April 7, 2026

Comedy as Confidence: Finding Your Voice and Owning the Stage with Lynn Harris

Comedy as Confidence: Finding Your Voice and Owning the Stage with Lynn Harris
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What if getting funnier could change the way you show up in your life… not just on a stage, but in your work, your conversations, and your confidence?

In this episode of Connect Inspire Create, I’m joined by Lynn Harris, founder of GOLD Comedy—a comedy school, creative community, and content studio where women and non-binary creators grow their voices and build meaningful careers.

Lynn shares how a moment at 16 shaped her understanding of comedy, confidence, and the extra layers many women navigate when stepping into visibility. What began as an observation became a lifelong mission: helping others claim space, be heard, and use humor as a powerful tool for connection and change.

We explore how comedy isn’t just about being funny—it’s about thinking differently, reading the room, communicating with clarity, and building confidence in ways that ripple far beyond the stage.

If you’ve ever felt hesitant to speak up, share your ideas, or take creative risks, this conversation might open a door you didn’t even realize was there.

In this conversation, we explore:
• Why humor is one of the most powerful communication tools we have
• How comedy skills translate into real-life confidence and leadership
• The role of community in helping us find and trust our voice
• What holds people back from being “funny” and how to move through it
• Simple ways to start building your creative confidence today

There’s something quietly powerful about laughter—it softens the edges, opens people up, and creates connection in an instant.

And as Lynn reminds us… when people listen, things begin to change.

Book your personal comedy consult! Come chat about where you are in your creative/comedy journey—and/or find out how comedy skills can support you in work and life! BOOK YOUR CALL

http://www.goldcomedy.com

https://www.instagram.com/goldcomedy

https://youtube.com/goldcomedy

https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldcomedy/



I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

Here, we explore:

• living with intention and self-trust
• alternative ways of thinking and being
• creativity, purpose, and personal growth

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners







I am your host Carol Clegg. As a small business coach, I partner with women solopreneurs in midlife, to confidently step out of overwhelm and create a fresh path to success through tailored accountability and mindset coaching, integrated with the powerful Positive Intelligence program. Struggling with procrastination, finding balance in your business and personal life, and cultivating a positive mindset?

Let’s chat!

BOOK your ✅ 30 minute complimentary discovery call

carolclegg.com or book your call here https://bit.ly/discoverycallwithcarol

Connect on LinkedIn and Instagram

Thanks for listening!

Chapters

00:00 - omedy As A Gentle Challenge

00:37 - eet Lynn Harris And Gold Comedy

02:01 - arly Comedy Pulls And Surprises

04:59 - Ski Trip Lesson On Bias

07:55 - hy Jokes Move Serious Ideas

10:16 - omedy Skills For Work And Trust

18:24 - nside Gold Comedy And Its Classes

21:13 - einvention And Using Humor To Lead

25:11 - ow To Connect And Closing Invites

Transcript
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00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:29.519
People respond to especially to you know challenging ideas in comedy packages because they're not being lectured to, they're not being scolded, they're not being and there's pl there's room for that, believe me, but but in these cases, it just it's it's a very warm, fun, unchallenging way to be invited to consider a serious issue or a serious problem or something that is in serious need of a solution or change.

00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.439
Well, welcome everybody to Connect, Inspire, Create.

00:00:41.600 --> 00:00:51.600
This is a space for thoughtful conversations about creativity, personal growth, and the everyday moments that shape how we live and work.

00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:53.679
I am Carol Clegg, your host.

00:00:53.759 --> 00:01:09.680
I call myself the Gentle Accountability Coach, and each episode I am joined by guests from a wide range of backgrounds as we explore how they think, what inspires them, and how they navigate the beautiful complexity of being human.

00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:13.920
I would love to introduce my guest today, Lynn Harris.

00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:15.040
So welcome, Lynn.

00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:16.000
Thank you for joining me.

00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:16.959
Thank you.

00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:18.079
Thank you for having me.

00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:24.159
I'm looking forward to learning all about comedy and the role that it can play in your life.

00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:32.640
So, Lynn Harris is a culture-shifting producer, award-winning journalist, and an author-co-author of over six books.

00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:42.959
Her comedy and campaigns for social justice and gender equity have changed laws and conversations from Capitol Hill up to NASCAR.

