Coaches can learn a thing or two from the hidden camera show Impractical Jokers.
In the show, four members of a comedy team have to perform pranks on unsuspecting people. Each joker wears an earpiece and is told what to do by the other guys who are hiding away, watching the action.
This can lead to some very awkward situations, but if the person doesn’t perform it they get a strike against them and they lose.
Here are some of the things that the jokers were forced to do in the shows that I watched this week:
– approach people in a park with a shovel and ask for their help burying something (the joker doesn’t know what the other jokers have prepared for him to bury, but it was a bunch of weird stuff like a wedding dress and a teddy bear).
– pose nude as the model for an art class, and perform a number of awkward movements like the kick from The Karate Kid and pretending they’re on a rollercoaster (hands in the air).
– get a sock from a stranger in a bar and put in their mouths.
– squirt people on a park bench with a water gun.
Ok, it’s not exactly award-winning television. But I have to admire the courage that it takes for them to pull off their challenges (I was surprised that the joker who put a sock in his mouth didn’t get socked in the face).
These guys seem to be fearless. They’ve been working together as The Tenderloins comedy quartet and doing improve since the late 90’s, so they’ve had a lot of practice with this stuff.
Coaches may not have to ask for strangers’ socks or pose nude, but they do have to be equally as determined day-in and day-out.
It’s not always comfortable to put yourself out into the world and risk rejection, but remember the people you can help by doing what you do.
The more you do it, the more fearless you become.
My 10 Clients In 90 Days group program is all about forcing (yes, forcing) you to get out and in front of the people you should be in front of.
The next group opens up soon, and there’s still space available.
More info here:
