Be Willing to Bomb - Advice from Stand Up Comedians

In stand up comedy (later extended to performances of all kinds), to "bomb" is when your performance flops in front of an unsupportive audience. Either the joke was bad or the energy from the audience was negative no matter what, or both. A bomb isn't good.

So why do stand up comics cherish and value their bomb moments? And what can you learn about this to take into business.

Be Willing to Bomb

Let me start by showing you a bomb. This video is one minute long. (It feels like an eternity.)

Later in the same performance, Letterman digs in and makes the joke again. People weakly laugh. Again. Letterman does it AGAIN a little while later. People ROAR with laughter, applause, and as I recall, a standing ovation. What's that about?

Okay, let me bullet this out:

• The bravery comes at the beginning - making any first move (on stage or in the office) is an act of bravery.
• Taking the failure in stride is the hardest part - like when I made a comment in front of three people and they didn't exactly see it my way. (Secret: I threw out a bomb on purpose because I wanted to start SOMEWHERE.)
• Pushing through to make it work is the gold.

So you can see how this works in business, right? Lots of times, people don't speak up. They don't "go first." They're worried about looking dumb. Comedians don't mind looking dumb. They don't love it. They just know it's part of the territory.

If YOU could learn the same thing, and accept that not everything you risk saying will be gold, you'll go further.

I know this goes against that worry that you'll look foolish. "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." (Lincoln.) But here's the thing: you learn more and you learn faster if you're willing to bomb. I've done it professionally for years. I'm still somehow employed.

And just a quick explanation: when I mean "bomb," I surely don't mean to say something awful, harmful, etc. None of that. I just mean, "what if what you say isn't the best idea in the room" kinds of things.

It does take bravery. What about you?

Feel brave?

Chris...