00:01:43.200 --> 00:02:00.879
She is the founder and CEO of Gold Comedy, the comedy school, professional network, and content studio where women and non-binary creators grow their comedy careers, build powerful communities, and make funny stuff.

00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:11.360
So, Les, before we dive into all about what I want to know about comedy and how it plays in our life, I'd love to start Lynn with just asking you a little more personal question.

00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:17.360
When people first meet you, what's one thing that they are often surprised to learn about you?

00:02:17.680 --> 00:02:21.680
Well, I'm only 5'1, so I and I used to play ice hockey.

00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.520
So one question was always, you play ice hockey?

00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:31.120
Just because I don't seem, you know, I I seem more like I might play, I might be a point guard for basketball.

00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:33.199
So that was one thing.

00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:42.719
I also think another thing is certainly when I mention my business, and this is I'm gonna just like let out my frustrations here.

00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:50.319
When I mention my business, and I say, you know, I want I run a company company that helps women succeed in the comedy business.

00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:55.680
Often they say, Oh, or or later they come back and say, How's your program?

00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:57.919
How's your collective?

00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:00.159
How's your project?

00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:04.960
And I want to be like, did I like let's let's roll back the tape.

00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:23.439
I said business, I said company, and it's just it's just one of those things that you know, when a woman's talking about her work and also her work involves other women, immediately often people's brains go to, oh, it must be charitable.

00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:25.199
Yes, this is a business.

00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:35.759
And I myself cannot wait to find out how this flows into how we can be better in our businesses and what we do and for ourselves as people.

00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:38.000
So I feel you on that frustration.

00:03:39.199 --> 00:03:45.840
You've certainly had a fascinating career when we look at the intersection of comedy, journalism, and then the social change.

00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:50.879
So can you share with us what first pulled you towards comedy as the creative path?

00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:55.360
I don't have a deep or interesting story or aha moment.

00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:09.439
Well, I sort of do, but but but overall, it really was just kind of like one of those big cartoon magnets, like in like in Roadrunner, you know, those big, like U-shaped, giant, like red and silver magnets.

00:04:09.520 --> 00:04:11.680
And I just I didn't have deep thoughts about it.

00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.439
I didn't have a plan.

00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:22.720
I just was drawn to that world, or at least as a first as a consumer and then as a performer.

00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:30.480
You know, in my in my house growing up, my parents were not comedians or involved in entertainment, but they were entertaining.

00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:44.720
The soundtrack or the you know, the video background of my childhood in the 70s and on was the Muppet Show, Miss Piggy, Laughing, Carol Burnett, I Love Lucy.

00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:49.360
And that was just what that was just comedy when I was growing up, and I loved it.

00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:58.399
And so I I I again I didn't make a plan or have a real compass, but I I just I just kept doing things that got me closer to doing that.

00:04:58.639 --> 00:04:59.040
Fantastic.

00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:04.319
Well, I know that you shared, I think this is on your website that about a ski weekend when you were at sea.

00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:04.720
Yes.

00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.839
That night, and what's good with you?

00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:09.519
Yeah, no, thank you for asking.

00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:10.720
That is the specific story.

00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:24.560
It's not when I said, I will do comedy, but it is when something clicked for me about women in comedy, and that that did it was the engine that that led to, you know, for years that led to my caring about women in comedy.

00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:39.839
And that was that even though I was raised on, you know, the women I mentioned, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, no one ever, you know, Goldie Hahn, Lily Tomlin, you know, no one ever told me that they were, they were never sort of presented to me as female comics.

00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.759
That was, they were just comics, comics.

00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:42.560
They did comedy.

00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:46.879
I didn't think about it as different from like the rest of comedy, which is great.

00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:48.879
I would like to get us back to that place.

00:05:49.120 --> 00:06:08.800
But on this ski trip, which was like the event of the year for for the New York New England Jewish youth groups, and this is but this is the 80s, and that night, or the you know, the Saturday night, a bunch of dudes bar like borrowed girls' nightgowns and did sort of this like sloppy drag sketch that brought the house down.

00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:12.560
And I say sloppy not as a not as a not as a criticism.

00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:14.959
It's just that it was sort of impromptu, and that's what it was.

