How I Work

My Favourite Tip: Wil Anderson - What separates the professionals from the hobbyists

Aug 30, 2023

Wil Anderson, an Australian comedian with over two decades of experience dominating the comedy scene, talks about what separates professionals from hobbyists. He emphasizes the importance of being able to perform even when conditions aren't perfect. Anderson also discusses his approach to 'bad days' and how he now sees them as opportunities to strengthen his resolve and practice professionalism. The podcast also includes a chapter on the comedy writing process and Anderson's unique approach to crafting jokes.

05:49

Creator website

Episode guests

Wil Anderson

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The ability to perform even when conditions aren't perfect separates professionals from hobbyists.

Comedians gather inspiration from personal experiences, observations, and interactions, finding humor in everyday situations.

Deep dives

The Approach to Writing Jokes

Will Anderson, a seasoned comedian with over 25 years of experience, offers insights into how he approaches writing jokes. Rather than relying solely on scripted material, Will emphasizes the importance of leaving room for improvisation. He filters his day-to-day experiences through a comedic lens, extracting funny elements from seemingly ordinary situations. This creative process allows him to find humor in unexpected places, such as turning a bookshelf in a Zoom backdrop into a hilarious subject.

Writing Comedy and Finding Ideas

1min

Wil Anderson knows you think your mates are funnier than him, but that doesn’t bother him. After more than two decades dominating the Australian comedy scene, Wil’s learned that his job isn’t just to be funny: his job is to be funny when the red light comes on.

Wil recognises that life is hard more often than it’s easy, and nobody performs at their best when things are truly tough. However, what separates the professionals from the hobbyists, he says, is the ability to perform even (and especially) when the conditions aren’t perfect.

And since internalising this lesson, Wil’s come full circle on his approach to ‘bad days.’ Now, he relishes difficult times, because they’re an opportunity for him to strengthen his resolve and practice his professionalism.

Connect with Wil on Instagram or listen to his podcasts here

You can find the full interview here: Wil Anderson’s on-the-fly creative process

***

My new book Time Wise is out now. You can grab a copy here.

Connect with me on the socials:

Twitter

Instagram

If you’re looking for more tips to improve the way you work, I write a fortnightly newsletter that contains three cool things I have discovered that help me work better, which range from interesting research findings through to gadgets I am loving. You can sign up for that at http://howiwork.co

Visit https://www.amantha.com/podcast for full show notes from all episodes.

Get in touch at amantha@inventium.com.au

CREDITS

Produced by Inventium

Host: Amantha Imber

Sound Engineer: Martin Imber

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.