I am originally from a small town in India called Srirangam, in the state of Tamil Nadu. English is not my first language. While I can speak Hindi, Sanskrit, German and Tamil, American English is literally, a completely different language.

I’m believe I’m a smart guy. I have a Bachelor of English Literature received in India and a Masters in Science from Colorado Technical College. I work primarily in the technology industry (somewhat by accident), I run a software company and a technology non-profit. I’m a pretty happy guy.

I’m also a pretty funny guy. At least, I believe I am. People tell me I am. Someone once suggested that I should do stand-up.  On a lark, I entered a contest at Charleston’s famous Theatre 99. I did pretty well and was tapped by the Dave Ugly Show to become part of their comedy team on the Jonas Mount Radio Show.

I’d like to share with you three ways doing stand-up comedy has helped my business:

1. It ramps up communication skills. This is sort of a no-brainer. Working in stand-up has helped me understand dialects and colloquialisms…and slang. It has improved my understanding of the language and given that the ability to communicate is the key to doing business well, this is a huge plus.

2. You meet cool people. Doing stand-up has given me the opportunity to meet some of the most fun, interesting and smart people.  I have built two mobile apps based on contacts I have made in stand-up.

3. People like funny. Humans enjoy being around pleasant and/or funny people. I like to make people laugh and to make them happy, so my business associates really enjoy working with me. It works out well.

These are just a few ways working in comedy can help grow your business. Why not grab the microphone and see what stand-up can do for you?