00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:17.759
It was just like, let's pop on some nightgowns, see what happens.

00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:18.879
And it brought the house down.

00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.680
One of them side note may or may not have been Adam Sandler.

00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:24.639
Um, it does check out autobiography, I mean, biographically.

00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.959
I didn't know him well, but he was in that mix.

00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:34.639
And I remember thinking, kind of looking around and watching everyone laugh and watching these guys kind of goof around, you know, which is fine.

00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:37.759
And you know, my first thought was, okay, what are the girls gonna do?

00:06:37.920 --> 00:06:40.480
Because, you know, my gang, we were funny, we were goofballs.

00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:49.279
And then my next thought, almost as quickly, even though I was like only 15 or 16 and had yet to take women's studies, I just thought, you know what?

00:06:49.519 --> 00:07:00.399
Something in my gut told me, not that women wouldn't be as funny, of course, but that we couldn't just run up there and do something equally sloppy.

00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:07.600
And I remember I say sloppy as not a criticism, but equally sort of underprepared, get the same kind of reaction.

00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:24.480
We would have to like have a writer's room and work for weeks and have costumes and you know, and a director, and just because it's the same, you know, same thing where and it's continues today where women have to work harder, and it's true in comedy, it's true in like, you know, science, it's true in business.

00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:27.199
Women have to work harder to get the same results.

00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:29.920
The expectations are higher, the bar is higher, all that stuff.

00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:34.480
And all that kind of flooded my brain without my really, really, you know, without a full analysis.

00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:37.439
But I was just like, nope, we're not doing anything.

00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:42.399
And that was a giant bummer, knowing that the women would not be received.

00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:51.839
No, no fault of our own, no lack of skill or talent, but that women would not be received the same way that those sort of you know delayful knuckleheads were.

00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.680
And that stayed with me, obviously.

00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:55.680
Yeah, so the seed was planted.

00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.120
Yeah, I know that you something that's really powerful, and I I have to agree.

00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:05.199
I mean, laughter in so many ways not only is healing, but it makes people listen.

00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:06.160
Yes.

00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:11.759
And you know, so one doesn't stop to think of it as a powerful communication tool that it is.

00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:16.560
People often say, and I I'm sure you've heard this one, laughter is the best medicine.

00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:17.040
It is.

00:08:17.199 --> 00:08:21.439
I mean, it's you know, timed with the you know, with the COVID vaccine, but you know, it is.

00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:36.080
But I think often people think of it as, in that sense, they think of it as passive or a distraction or something that's different from our outside of life that we want because you know, we want as an escape or something like that.

00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:54.720
But I think it can be comedy, humor, whatever, it can be underestimated as something active, as a delivery system for challenging ideas, as something that actually really powerfully shifts a vibe in a room that brings people together in a really active, specific, concrete way.

00:08:55.120 --> 00:09:11.279
At the very like molecular level, most comedy can be distilled, I mean, all kinds of comedy can be distilled down to at some you know foundational level, a setup and a punch, like a direction and a misdirection, a setup and a twist.

00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:28.480
And if you think about it, if everyone, if your audience, you know, actual or kind of loosely speaking, follows you from that setup to that punch, like goes with you on that surprise, on that unexpected twist, you all got the same thing.

00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:33.360
Like that's not necessarily like you, you don't, not everyone gets the same joke, right?

00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.399
And not everyone can follow you around that corner.

00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:47.200
And when people do, and I mean that literally, but I also mean it kind of metaphorically, when everyone like gets a joke in the same moment, it's kind of huge and but also painless.

00:09:47.519 --> 00:10:01.200
So people respond to especially to you know challenging ideas in comedy packages because they're not being lectured to, they're not being scolded, they're not being and there's pl there's room for that, believe me.

00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:16.639
But in these cases, it just it's it's a very warm, fun, unchallenging way to be invited to consider a serious issue or a serious problem or something that is in serious need of a solution or change.

00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.080
And you talk about it as a skill set, not just a talent.

00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.399
So obviously people can learn the skill set.

00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:26.720
So what sort of last skills that comedy actually builds?

00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:27.440
Yes.

00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.080
So there are thousands of studies on this.

00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:34.240
This is not just like me, you know, being being a comedy cheerleader.

