In this engaging episode of Biz Bites for Thought Leaders, Anthony Perl sits down with Kevin Hubschmann, entrepreneur, comedian, and founder of laugh.events. Kevin shares his remarkable journey from being one of the first 10 employees at Splash to building a global business that brings comedy skills to corporate teams.

Kevin reveals the critical distinction between comedy skills and comedy performance: training in improv isn't about telling jokes, it's about developing soft skills like active listening, empathetic communication, and adaptability. He introduces the "Yes, And" principle that transforms collaboration and explains why he calls improv training "the EQ gym" for business professionals.

The conversation explores Kevin's pandemic pivot from in-person comedy shows in New York to virtual corporate training serving organizations globally. He shares powerful insights on creating psychological safety, the transformation from "apathetic" to "inspired" teams, and lessons learned from opening for comedian Jessica Kirson.

Whether you're a business owner, team leader, or HR professional, this episode offers invaluable insights into building high-performing teams through laughter, trust, and applied improv training.

CONNECT WITH KEVIN HUBSCHMANN:

Website: https://laugh.events

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-hubschmann/

DON'T FORGET...

------------------

Subscribe, like and comment wherever you are reading these show notes. Your support in this way ensures more people learn about the show.

------------------

Connect with Anthony Perl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adperl/

If you would like to be a guest on the program or you have a mentor that you think would be ideal, please reach out to us on LinkedIn so we can connect.

Learn more about all our guests in our easy-to-use directory: https://www.commtogether.com.au/biz-bites/

------------------

Interested in having your own podcast?

Anthony will co-host your branded show. Visit https://podcastsdoneforyou.com.au for more information, including free resources.

Our mission is to have brilliance heard. If you want to stand out as a Thought Leader, let us show you the power of podcasting. Book a free idea-sharing call here.

Ask us about our 'Podcasts Done for You' program.

------------------

FOLLOW ANTHONY PERL:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyperl/

ABOUT BIZ BITES FOR THOUGHT LEADERS:

Biz Bites for Thought Leaders is a podcast that brings you conversations with business leaders, entrepreneurs, and industry experts who share their insights, experiences, and strategies for success. Hosted by Anthony Perl, each episode delivers practical wisdom and thought-provoking discussions designed to help you grow your business and leadership capabilities.

PODCAST PRODUCTION:

This podcast is produced by Podcasts Done For You, Australia's premier podcast production service. We handle everything from recording to editing to distribution, so you can focus on delivering great content.

Learn more: https://podcastsdoneforyou.com.au

#podcastshow #leadership #leadershiptalk #comedian #entreprenuer #professionaltraining #teamcollaboration #workculture

Anthony Perl: Kevin Hutchman on

improv training and building high

performing teams.

Welcome to another episode of Biz Bites

for Thought Leaders.

What if the key to Better business

performances wasn't another productivity

hack, but learning to laugh together?

My guest today, Kevin Hutchman,

has discovered that training in improv

comedy develops the exact soft skills

that every business desperately needs.

This is a very fun episode, but it's

a very different way of looking at

building culture, building teams,

and really creating unbelievably

successful way of breaking

down boundaries and improving

performance.

You don't want to miss this one.

So let's get into this episode of

Biz Bites for Thought Leaders.

Well Welcome everyone to another

episode of Biz Bites for Thought Leaders,

and this is going to be a different kind

of episode 'cause we legitimately are

gonna have a bit of fun with this one.

Kevin, welcome to the program.

Kevin Hubschmann: Thanks for

having me.

Excited to be here.

So let's kick things

off as we do by allowing you to

introduce yourself to everyone.

Kevin Hubschmann: Well, I am a

entrepreneur, comedian uh,

keynote speaker.

Uh, Team bond bonding, fun guy.

Uh, And yeah, corporate

facilitator that likes to work with

companies to help them have comedy

skills in their professional world.

Yeah, there is a lot to

cover in that alone.

And uh, I wanna point out to

everyone listening in that what we're

gonna cover a fair amount today is,

of course a about the role that some

of this stuff can play in building

teams and uh, you know, really

building a sense of community and

a sense of fun in your organization.

I wanna start things off, Kevin,

that's interesting about how you

introduce yourself.

So what do you see yourself as first?

Like What is the first thing?

Is it entrepreneur?

Is it comedian?

Is it, where do you sit?

Kevin Hubschmann: I'd say it's

probably entrepreneur.

I think that entrepreneur

allows me to.

You know, I, there's a various amount

of businesses that I, I do outside

of the one we're talking about.

So, um, I've always been interested

in, in a unique path, but more

just about solving unique problems.

