Comedy, Conversation and Networking

The other night we were watching an MLB Network special with Bob Costas and Jerry Seinfeld that was an examination and discussion around the “Who’s On First?” comedy routine performed by Abbott and Costello.

It is amazing how relevant this routine and the discussion is to networking.  From working a room to starting and maintaining a conversation, the elements they discussed were all there: timing, compression, roles and tension.

Timing and listening.  In the routine, the presentation was all about compressing time and having things move fast.  Compressing a conversation makes you think faster.  The faster Bud Abbott talks the faster Lou Costello responds.  The routine picks up speed and the laughter grows with that speed.  And the two conversants don’t forget their roles and points of view: Abbott is convinced he has explained the names of players (Who, What, Where) and Costello doesn’t understand why Bud isn’t answering him.  They aren’t listening to one another.

The networking lesson is to keep up with the pace of the conversation, listen carefully and think fast.

Remember your role: if you are at an event, remember why you are there, your mission.  Remember, too,  that is not all about you and that you should listen more than talk. And all of us can be straight men.  The straight man is the adult, the lines on the page, reality.  The comedian is the child, the squiggly doodles on that page, the escape from reality. Knowing who you are at an event, in a conversation or in a presentation, will pay you dividends and help you understand if you can reach your goals.

Tension.  There is inevitably tension in any conversation of some level.  In comedy the idea is to create tension with speed and movement.  In networking, you need to keep things in line, understand the flow and listen carefully and understand if there is tension so you can respond (or not) to it.

You can read about the Costas and Seinfeld story from MLB here and watch “Who’s on First?” here.

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