00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:43.519
There are thousands of studies that show, and some of these things will not surprise you, like building comedy skills, which by the way, again, many often when I when I say comedy, people think of stand-up.

00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:44.639
But I want to be clear.

00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.840
Of course, sure, I'm talking about stand-up, but we're talking about improv.

00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:51.679
We're talking about humor writing that you might read as a New Yorker or wherever.

00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:56.000
You we're talking about comedy TV shows that which come in many varieties.

00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:05.120
We're even talking about the humor writing that brands do a lot of, or funny commercial, funny on being funny on Instagram, whatever it is, all that stuff is what I'm talking about.

00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:11.039
But in any case, or just like joking during your day or viewing your day with a comedy lens, which we'll get to.

00:11:11.360 --> 00:11:26.879
But practicing the skills that are involved in creating those moments, it won't surprise you to help that they to know that they help you, you know, think faster, write sharper, and importantly, read a room.

00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:31.759
A lot of comedy is not about talking, it's about what you're doing when you're not talking.

00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:39.440
It's about listening, it's about understanding the vibe in the room and speaking to it and not speaking at all when the time is right.

00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:45.919
But there's also some other interesting stuff about, you know, we talked about how comedy builds connection, sure.

00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:50.399
It also builds trust, which is one of those things that, like, yeah, yeah.

00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:58.720
It's and there's there's a lot, there's information about how CEOs prefer to hire people who they sense have a sense of humor.

00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:05.759
And also people at work tend to actually trust their superiors when they have a sense of humor.

00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:15.840
And that doesn't mean that their CEOs or their superiors are giant goofballs with, you know, with lampshades on their head or who are always on or always working or always joking.

00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:16.799
It doesn't mean that.

00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:21.360
That's that's one way of being funny, but it's certainly it's by no means the only way.

00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:25.279
Where that comes from is knowing your audience.

00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:32.639
In other words, when when someone in your workplace makes a joke that everyone gets, they understand their audience.

00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:34.080
They understand you.

00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.159
And they're showing you in their way that they understand you.

00:12:38.399 --> 00:12:41.759
Is it the only effective way to be a CEO or a manager?

00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:42.720
Of course not.

00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:46.159
But it builds, it it builds that sense of connection.

00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:56.639
And you know, an example I'll give you in a slightly different context is that I hired the firm that I hired to handle the accounting for my company.

00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.000
I hired them, and this may not surprise you, but part of it might.

00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.039
I hired them because their website was hilarious.

00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:19.279
And if you can imagine an accounting firm having a hilarious website difficult, right, and it actually made me take them more seriously because they didn't, they weren't funny in a way that kind of betrayed their serious of seriousness of purpose.

00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.799
They were funny in a way that was kind of like taxes, am I right?

00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:24.399
Like, they're in giant pain.

00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:25.840
We hate them, let us help you.

00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:37.039
And that was the voice, and it made me feel like okay, there are real people working at this company who thought about who they are and what they want to say about themselves as a company.

00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:39.679
And that to me was very smart.

00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:47.360
And so it wasn't the humor itself, though it was, it was what it told me about that company and their use.

00:13:47.440 --> 00:13:48.320
It was just kind of goofy.

00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:53.039
It wasn't even like highfalutin, you know, James Serber level comedy.

00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:56.240
It was just like a wacky gif of like someone hating taxes.

00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:57.759
And I was like, I love their vibe.

00:13:58.000 --> 00:13:58.480
Yeah, yeah.

00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:02.000
And what a word that just keeps circling around in my head for me is authentic.

00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:14.159
That yes, it perhaps in a certain way, comedy allows you to show up and and kind of play a little and and just yeah, just be you as opposed to feeling that you're walking this really straight, narrow road.

00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:23.360
Yeah, and you'd be surprised at how much how effective that can be with not much work or skill or experience in comedy.

00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:32.559
It's more like the the the being the one who says the thing, you know, even in the simplest, which is goes back to reading the room, right?

00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:41.440
Like even in the most simple context, you're you know, you're meeting a bunch of new people in a in a in an office, in a you know, you know, meeting room, whatever it is, and it's cold or it's hot.

00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.759
Like, I don't know, something is uncomfortable.