And so I'm really just drawn to um,

different areas of industry uh,

whatever that might may be, and using

my expertise that I've had over the

years to, you know, apply some solutions

to those problems.

So.

Uh, I, I'm a problem solver, and if I

haven't said it enough, and I love

uh, I love being an entrepreneur,

and so I kind of try to apply that

in whatever I do.

I love that it's uh,

you know, being an entrepreneur is such

a uh, you know, a wonderful asset and

a way of thinking to have, but I

think you apply it in a different way,

particularly with a, a comedy background.

So I know you uh, you know.

call yourself a comedy nerd, but

where did the comedy stuff begin for you?

Kevin Hubschmann: Yeah, I mean, so

it really began at the dinner table.

Uh, I am youngest of six kids.

Always loved comedy.

Uh, But I was, I was introduced to comedy

from all my brothers and sisters.

You know, We used to watch Saturday

Night Live.

You know, Ever weekly um, you

know, when I was a kid, like real

young all the way up until, you know,

currently watch it.

So I've kind of been exposed to

all different types of genres of

comedy my old life.

And um, I didn't really take a

big leap until I moved to New York

City after college and started at

a company called Splash uh, where

I was one of the first 10 employees.

But simultaneously, while I was there,

I started training in improv comedy.

And me and my two brothers and my

best friend, we started a group

called The Brothers in Flaws, and we

would do three hours of comedy uh,

training of improv comedy a week,

and it was just the most fun ever.

We just would laugh our butts

off constantly and we thought, I

kind of thought it ended there, but

it wasn't until I would go into

work the next day.

Fresh outta college.

Not a lot of professional

skills, but what I did have were

these new skills I was learning in

the comedy world.

So I was able to apply those to work.

And, you know what I call them

comedy skills.

I'm not talking about being able

to make a joke, but I'm talking about

active listening uh, and um, empathetic

communication and collaboration

and creating psychological safety

uh, taking risks, going off script.

There was just these uh, crazy lists.

Of skills that I were kind of

protruding from me and I was able

to communicate better with my

team, collaborate better, which you

absolutely need when you're on a small,

scrappy squad.

Uh, I was able to reel in

clients better.

I was able to talk to customers

and prospects, learn about their

problems, prescribe custom solutions,

go off script.

And I truly believe that it wa, if it

wasn't for immersing myself in the low

stakes environment of improv, I

wouldn't have been so successful early

on in my career because I was able

to use those skills while I got, it kind

of got the chops of the business

world under my, under my belt.

So I really attribute learning

those skills in comedy as a way to

really jumpstart my career.

Anthony Perl: I think it's a

fascinating way of bringing those

things in because yes, immediately

you think, okay, well you can't, you

know, there's only so far that you can

have jokes in the workplace because

uh, things have to get serious at

some point in time.

But you're right there that, that

safety that is created, but also I,

I find fascinating with improv is

that everything always has to

be a yes, right?

You can't say no to things, and

that is a skill within itself,

particularly in the business world.

How do you actually say yes to things?

How do you actually make it work?

Kevin Hubschmann: Yeah.

And I think that um, understanding what

the yes is, the yes is not, I'm gonna

be now doing the thing that you've

told me to do.

Uh, And it, it's, it's more about

accepting the current circumstance

that you're in.

And adapting.

So the phrase is yes, and rather

than just Yes.

So the yes is more of a validation.

You know, The yes is a validation

of, Hey, I'm accepting your

idea that you're throwing my way.

And yes, that is great.

And you're validating the

person that's giving it to you,

whether it's on the stage or in

the boardroom, and you're validating

that individual.

Then you're adding and to it, right?

You're saying, and here's how I

feel, whether it can be positive

uh, or combat, not combative,

but contrary.

And, you know, the whole idea is

that it's, it's the validation

that you're giving people with the Yes.

And it's the acceptance of what

they're saying with the Yes.

And it's then bridging what the

words that you're going to do the,

and is really for the individual.

So is the yes as well, but it allows

you to say, Hey, how can I just be

very collaborative in this effort

and eliminate words like, no,

but or, or because those are words

that can really stop the train.

And that's all about what applied

improv is about.

And improv performing in

general, but it's about saying yes

to the experience and the situation

that you're in and playing the next

play off the top of your intelligence.

Not coming up with a canned response or

a, or something that you were gonna say.

And, you know, you wish you

said it earlier, so now you're

saying it now.

Uh, you know, It's really about

living in the moment of being

present, and that is the best thing

that you can do.

To create a laughing moment is allowing

people to kind of create rapport

and build rapport.

