So what did those writers' rooms and live audiences teach you about human behavior that legal leaders might not expect?

Well, it's... wonderful and kind of silly to me that I've ended up in front of legal leaders and they're looking at a comedian saying, that's incredible.

We had no idea.

So it's, it's, but I think it's very telling because the value that I've realized I bring, I mean, I know I'm good at what I do and I've been speaking in the business world for a few years and I've spent a couple of decades in addition to writing comedy for TV shows, alongside that, I've always had a sideline in writing and doing punch-ups, so making things more engaging for people in the business world, people giving conference speeches, TED Talks, things like that.

And they would come to me and they'd say, I want to be funny.

You don't.

You want the reaction, you want connection, you want laughter, you want smiles, you want to connect with your audience and you don't want them to be bored.

just

How does that work? I mean, how easy or hard is it to write comedy and jokes and scripts for someone in someone else's voice? And how important is it to know them personally to do that? And if you don't, how else do you get inside their head and get their voice?

Well, I did stand up for about 15 years, but the stand up that I did was all after I was an established TV comedy writer.

That's what I've been doing since I was 23.

And really, I was writing for so many funny people.

And I always loved stand up comedy, but I honestly never really had the guts to do it.

I mean, it took some time.

And finally, some of the comics I was writing for on the side when I was writing because I'd go to comedy clubs with people after work.

And what about with your peers? Does it tend to be a collegiate atmosphere in a writer's room where you're all focused on getting the best joke as sharp and as funny as possible without worrying who takes credit for it? Or is it much more competitive and which approach produces probably the best results?