00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:49.200
And to be the one that like you're all awkward, you're meeting each other for the first time, whatever it is.

00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:55.039
And but just to be the one who says, you know, does anyone else need sunscreen?

00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:58.080
You know, or like, or, or just you don't even have to be funny.

00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:01.200
Just like it is it crazy or is it just me?

00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:02.720
It's not a joke.

00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:04.960
It's just saying what's so.

00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:13.840
It's not review, it's not even personal, it's not where you don't have to like reveal anything about yourself, or but it is authentic in that sense that like someone said this thing that was true.

00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:31.840
Yeah, that was on their mind, and it's their brains did say this, and they didn't judge themselves and go, I mean, on that would you have you seen people come into gold comedy going, oh, I'm not funny, I can't be funny, and then they leave with a completely different sense of confidence all the time.

00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:33.200
All the time.

00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:50.480
And we do have a lot of people join us who are who are not interested necessarily in pursuing a comedy career, who are not quitting their day jobs, who are someone in some cases they have a creative side hustle or a passion project that's going on.

00:15:50.639 --> 00:15:57.759
Like in many cases, you know, we have women who are like, if I don't write this pilot that's been sitting in my head, I feel it may kill me.

00:15:57.840 --> 00:15:59.840
You know, I like I have to get this out.

00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:01.519
And like, why why wait?

00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:02.320
Why am I waiting?

00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:07.440
We've had one who is a veterinary oncology surgeon and not quitting that job, you know.

00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:13.360
But she was like, I gotta do this thing, I've got this idea, it's gonna, it's living rent-free in my brain, and I gotta get it out there.

00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:18.559
And we also have women who, yeah, who are just who feel like this is this is going to enhance.

00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:20.159
I I want to do this as it.

00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:26.240
Like I really want to do like try comedy, but I also I understand how it can enhance how I show up.

00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:33.840
And but often, yeah, often people come in being like, well, I don't really know how funny I am, but I figure you can help me out.

00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:37.600
And it's just not to me, that's just like not really a thing.

00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:56.799
You know, it's just because I think of you know, of course, yes, at some level, we all know people who see like seem to be amazing at sports when they were four, or can open up your refrigerator and just like cook a thing when you to you there's nothing there, you know, or or just people who are who seem like naturals.

00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:58.639
And that's of course there's that.

00:16:59.039 --> 00:17:04.319
But it's really more about like letting yourself be yourself and doing the work.

00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:05.599
That's pretty much it.

00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.440
Like there's work involved, it's practice, but you don't have to come in.

00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:11.039
I think people two things.

00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:20.640
I think people come in with the idea that all comedians are loud on all the time, and if they don't see themselves that way, then they're like, Well, I can't be a comedian.

00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:26.640
It's just it's completely you don't have to be less shy, more confident, any of that to show up.

00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:35.519
And the other thing is like women, I'm so I'm like, I hate that it's 2026 and women still get the message that like we're different, we're less funny, we don't have confidence.

00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.960
Like, that's all just crazy talk.

00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:38.240
It's just it's just very silly.

00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.359
It's just very silly.

00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:46.079
So, really, we have so many people who either come in and say, like, I'm I think I'm funny, but I don't I need I need some I need someone to tell me the science.

00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.000
So, yeah, right.

00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:52.079
And then we have other people being like, I don't know, I just I just want to be near comedy.

00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:53.039
I don't know where to start.

00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:54.640
Like, just help me out.

00:17:54.880 --> 00:18:08.480
And what's nice about us is that it's not like walking into, even though this might be very nice, it's not like walking into an you know an open mic of all like 25-year-old dudes who again might be very nice, but they might not be your people.

00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:10.720
And then we come back to what we mentioned right in the beginning.

00:18:10.799 --> 00:18:12.640
When you say it's work, it's the skill set.

00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:13.839
You're bringing that on.

00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:24.480
So let's talk about you know what kind of things happen inside gold that people might not expect from a comedy business, a comedy school, could you call it a comedy school?

00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.720
Yes, yeah, we call it it, and it's all online.

00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.359
Let me hasten to say it's all online, with some exceptions.

00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.200
It's all like the core stuff is all online, so you can join from anywhere.

00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:38.880
Yeah, so the core stuff is we're a comedy school, a professional network, and a content studio.

