What Bloopers and Gag Reels Teach Us About Business

Let ’em see you sweat

Friday night, we went to see one of our favorite comedians, Brian Regan at another one of his sold-out shows. One of the funniest and most-applauded moments of the show was when Brian messed up a joke. He came clean about it and then went off into an unscripted direction for the next five minutes or so. The fans LOVED it! What had us all so appreciative and entertained is what makes this so interesting…

Analyzing the connection we all felt in that situation, and our reaction to his blunder, had me wondering what similarly makes those TV & movie bloopers, out-takes and gag reels so great. Why are those mistakes often funnier (better) than the carefully scripted and masterfully executed scenes?

 

The magic is in the authenticity

Watching an actor or comedian mess up their lines isn’t even the best part … it’s what comes next. Often these professionals will then let loose, go off in their own improvisational direction, and/or just completely surrender to their own imperfections and sometimes even laugh uncontrollably. For the viewer this is magical and here’s why. We get to see a very human side of these … human beings. It’s quite endearing to witness their mistakes and watch how they react in these situations. All of a sudden, they become so real, just like you and me. We get to see an instant transformation that shows us a side that we rarely get an opportunity to see.

So how does this apply to business?

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