S2, Ep 8. Funnier: A Funny, Practical Convo About Using Comedy (Way Bigger than Jokes) with Second City's Anne Libera

"Funnier" is the title of Anne's Upcoming book.

Comedy is WAY bigger than jokes. It's our words, our voice, our humanity and how we show up.

I was not going to release the whole hour at once. Originally I was going to break it up into sections.

I just couldn't break the convo in two because it was TOO GOOD. And it's worth many listens.

Anne is a woman after my own heart. I studied sketch writing at Second City. And comedy changed how I think, show up and create. Yes, I perform. And humor matters in business. Comedy teaches us skills of connection. And we need it.

Anne is funny, brilliant and thinks and teaches deep stuff: what makes things funny and how can we be funnier.

I connected with her when she said, "I get asked, 'Can you make me funny?" Her response, "I can make you funnier." And I relate. I get asked that and I think the answer is 'Funnier.' I can't make anyone funny. We can all be funnier.

This convo is not only funny; it will make YOU funnier.

Grab a cup of coffee and sit down with pen, paper or computer. We talk about:

-Thick humor (vs thin humor)

-Humor and comedy are more than jokes (preach, Anne!)

-Humor and AI (chat GPT writes bad jokes!)

-Narrative (story arcs matter!) and characters

-Humor as recognition (starts with a truth - audience must recognize it)

-Distance (time)

-Improv and the power of discovery - being present in the moment

Take notes. Laugh. Rinse and Repeat. Please check out Anne's work and her upcoming book, "Funnier."

About Anne

Anne Libera is Director of Comedy Studies at The Second City where she also serves as Artistic Consultant. She is an Associate Professor at Columbia College Chicago where she created and coordinates the Comedy Writng and Performance BA. Northwestern University Press which will also publish her upcoming book Funnier: A Theory of Comedy With Practical Applications. Contact her: Alibera(at)secondcity.com

About Kathy

Kathy Klotz-Guest, MA, MBA is a stand-up and improv comedian, author and speaker. A former tech exec for two decades while doing improv and stand-up comedy at night, she is the Founder of Keeping it Human℠ and the Seriously Funny podcast. Her mission: to help companies, leaders and teams think differently and get bigger results through improv and comedy concepts. Her last book, "Stop Boring Me!" was a top 10 selling book on Amazon in Creativity and Humor. Kathy(at)keepingithuman.com