00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:42.480
So we have classes all the time.

00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:47.759
We have celebrity and prof, we have uh speaker series with comedy celebrities and pros.

00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.680
We have open mics twice a week, we have one-off workshops all the time.

00:18:51.839 --> 00:19:03.039
We have members who then, whether out of taking a class or just because they've got something going on, who collab who get together and collaborate to, as you said before, rightly make funny stuff.

00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:05.279
So that's the content studio piece.

00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:08.880
We have our members have made web series that are out there now.

00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:16.319
We have members making digital video sketches, which are hard to find with only women or you know, basically not all dudes.

00:19:16.960 --> 00:19:24.880
We have members making uh putting on creating solo shows that are that that they've done Boston, New York, they've toured them.

00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:29.440
So they were just two of them have partnered together and they just did their show again in Birmingham.

00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:35.440
Like they're that's the sort of flow over into the, you know, into bricks and brick and mortar places.

00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:55.759
But people really can find their own path because we offer classes and experiences in all different kinds of comedy and even experiences for people who don't see themselves as creators or performers, as writers or or stand-ups or or what have you, but who, you know, just want to like how can I be part of making something?

00:19:55.920 --> 00:20:04.640
And they're the people who are doing the editing, the camera work, the lighting, the sound that we also have that we need to make some of the funny stuff we make.

00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:14.319
By and large, the folks who are listening might be the ones who come in and kind of be like, I want to learn stand-up, I want to learn sketch, just show me.

00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:29.519
And specifically, last thing I'll say about that is that we also have a class that really attracts women who are accomplished in other fields, who the ones who have that idea for a TV show, a movie, whatever it is, a book in their heads.

00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:55.920
We have a class taught by very accomplished Emmy Award and PV award PVD award-winning producer who guides you on a very high-level college level actually curriculum, getting that idea into the shape it needs to be, in the uh develop to the depth it needs to be, for you then to be able to pitch it in the proper language and style to the people who can help you make it happen.

00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:58.640
So it's developed the idea and the pitch.

00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:08.559
So that's that's one of our like most exciting classes, and the women who do it are come from every walk of work you could possibly imagine.

00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:13.279
Yeah, I love it because you're so passionate about what you're sharing, which is absolutely beautiful.

00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:17.920
And I just, you know, it stops me for a moment to think for the people that might be listening.

00:21:18.079 --> 00:21:21.680
Often we hit a stage in our lives where it's time to reinvent.

00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:22.160
Yes.

00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:23.440
Reinvent ourselves.

00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:26.960
And I'll share because I'm slowly learning how to put this out.

00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:29.839
I'm newly into widowhood.

00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.680
I have just lost my heart, thank you, over a month ago.

00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:38.640
And it keeps coming at me that this is now the time in life to reinvent yourself.

00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:42.640
And you know, reinvent doesn't have to have been a loss or a death.

00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:54.319
I mean, it could be many things like moving or even just midlife or lost the job, or just so many things that we kind of go, ah, I need a spark of something new in my life.

00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:59.680
And you know, when I listen to what you're sharing and going, because being creative, we all have it in.

00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:00.640
Somewhere.

00:22:00.960 --> 00:22:01.359
It really does.

00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:06.400
You know, finding how to channel it and the challenge of trying something new.

00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:07.839
Why not?

00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.400
You know?

00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:15.279
So thinking from a business point of view, many of my listeners are, you know, entrepreneurs or they are creators.

00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:20.240
How would comedy skills help somebody in their business life or their leadership?

00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:34.480
It definitely helps you be able to engage and pitch and talk, being able to take a breath, let down your guard and feel uh less formal when you talk to people, um, which people you think you have to be and you don't.

00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.119
People are always so happy when you're not, you know, right?

00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:47.039
And being able to sort of what I kind of call like speaking to plain language, writing shorter, writing shorter.

00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:59.599
If there was nothing else, saying what you can say in, you know, taking you saying what you thought you needed 500 words, 200 words for, and saying it in 10, you could do that.

00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:09.839
We used to have an exercise where where we would make someone take an entire chunk or a story or anecdote and shorten it until it was as long as a tweet.

00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:14.400
But even before the first iteration, when they were half the links that they send me now.

