They had surrounded me. There was no way out. The only escape was hiding, so I ran towards the toilets.I was stoned out of my mind. My legs moved fast, time had slowed down. I ran for what seemed like an hour but was less than a minute, reached a toilet stall, shut myself in and waited for the inevitable footsteps.
Knock knock.
I put my head in my hands.
Knock knock knock.
I covered my ears.
Thud thud thud.
"Dude stop being a baby. The show starts in 5 minutes. You better come out or else..."
The trouble had begun a month ago when my friend Rahul and I (high, again) had sauntered into the anchoring auditions for the annual comedy show. On a whim, we decided to participate. In front of the selection committee made out of staff members, we made genteel jabs and polite puns. They were delighted to find clean and somewhat funny material without being too insulting to the professorial staff. To our surprise, we were finalized to anchor the comedy show. We were told to get our jokes approved before the show.
We wrote like madmen - TWO separate scripts. One to get the committee's green light, and the other - the REAL script (secret). On the day of the event, as Rahul waited for me to practice before the show started, I psyched myself up all the way to college, held my head high till the auditorium gate and lost my will to live. I was sure I had made a mistake and had no business going up on stage in front of 500 students and staff. That's how I found myself locked inside a toilet cubicle 5 minutes before the show.
When inter-toilet persuasion didn't work, my friend had to jump into the cubicle, unlock it from the inside and drag me bodily onto the stage just before curtains were going up. Put on the spot, literally, I had to do my best with a quavery voice and shivering body. But our writing pulled us through and soon we saw a river of bodies falling over each other laughing. By the time we finished, we were mini-celebrities in college. It was my first taste of stand-up comedy and (some) fame. I was intoxicated. And addicted.
That was 2007 and this is 2018. In fits and starts, I have continued doing standup (more fits and fewer starts to be honest) and in the process have learned a few things that I'd like to share.
Communicate, communicate, communicate:
"What you most want to find will be found where you least want to look." - Carl Jung
I was a shy kid and an uncommunicative young man. I found it harrowing to talk to authority figures and girls my own age. Even in a professional environment, I found myself unable to communicate my challenges to my bosses and colleagues. By the time I was working, I had stopped doing stand-up and that college show was a distant but powerful memory. Despite the trouble I had with workplace communication and dating due to my lack of communication skills, I found that humor helped me cope with both. Whenever I deployed humor in aid of these problem areas it opened up more and more opportunities for me. However, I hadn't polished the skill for years after college. One day in a fit of nostalgia I registered for an open mic. I was sure it would be a cakewalk.
It wasn't. I bombed so hard, it was like Syria but less funny. The place I least wanted to go was the stage. I'd have preferred to go the Bermuda Triangle much more. But the stage is where I went. Things got better eventually. But they got better only when I went right THROUGH the worst. I'm still not the life of the party but I do much better at communication than before, doing stand-up regularly.
Pain is information:
“If she's amazing, she won't be easy. If she's easy, she won't be amazing. If she's worth it, you won't give up. If you give up, you're not worthy." - Bob Marley
We do many things in life. Most of those things are just what life presents us with. But then there are some things we throw at life. Those are the things that we want to do despite what the society, family or friends say. Those are the things we do at great personal cost. Comedy is one those things for me.
A similar rule applies to work. We do the jobs our campus drives, friend network or immediate opportunities throw at us. But then there are some things we want to do so much that regular rules don't matter. Those are your dream careers. You can always keep them as dreams but if you ever try to make them real it would be a demanding process. The willingness to go through the process is how you know you really want it. The more it hurts, the more you improve.
Accountability:
“When you're good at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're great at something, they'll tell you.” - Walter Payton
There's no formula for being great at comedy. But there's one ironclad rule that all good comics observe. If you bomb, it's never the audience's fault. You write every day, perform every day, evaluate yourself and improve by just a little bit every time you go on stage. There's no finish line the crossing of which suddenly will make you a great standup comic. Natural talent can do only so much. Although it's an art form full of insecurity and instability, there is one beacon of quality assurance - laughter. Loud and consistent laughter is the only one yardstick of performance. On stage, the audience is your boss and your KPA is laughter. No matter how smart, well informed or observant you are, if there's no laughter - YOU WILL BOMB. And you'll blame NO ONE but yourself.
This applies accurately in the workplace. Sometimes, the sense of accountability gets lost and it's easier to blame someone else for failure. No matter where I’ve worked, I’ve found the most growth by taking accountability for work and sticking to it even if I don't always meet my targets. That's what separates those who just have a job from those who have a career.
In conclusion, In my 10 years of time in the workforce I’ve benefited the most from -
Communication skills - “soft skill” is a misnomer. It’s quite a hard-earned and useful weapon to have in your professional armoury.
Doing what comes to me the hardest. You’ve heard a thousand times. Leave your comfort zone, try new things, exercise your dormant muscles etc. I can say from personal experience that it works.
Pain is a good thing. The moment life gets painless, I get paranoid. It means I’m unprepared for whatever challenge it is that’s coming my way. And trust me, it’s coming.
Accountability. Put your money where your mouth is. Say what you mean, do what you say. I know it’s easier said than done - but try.
And last but not the least, have a muse apart from work like comedy has been for me.
Piyush Tainguriya
An engineer by education, writer by profession and a stand-up comic by vocation. I'm only half joking though.
January 25, 2018
January 26, 2018
February 02, 2018
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