August 2020: A Note from Hope — We bet you have heard of Fran Capo, a 9-time Guinness Book World Record holder — best known as the World’s Fastest Talking Woman (at 603.32 words per minute). The comedienne, keynote motivational speaker, actress, and 21-time author is also an ordained minister, hypnotherapist, and event producer. Fran dives with sharks, eats fire, bungee jumps, climbed Kilimanjaro, visited the Titanic and is the first woman in history to zipline into an active volcano.
Wild and crazy, right? Yes, of course! That is why since we met Fran in 2011 she has been one of our favorite Truly Amazing Women. But there’s more to the woman who has wowed folks on more than 6,000 shows — including giant audiences that watched her features on Entertainment Tonight, Dr. Oz, Larry King Live, and the Discovery Channel.
It’s Fran’s giant heart — and amazing courage — that makes her tick.
Sure, Fran’s schtick and quick wit have landed her gigs at Caroline’s and Dangerfield’s in New York City, the Tropicana in Las Vegas, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and performing to private groups on Yachts in the Antarctic.
But it’s that huge heart that has inspired fundraisers to make her part of their campaigns at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Comedy Cures, Firehouse 9-11, and the Marines stationed in Okinawa, among many others. It’s also why she always adds humor to all her motivational talks. “Laughter reaches the heart,” she knows.
And because Fran’s philosophy is that speaking is about teaching, touching and transforming lives, she insists: “Whether you are speaking to a large live audience — or on Zoom during the pandemic that doesn’t seem to want to quit — as a speaker you are not required or expected to be funny. But how wonderful would it be if you use motivation, storytelling and humor to liven it up. It’s a powerful mixture, and in speaking combining all three is a win-win-win situation.”
Below, fabulous Fran shares tips on how we can incorporate the magic of being funny into our businesses speaking. Want more? Check out her book. The Humor Approach: A Guide to Humor in Business Speaking and Everyday Life.
Below you’ll find our Q&A about What’s Next for Entrepreneurs Making People Laugh.
Then scroll down for her 10 tips on How to Use Humor Effectively. “If you can’t beat the pandemic, you might as well laugh,” says Fran.
What’s Next for Comedians: Fran Capo says the Pandemic is nothing to laugh about — but we should anyway
Hope & Cynthia: Tell us about your business / industry and where it was before the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Fran: My business has always been multifaceted. Prior to the pandemic, I was doing stand up comedy every weekend, doing my one woman show. “Love, Laughter & Light” for corporations, networking events and private organizations, and was doing my podcast at a studio. That way of life has changed so I had to adapt and see what I could do on line to make money and still do the two things I love the most, “Entertain and motivate people to go after their dreams,” which I talk about in my Tedx talk, “How a world record mindset can help you accomplish anything.” To adjust, I started doing Cuppa Capo Live on Facebook, revamped my website, and am using my hypnotherapy practice to create a free nighttime mindset meditation to help people deal with stress and anxiety.
Hope & Cynthia: Where were you personally in your life when COVID-19 arrived in the US? What were your short and long-term goals at that time?
Fran: Performing live was great. I had a ton of comedy gigs and my one woman show “Love, Laughter and Light” booked in venues and even in colleges and at womens events. On the same day — all of it got cancelled so I have changed focus. I will not do the one woman show online because then once it’s there then people have no reason to pay and see it in person. So I direct them to my TEDX talk for them to get a feel of what I do. I have also signed up with some agents who are booking people for online conferences. The thing is: Life is still great. You just have to adjust.
Hope & Cynthia: What are your thoughts now about your industry, your business, your personal life, your heart?
Fran: Stand-up comedy and live performances are going to take a while to come back, especially when they are held indoors, because many people are not going to want to be jammed in a room of 300, 500, 1,500 people — which is what takes to cover the cost of the shows and make a profit. They are doing “Parking lot humor” now where comics will stand on the back of a pick up truck with speakers and guests are in their own cars and instead of laughing they honk their horn. Other comedy clubs have a plexiglass around the stage so you’re like in a fish bowl and the audience is seated apart, but when they eat they all still have to take off their masks and the waitress is the common denominator from table to table.
The whole point of live performance is to connect with the audience, shake their hands after, go booksignings, connect with the people. So until it is “normal” again (which is will be) then I will go back to that world. For now I will connect with my fans on FB live so I at least can see and respond to their comments. I did a live zoom comedy show to try it, it was a fundraiser, but I did not enjoy doing it because you couldn’t hear the laughter of the people.
I’ve been keeping in touch with my fellow comics to see how everyone is doing. It’s disheartening, but I always try to look at the positive side of any situation. I know what is happening now will not stay this way forever – so we do what we have to.
Hope & Cynthia: Now the big question — What do you see coming next?
Fran: Basically I asked myself this question, “What can I do right now to still move my business forward. How do I adapt what I do so I can still make money.” So here’s what I forecast for:
- My industry: Modified and outdoor shows weather permitting. Online maybe 3 d experience where you can see the audience with oculus headset on.
- My company: More consulting, more voiceovers, selling of books & courses.
- Myself: Finding ways to create adventures that I love to do…doing 100 mile virtual wolf run race right now for month of August.