00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:37.680
So just brevity is the soul of wit, as we know, but that kind of directness of speech and relating to people, and then directness of writing, and then also as we were talking about the sensitivity around reading a room and knowing what, knowing what, knowing when to talk, knowing when to pause, knowing when to ask questions, that could all come from comedy and not just improv.

00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:39.039
People love improv.

00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:45.680
Nothing is we love improv, but but it's people like often equate improv with those skills, and it's really not just improv.

00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:48.880
Because remember, when you're doing stand-up, you're also talking to live humans.

00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:53.039
You know, it's not it's not just like, oh, I'm gonna go say my words and leave.

00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:55.519
You know, you are talking to live humans and you must.

00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:03.200
And or even if you're, you know, even if you're some comics tend more toward crowd work, some less, but like no matter what, it's a conversation.

00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:08.160
The other people may not be actually interacting with you live, like with words, but it's still a conversation.

00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:10.960
And you're still listening to the room, reading the room.

00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:19.920
So just a that skill, your listening, you know, for your 10 minutes may tell you that you don't need to interact directly with the audience.

00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:29.599
Or it may, you might, I don't know, some someone might drop something, or it might, you know, you may need to respond to something in the room, and and being able to do that can help you with your keynote.

00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.839
We'll always tell you to open your keynote with a joke.

00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:37.440
And often people like Google a joke, and it's not funny because it's not not funny, but it's not organic.

00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:37.920
Right.

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:39.759
And it's not organic to the situation.

00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:41.200
So, how do you do that?

00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:48.720
How do you add more humor to your keynote without being a goofball, you know, without like feeling like you're undermining this, your seriousness of purpose?

00:24:48.799 --> 00:24:52.640
Like all those things can be learned with the you know, with the with the practice of comedy.

00:24:52.880 --> 00:25:08.640
Yeah, Lynn, this has really been such a wonderful reminder that yeah, you've got creativity and you've got humor, not just being entertainment, but that connection and that confidence, and then just giving people permission, woman permission to show up.

00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:09.440
Yes, please.

00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:10.880
All right.

00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:17.359
Well, I would love to share with our listeners where they can connect with you and learn more about gold comedy.

00:25:17.519 --> 00:25:22.240
And I know that you did share with me they could have a personal comedy consult with you.

00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:29.680
Yes, that's I really invite that because I, you know, there's a lot of people have a lot of thoughts, you know, about like, okay, that sounds great, but not for me.

00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:34.720
Or that sounds great, but I don't think I and and I'm not gonna like talk you into anything, but I at all.

00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:40.640
But I but I that's one reason why I would love to talk about talk to individuals and find out like, I don't know, what are your goals?

00:25:40.799 --> 00:25:46.720
Is it a funny keynote, or is it just like smiling more during the day, or you know, anything in between?

00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:48.960
Let's talk about how we can get you there.

00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:51.200
And so yeah, that we'll provide the link.

00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:51.839
Super.

00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:54.160
I've got the calendar link, so I'll put that in there.

00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.359
And then your website is goldcomedy.com.

00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:02.000
And then I have YouTube for you, I have LinkedIn, and I have Instagram.

00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:03.920
Yes, very hard not to find.

00:26:04.240 --> 00:26:05.599
All right, lovely.

00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:07.359
Well, then thank you.

00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.519
Really, this has been inspiring and a good start to my day.

00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:24.559
So I hope that are listening, they're gonna be inspired to just connect with you and take you up on that conversation and just find out you know how comedy can fit into your life, your business and your personal life.

00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:30.000
So, well, thanks to everybody for listening to Connect Inspire Create.

00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:37.440
And if today's conversation sparked something for you, I invite you to just share it with somebody else who you think might enjoy this.

00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:50.240
And if you're navigating change and not following through the way you want to, I offer warm, consistent accountability that fits your real life while we work both on your mindset and next steps.

00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:52.400
And there are a couple of ways we can work together.

00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:56.559
You can join my complimentary mindset to momentum accountability circle.

00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:03.759
We meet once a month, third Tuesday of each month, or you can explore my packages that I offer to support you.

00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:09.119
So you'll find all the details at Carolcleg.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.

00:27:09.279 --> 00:27:14.079
And so until the next time, may your choices bring you ease and flow.