Stuart Mitchell – Comedy Consultancy and Creating Engagement through Humour
In this week’s episode of the How You Say It Podcast, I caught up with Scottish Comedian, Writer and Event Host Stuart Mitchell.
For me, Stuart epitomises the hard work and effort that goes into something that so many of us take for granted.
In this episode, we talk about the importance of preparation, discipline, mental strength and just how important humour is in every day life.
“It’s hard until you train that comedy muscle and then it gets easier like everything else”
I love the fact that Stuart refers to the “comedy muscle” in the context of practice, preparation and putting in the hard work.
Comedians and great speakers have the knack of making what they do look completely effortless.
But what we don’t see when they perform is the hours and hours of hard work that has got them to where they are.
Stuart talks about his comedy co-host and previous guest of the podcast Raymond Mearns as being one of the complete exceptions to the rules.
Raymond is a man who is naturally funny and doesn’t need to to change who he is and how he speaks when he’s in front of an audience.
We can’t all be like Raymond though, and Stuart describes the amount of work that he’s put into his writing and performing.
It involves three hours of work before most of us are even out of beds with a 5am starting time which is when he feels is his most creative space in the day.
He continues to record every performance and, especially in the beginning, would review these recordings, revisit his notes, and meticulously refine his content to maximise its impact.
He invested in comedy mentorship and coaching in the United States, dedicating invaluable time to collaborate with comedy writers who have contributed to ‘The Late Show’.
And his work and investment has paid off.
He holds the title of the longest-standing panelist on BBC Scotland’s panel show ‘Breaking the News’ and is set to debut a new series on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday, February 25, 2024.
To describe how he likes to work, Stuart talks about an interview he once heard with wrestler Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart.
He explains that Bret Hart would wrestle with Ric Flair and that Ric would use the same moves every night at the various shows they were at while on tour.
However, Bret had a different approach and would be constantly testing new moves whilst on tour which would have varying degrees of success (crucially not as much as Roc Flair).
But when it came to the main events, Bret Hart would bring his tested moves together to create the best show he could put on.
This is the perfect example that Stuart could have given about the process he uses to work on new material, practicing and preparing.
And it’s this process that Stuart used for his new BBC Radio 4 Show – ‘Stuart Mitchell Cost of Living’ – during the Edinburgh Festival in 2023.
After writing the show in just two weeks, he went on to ‘road test’ the material over 26 nights at the Edinburgh Festival.
He openly admits that it was though, and that some of his material didn’t work.
But having that process of recording himself, watching it back and making changes to hone the material meant that by the end of the 26 night slog, he had a robust show that he was confident in and knew worked.
Comedy Consultancy
“It’s all about the left turn, the element of surprise. That’s all comedy is, it’s taking someone down a path and taking a left or a right turn that they’re not suspecting.”
As well as hosting, performing and writing, Stuart works with CEO’s and other people within the corporate world to help them add humour to their speeches or presentations.
It’s important to note that his assistance doesn’t extend to writing or preparing speeches or presentations; his focus is solely on integrating humour.
He emphasises the significance of incorporating humour, noting its ability to captivate an audience and foster a sense of unity.
Whether it’s through a touch of self-deprecation or a witty remark about the food or venue, these subtle humorous elements can significantly enhance presentations and speeches within a corporate setting.
The importance of showing your audience that you’re human by having a laugh at yourself can really let them in and see you in a different light.
Creating engagement with the audience is essential.
And if you know you have a 25-45 minute presentation to a room full of people, using subtle lines of humour can raise their interest and engagement in what you are saying.
This circles back to Stuart’s diligent efforts to customise the houmer specifically for the audience, setting, and occasion at hand.
It’s not merely about inserting generic one-liners into speeches; he delves deeply into understanding the organisation, its people, and the environment to craft the comedy.
Learning about the menu beforehand enables him to craft a joke or line about the evening’s food, giving the presenter an opportunity to deliver it as if spontaneously conceived.
This perceived quick wit endears the speaker to the audience, enhancing their appeal through humour.
Having spent time working with comedians and writers in America, Stuart explains that Comedy Consultancy is big business over in The States.
And once people use him and begin to incorporate humour into their speaking and presenting, they see the value and will often come back to Stuart for more.
Challenging Environments
“You need to be engaging, need to address the room, need an opening line to bring these people together.”
Speaking in public gives so many of us anxiety based on all the things that could go totally wrong.
For comedians, this has to be something to get to grips with as early in your career as possible.
Stuart explained that just three weeks before our recording, he had a corporate gig that was “one of his worst deaths”.
After reflection, he was confident enough that his material was fine, but the circumstances in the room were key factors to the gig not being a success.
Learning to deal with that can be a very tough process for people getting into stand up comedy, and Stuart stresses the importance of mental strength and resilience.
Very few people (if any) will have meteoric rises through the world of comedy without suffering from jokes and material not landing.
It’s part of the process and goes back to the hard work and preparation comedians like Stuart put in that the audience never sees.
However, comedians can identify certain indicators that suggest whether a performance is likely to be successful or challenging.
Stuart explains that he will know how a gig is going to go within the first 30 seconds of walking on stage.
Factors like; poor lighting, no stage, bad microphone and a gap between the performer and the audience are all factors that can cause issues for a comedian.
To counter these issues, Stuart highlights the importance of having constant awareness when he’s performing and hosting.
Whether it’s addressing the issues, altering his material or interacting with noisy members of the audience, he has to do all of this in a split second while he’s standing in front of his audience.
“I think we overthink it too much, all we’re looking for is a laugh. We’re looking for a left turn.”
Throughout this interview, the key messages that shine through are creating engagement and connection with the audience through humour.
What’s perfectly clear is that whilst people like Stuart can make this look totally effortless and easy, the hard work, tailoring of material and discipline that goes into this is what makes a complete performance.
