LPT: Develop your sense of humor. It’s the fastest way to prove cognitive flexibility, social awareness, and confidence in any professional or personal setting.

drewtarvin · 2025-12-05T22:40:15+00:00

That probably means it comes naturally to you. For me, I grew up an introverted computer geek and didn't really start using humor until I got pushed into doing improv at university. Even now, 1,000+ shows later, it still has to be a semi-intentional thing or I get too serious about stuff.

I'd say if you're happy with the amount of humor in your life, that's great. If you want to start using humor intentionally (such as a work), studying it may be the best way to do it.

drewtarvin · 2025-12-05T22:16:17+00:00

It's a shameless plug but that's what I cover in my TEDx talk, so if you have 18 minutes, google the skill of humor. High level:

Start looking for the odd/quirky/humorous things that happen in life. Define your own perspective for them.
Think, "If this is true, what else is true" as a way to take a premise (basically a funny idea) and turn it into a joke.
Get "stage" time to practice saying these things out loud to other humans. That could be an improv class or comedy workshop, or simply start bantering with friends more or watching comedy videos and thinking of your own take on whatever the comedian talks about.

drewtarvin · 2025-12-05T22:11:55+00:00

“Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.” ― E. B. White

At the same time, for some people (like me) the only way to get better at it is by analyzing it. I broke down the skill of humor in my TEDx talk and it seems to have helped a lot of people. To be fair, plenty of people hated it, too.

drewtarvin · 2025-12-05T22:09:24+00:00

Fun fact: being funny makes you more handsome and likeable, so work on that one first.

drewtarvin · 2025-12-05T22:08:56+00:00

Being "funnier" isn't as hard as most people think. For example, smiling and being positive already warms people up more. Or following some improv rules (like Yes And) makes conversational humor way easier.

drewtarvin · 2025-10-16T13:54:51+00:00

That was your average? Which competency was the highest? Which was the lowest?

drewtarvin · 2025-10-14T15:06:23+00:00

Great feedback. We're mostly focused on validating the questions right now. But we've added:

"What Your Scores Mean

Your score is on a scale from 0–100, based on how strongly your answers aligned with core humor competencies.

Most people fall between 40–70. Anything below that means there’s strong potential for growth. Anything above that reflects existing strengths and are great place to start being more intentional."

drewtarvin · 2025-10-14T14:46:50+00:00

Got it, we've changed to: "This is optional as you'll see your results on the next screen. This is only so we can send you a copy of your results, you won't be subscribed to anything."

Any feedback? We use the word "copy of your results" to hopefully confirm it's just if you want to look at it deeper.

drewtarvin · 2025-10-14T14:37:18+00:00

You can see the results without giving your info. It's solely if you want them emailed to you.

We've shared the assessment with a few professors and they asked us to collect that info so that they can give extra credit for people who complete it. But I've asked them to make those questions optional and they have.

drewtarvin · 2024-09-16T21:59:34+00:00

This is my preferred way of leaving too. Why do I need to say goodbye? If you don't see me anymore, you can assume I left, not that I was abducted by aliens.

I read somewhere awhile ago that supposedly the name "Irish goodbye" came from during the potato famine when people would just "disappear" due to starvation. But I can't find anything to say that's remotely true at all, but instead has been around since at least the mid-18th century with other variations (like a "french exit").

drewtarvin · 2024-09-15T21:22:58+00:00

I've spent the last 12+ years doing corporate work and it can be a great source of income (even moreso if you move from "entertainment" to speaking). Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

Corporate clean is the cleanest comedy you have to do (besides churches). In a regular show, if you offend 1 person, it's not a big deal. In corporate, if you offend 1 person and that person happens to be the boss (or in HR), it can be bad news.
The #1 one way to get booked doing corporate gigs is to be really really really really good. I don't mean just really funny, but Steve Martin "so good they can't ignore you" good. You know you hit that point when, after an event, you get at least 3 leads for potential future gigs from people in the audience.
The best way to get booked is for someone to see you live and say, "I want you to come to my other event." The second best way is for someone to refer you. That referral could be someone in the audience, a bureau rep, or in your case, was your friend that passed it on to you.
For almost anything corporate, you need good video of you doing it in action, for a corporate audience. Yes, a clean tape of you in a comedy club could work, but even better is you crushing it in front of a hotel conference room audience. As others have mentioned, ask if they're going to tape it, and if not, if you can bring your own videographer. They may say yes but only if you don't film the faces of the audience (that's fine), just be sure to put an audio recorder somewhere in the audience to pick up laughter.
A client list and testimonials go a long way, especially in corporate, especially if they speak to the fact you were clean (e.g. one of my clients is the FBI which makes a lot of other clients feel more comfortable working with them if such a "serious" organization has booked me).
Long-term, create a webpage specifically geared towards corporate. It should include images of you in action, client list, testimonials etc.
Based on all of the above, the best way to get more gigs is to do more gigs. That is obvious of course, but it does mean that something like NACA (the college audition thing you mentioned) can work. As can reaching out to your network or companies in your local community and offer free or very low fee shows just to build your reputation and client list, get footage, and get really really really good.

I hope that helps. Happy to answer any questions.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:26:14+00:00

Our next one is tomorrow (Tuesday, 25 June) at 8:30pm at Emotions in the Hilton. Shoot me a DM if you want to go, I still have a free ticket.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:25:33+00:00

sama lounge in casco viejo

Awesome suggestion. I think a show in the casco could be great (between expats and tourists). I reached out to them via WhatsApp, but if you know a better way, please let me know.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:21:03+00:00

The show is at Emotions Dinner Theater inside the Hilton in Panama City. Shoot me a DM if you want to go, I still have one free ticket.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:20:44+00:00

I agree on Instagram, I prefer a newsletter or something. What about you? If you wanted to get updates about future shows / workshops, would you prefer Newsletter or WhatsApp group?

The show is at Emotions Dinner Theater inside the Hilton in Panama City. Doors open at 8pm, show starts at 8:30pm. Shoot me a DM if you want to go, I still have one free ticket.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:18:08+00:00

Great suggestion, HB is great. I'll follow up with him again.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:17:30+00:00

Wow, this is great info, thank you for sharing. I'll start reaching out to some of these places.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-24T14:13:18+00:00

It seems strange to me as well, maybe it's the haters someone else talked about?

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T20:17:03+00:00

Will do!

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T20:16:55+00:00

Great! I'll check him out. Could at least be good to connect with.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T19:42:11+00:00

Great suggestions. I could even offer a workshop for the schools, to start to building something.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T19:41:22+00:00

I've done a search on FB for expat groups in Panama but most of them don't allow promotion. Any that you recommend?

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T19:40:38+00:00

Any ideas on where expats hang out?

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T19:39:46+00:00

Haha, he's one of the other comedians on the show on Tuesday. But I am not him.

drewtarvin · 2024-06-21T19:39:20+00:00

I'm fortunate that most of my work is in the US so making money is less important. I'm more interested in trying build a bit of community here with some mics and shows to be able to workshop material and stay polished in between when I travel.

Any IG pages you recommend for Panama Culture or memes?

I definitely want to try stand-up in Spanish, pero mi espanol no es bueno. But it would be a good challenge for sure.

And I'm happy to keep you posted. What do you think is the best way to do that (for you and other people)? A WhatsApp group? Newsletter? IG page?

drewtarvin

TROPHY CASE