Humour me
Lessons in Design Thinking from a comedian
Tuesday, 6 August 2019
Hi there!
Humour is a skill. That’s what Andrew Tarvin says in his TEDx Talk – and it is a skill that can be learned. Andrew is an engineer, a self-described nerd, and an introvert. And yet, he taught himself to be a stand-up comedian. He shares several techniques about how he did that, and they sound very, very familiar.
If you have 20 minutes to spare, I highly recommend watching his talk, “The Skill of Humor”. It’s insightful, and funny.
Too long, didn’t watch
While Andrew Tarvin talks about incorporating humour into work for being happy, the methods he describes are applicable for everyday problem solving.
- Humans aren’t computers. Unlike computers, humans have feelings, and it is important to connect with each other through emotional connection, not error messages. Design thinking calls this empathising.
- A fundamental mindset of improv, is “Yes, and …” Improvisers explore ideas and heighten them, saying “If this is true, what else is true?” In design thinking, facilitators will always ask participants to fight the urge to judge ideas, and instead, build upon them.
- “Fake it…”, jump in, and try things out. Comedians have open-mics to test their sets before performing live. And sketch comedians practice the character over and over, learning as they go along, what aspects of the character are liked by audiences. Prototyping seeks to achieve similar objectives.
- Most importantly, anyone can learn the skill of humour / design thinking.
I shared this video about six months ago, with a two-line comment. While the ‘post’ generated positive responses, I felt it was important to expand on the inferences I had made.
I’d love to know your take on the video. What were your takeaways? Simply hit reply!
Warm Regards,
Kasturika
Interested in receiving these stories directly in your inbox? Sign up :)
There’s no “Read more”. Only a “Reply”
