Heard the one about the standup showing academics how to be interesting?

Comedian Iszi Lawrence on helping academics use humour to make their research more accessible“So, what do you do?” It’s the dreaded question we all get asked at parties. As a member of the self employed the question might as well be “can you justify your existence”?I know what NOT to say. I don ’t say I’m a podcaster, because then follows a tedious explanation of what a podcast actually is. I never reveal I’m a comedian: people assume I’m washed up as they’ve not heard of me, or – worse – they ask for a free demo ... never advisable at a wake. So I do everything I can to appe ar as boring as possible. To keep the follow-up questions to a minimum, I usually say I am an accountant (well, I do my own tax return). I rarely include the fun aspects of my work, like teaching academics how to be funny, because I know where the conversation goes. Doctors and GPs will feel my pain , being bombarded with tales of ailments and body parts at parties before they even have a chance to take off their coats.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Comedy Science Research Education Source Type: news