Communication & Comedians

I love coming up with alliterative blog ideas. The title for this one came easy.

I was thinking of Jerry Seinfeld’s (other) eponymous hit show, Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. Apparently, Jerry likes alliteration too.

Communication & Comedians. It rolled right off the tongue. My title was locked in.

Writing the rest of the article? Well, that was trickier.

As I mentioned in my first blog about Ideation, coming up with a concept isn’t the challenge for me to get my point across — the ideas are always flowing.

The harder part? Finding the right words to express those ideas. Despite writing lots of emails and speaking publicly often in my work, Communication ranks in the bottom third of my CliftonStrengths. As a talent, it doesn’t flow as naturally as others do.

Fortunately, I’ve learned to lean on my other strengths to help me in my communication efforts. Strategic helps me plan out what I want to say in advance. Deliberative helps me filter what to (or what not to) say. Adaptability helps me stay light on my feet and improvise if needed.

So, with all that in mind — when I sat down to think about the CliftonStrengths talent of Communication, my mind immediately when to my favorite communicators: comedians.

But where to begin? How do I narrow my ideas down? As usual, I mapped out my thoughts, explored a few tangents, and quickly landed on a plan.

Stand-up

I love comedy. Especially stand-up.

Some people wish they could have been rock stars or pro athletes. Me? I wish I could have been a comedian.

Unfortunately, I was never funny enough to live that dream.

Here’s what I love about how comedians communicate. There’s nothing quite like experiencing someone delivering the perfect punchline and hearing a room erupt in laughter. Timing, word choice, presence — comedians make it look effortless as an audience hangs on their every word.

I once heard Jerry Seinfeld describe using “the symbol for Boron” as a punchline to a joke about spelling a cab driver’s name. When asked why he chose that element’s symbol over others, he said he didn’t know, it just sounded like the funniest one.

That instinct and the ear for what works is what I marvel at.

Great comedians are truth-tellers. They pick the perfect word in the perfect moment. They make us laugh and squirm by voicing truths we didn’t know we needed to hear. And they do it with a rhythm and style that to me is art.

All of those same talents are the hallmarks of someone who leads with Communication.

According to Gallup, “People exceptionally talented in the Communication theme generally find it easy to put their thoughts into words. They are good conversationalists and presenters.”

Sounds a lot like a comedian, right?

The thing about great comedians is that each person has a unique style. Some of my favorite stand-up comedians of all-time, whether it’s Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Rodney Dangerfield, Eddie Murphy or Joan Rivers — they all are telling jokes, but they all did it in a completely different way.

The delivery, storytelling, and substance of how they perform varies. There’s no template to being a great communicator. The talent comes through differently for all types of people with varying personalities.

I don’t gamble. But I’d bet a giant bag of peanuts that if the Comedy Cellar or Funny Bone comedy clubs asked me to lead a CliftonStrengths workshop for all of their best comedians — we’d definitely see Communication as a dominant strength for most of their performers.

Selecting the host of your show

If you had a professional comedian on your team or in your organization, you’d want them out front, promoting your message. You’d have them engaging the audience, selling the vision, and bringing the energy.

But here’s the thing: just because you don’t lead with Communication doesn’t mean you can’t contribute to the team’s goal.

Think of a sketch comedy show like Saturday Night Live. That team has a goal — be funny! Not everyone is a performer.

You need writers who never show up on camera punching up the jokes, set designers creating the visuals, producers with Influencing talents making sure a live show goes off without a hitch, and executives like Lorne Michaels providing direction and strategic vision.

Everyone plays a part. Everyone’s strengths contribute to the success of the whole.

So whether you’re going on stage alone or working with an ensemble cast, think about how you’re going to deliver that punch line and how Communication can help it land with your audience.

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