker 2: is a great insight. He was once asked about, you know, 53 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: what's it like to walk out on stage in front 54 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 2: of three thousand people? What thought is going through your mind? 55 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 2: And he said, ah, alone at last? And I think 56 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 2: that's right. It's not entirely true, but there is something 57 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,760 Speaker 2: about being on stage in that moment where you cannot 58 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 2: be thinking about anything else, you know, the very nature 59 00:03:32,760 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 2: of having to do your job. In that moment, you 60 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 2: can get lost in the communication that you are having 61 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 2: with the audience doing the show. You can't be thinking 62 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 2: about whether you left the iron on, or the problems 63 00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:44,640 Speaker 2: of your day, or what's going on in your life, 64 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 2: or even the world. In a way, and it's such 65 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 2: a safe space, you know, like Mark Marin quotes this 66 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,119 Speaker 2: that I don't think he was the person who originally 67 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 2: says it, which is comedians become comedians so that they 68 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 2: can control how people laugh at them. And I think 69 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 2: that there is we all are aware that people are 70 00:04:02,360 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 2: going to laugh at us, But when you're on stage, 71 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 2: you're in control. I could be talking about the darkest 72 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 2: things or the most desperate state of the world, but 73 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 2: I'm in control of it, you know, for at least 74 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 2: that hour, I am in control of it. And so 75 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 2: the idea of whether you've had a bad day, or 76 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 2: whether your life is falling apart or terrible, or whether 77 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 2: the state of the world is particularly terrible. In some ways, 78 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,279 Speaker 2: they're my favorite times to do stand up and I 79 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 2: think it's probably why I missed it so desperately when 80 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 2: the world was going through such hard times, is that 81 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:36,039 Speaker 2: I didn't have that. 82 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed this excerpt of my chat with Well, 83 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:42,280 Speaker 1: then you might want to go and listen to the 84 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: whole episode, which you can find a link to in 85 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: the show notes. If you're looking for more tips to 86 00:04:48,920 --> 00:04:51,839 Speaker 1: improve the way that you work. I write a short 87 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,560 Speaker 1: fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things that I've discovered 88 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,600 Speaker 1: that helped me work better, ranging from software and gadgets 89 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 1: that I'm having three to interesting research findings. You can 90 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: sign up for that at Howiwork dot co. That's how 91 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,719 Speaker 1: I Work dot co. Thank you for sharing part of 92 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: your day with me by listening to How I Work. 93 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,119 Speaker 1: If you're keen for more tips on how to work better, 94 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,279 Speaker 1: connect with me via LinkedIn or Instagram. I'm very easy 95 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: to find. Just search for Amantha Imba. How I Work 96 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,480 Speaker 1: was recorded on the traditional land of the Warrangery people, 97 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: part of the Cool And Nation. I am so grateful 98 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,479 Speaker 1: for being able to work and live on this beautiful land, 99 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: and I want to pay my respects to elders, past, 100 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: present and emerging. How I Work is produced by Inventium 101 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: with production support from Dead Set Studios, and thank you 102 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: to Martin Nimba who did the audio mix and makes 103 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:48,480 Speaker 1: everything sound better than it would have otherwise.