- For the country: Have to trust people to take more personal responsibility because we cannot stay shut down forever…feels like ostrich head in the sand. It’s a problem we have to find a way to make a living, be mentally okay which means interacting with people in a safe way. Idle hands are not good, and people should never be arrested for wanting to open their business, but for rioting they should be punished. People have to respect each other, not beat the crap out of each other if you don’t believe the same way. We need sanity, Law and order, mask wearing, getting homeless to become working members of society if they are mentally possible not enabling them. We need to take care or ourselves first before we can help others. Ie Airplane emergency put your mask on first, then you are strong enough to help others. Once we have zero homeless in our country, then allow others in legally…otherwise it just adds to the problem. If we can’t help 100 people how are we going to help 1000.
- For the world: Live and let live. If we have different religions fine…but if that religion persecutes another and kills them because they don’t’ believe their way that is not fine. I don’t think God said there is only 1 way to get to heaven, I think he just says be a good person and get there wheather you skate board, roller blade or drive…just get here and don’t run over people along the way. The world needs to learn to sit back take a deep breath and learn to laugh a little at itself. In the end we are only hear for a short time on earth…make it a good one. Be remembered for your kindness and inspiration.
- For women: Don’t play the victim! I’ve been approached by people who say if you don’t do this then you might not get the job…and you know what, then I don’t need the job that badly. Don’t get to the top on your back. Have respect for yourself and learn to say the word “NO, I respect myself to much to do that.” But also lighten up…not every little off colored sentence is for you to go into a tizzy. Female comics deal with off colored jokes a lot…so the hell what. Get tough, don’t crumble at every little thing. And know that if you work hard and have the smarts you can accomplish anything you want in life. Never make excuses for why you can’t get somewhere. Find a way.
The bottom line: If you want to do something you find a way — if you don’t, find an excuse.
How to Use Humor Effectively
“Unlike comediennes, there is very little risk to a speaker who bombs with a joke. If you “bomb” as a comedienne, you risk never getting booked again. If your humor fails as a professional speaker, simply continue with the presentation,” shares Fran.
No one, however, likes to hear a round of silence instead of one of laughter. In my book, “The Humor Approach” I talk about tips for adding humor into everything you do. Here are some tried-and-true methods to give your humor the best chance to succeed on the platform.
- You don’t have to be a comedienne to be funny. Anyone can tell a joke. Find your comic persona. What type of humor are you most comfortable with? Some speakers are better at one-liners, some at observational humor, others excel at storytelling. Timing is essential. The closer you stick to your natural timing, the more success you will have and the audience will believe it’s coming from you not a set up joke.
- Know your audience. Ask yourself: Are they blue collar or white collar? Liberal or
conservative? Millennial or Boomer? What do they have in common? Are there regional sensibilities? The nature of your audience determines the type of humor. A colleague of mine once jokingly yelled out, “Last call at the bar!” only to discover most of his audience were members of Alcoholics Anonymous! - Localize and personalize your materials. Audiences love to be included as part of the show. Tailor your humorous anecdotes to make them fit your audience. Make it seem as if it just happened. They will think you are incredibly talented. Mark Twain said, “The best improvisation is rehearsed for 48 hours.” It is better to say, “On my way here from Newark Airport” than, “A month ago when I was in Dallas.” Personalize humor from a joke book or speaker’s file. The audience wants to relate to you, and you want to relate to them.
Be prepared. Always have some “what-IF” lines ready. For instance, what would you do IF the mike malfunctions? IF the lights go out? IF a fire alarm sounds? IF someone yells out an insult? IF, IF, IF. Have stock joke answers to use in these situations, and you will remain in control no matter what happens.- There are many ways to speak funny without being a comic.Make enlargements of relevant funny cartoons. Use props. Use jokes you have read. Have silly pledges or awards. You are only limited by your imagination. (Note: Don’t steal a comic’s act — we get rather annoyed when that happens because being funny keeps our kids fed.)
- Keep your audience interested.Humor and storytelling does that. It keeps the audience wanting to hear more. Your job is to impart information, and humor keeps an audience tuned into your message. The more attentive they are, the more they will retain. The more they retain, the more you succeed as a speaker. Remember: educate, motivate, captivate!
- Space out the humor.The beginning, middle, and end of a speech are the strategic places for a joke. You want to start with a laugh to warm them up, throw some humor in the middle to keep them interested, and end with a laugh so they will have a nice, warm feeling.
- Practice, practice. practice.Tell your jokes to unsuspecting friends. Just like with your speech, practice your jokes and delivery. Never tell someone you are going to tell them a joke because then they sit in judgment, just work it into a conversation and watch their reaction, that’s the best way to gauge if it will work. If they laugh, you know you have a winner on your hands and you’ve mastered the joke.
- Do not telegraph the end of the joke. Surprise them.Suspense is the key in any good joke. If someone feels they know the punch line, the joke is a letdown. The listener should be waiting to find out what the punch line is, that’s what causes the laughter.
- Be yourself, and have a good time.If the audience sees you are really enjoying being on stage, your enthusiasm will be contagious. If you are having a good time, then your audience will, too.
And here’s one for the road: Always leave them laughing!
To learn more about Fran, visit www.francapo.com. Follow her on twitter.com/francapo and facebook.com/francapo. And feel free to email her with questions at francny@aol.com.