Uh, Because that is, it's not even

if you go and back to someone and

you try to explain uh, why you laugh

today, they're probably not going

to understand it.

'cause it's not like some joke, but

it was a situation that you were in

and that's uh, what happens on

the improv stage.

If you go and tell someone why you

laugh so hard at an improv event, people

are gonna be like, that's not funny.

And you're like well, it was

'cause I was there.

And we're in the moment and

in the zone.

But that's because we've created the

psychological safety where it's like, Hey

we're, we're in a, a silly fun area,

now we can laugh.

Or we've created vulnerability now

we can uh, trust each other to laugh

with one another.

So it's really about listening,

communicating, building that trust

and vulnerability so that people

can effectively communicate.

Anthony Perl: I'm a big fan of

watching shows like, whose Line is

it Anyway, where?

All about improv and for anyone

who hasn't seen it, I recommend

you do watch it.

It's interesting what you're saying

there because they definitely

create that sense of safety because

clearly they're given things that

they don't know what it's going to be,

but there's so much trust in each other

that they know.

That it'll go somewhere that will

work for both of both of the people

that might be appearing on there

at any given time, or it could be three

or four, whatever it is that that appears

on the stage.

And I think there's, there's

a lot of valuable lessons to learn

in business there.

I mean, I think we, you're not

necessarily suggesting everyone

in business goes and learns how

to do improv, but it's a good way of

demonstrating it.

Kevin Hubschmann: I'd say that is

exactly what I'm hoping people will

do because improv is something that

is an incredibly accessible art form.

You don't need to go into it with any

sort of knowledge.

That's what our, our business

primarily helps people train in,

improv and train.

We, We call it laughing and

development.

Uh, And it's this workshop, series

of workshops in person or virtual.

The virtual ones are actually.

Amazing because everyone has to

be so focused and dialed on

their squares.

You're kind of al already dialed

into like your environment and

looking at other people and they, the

whole goal of this is that we should be

training in improv, and it's called

Applied Improv.

I'm not saying people need to go

and perform improv.

That's a completely, totally

different beast.

And if you're gonna perform and invite

your friends, you better be good.

'cause you'll give improv a bad

name if you stink.

So.

The, but the, but training in improv

and training in comedy is totally

different than going out there

and performing uh, in front of a huge

group of people.

While that also can have its benefits,

I'm not saying everyone needs

to do that, but I do think everyone

can benefit from.

Getting into the um, EQ gym, so to

speak, working on their soft skills

like listening and communication

and adaptability, and what are those

different ways that we can do that.

And improv offers a wonderful

environment for people to feel

safe enough to make mistakes and um,

really be silly and show up as your

most authentic self.

Then when it's time for a business

situation or professional setting

or any sort of like even serious high

stakes situation, you can tap into

that muscle that you've been training

and your performance might not be in

a comedy setting.

Your performance is going to be

in the real world where these skills

are going to benefit you uh, and

you're not gonna receive a laugh.

You might receive.

A sale, you might receive trust,

you might receive a new friend, you

know, whatever that might be.

And so that's why I truly believe that,

you know, training in these comedy

skills is not to make you the next

Jerry Seinfeld, but it's to make you

the best version of yourself so

that you can always bring yourself

into a place to connect with others.

Yeah.

I wanna pick you up on a couple of

things that you've said there that I

think so important.

I mean, Yes, you've said the listening,

and I think that's incredibly

important, but it's really

about, to me, that ability to adapt.

Is incredibly important.

That I think is often overlooked,

but we do it in business every

single day.

No matter what business you're in,

you don't know what is going to walk

through the door or come through in

an email or in a, in a call, in a,

in the next, you know, five minutes

and it can throw you for a loop.

Sometimes it's not always exactly the

same as whatever happened previously.

So we have to adapt and we have to

learn how to utilize those skills.

And I think then the, the second

point about that is, is then

developing trust as a result of that.

I think that is where the

important skills lie, particularly

for business.

Kevin Hubschmann: Absolutely.

I mean, Those are, that's the

foundation of any sort of business

relationship, whether it's

internal or external.

And uh, and people find their own

ways to do it.

And I think that, um.

again, communication,

trust.

All of those different components

I've talked about are a really great

way to build that foundation with

your, with your organization.

So tell me a little

bit before we get into what it

actually looks like for people now.

How did it, How did it happen?

How did the progress happen to get to

where you are now in terms of offering,

offering comedy and improv and,

and these ideas to the business world?

So we started out I'll,

I'll take you all the way back, but

we did uh, I started this business in

2019, just as a way for me to get

more stage time.

And, you know, I, after I did my

improv journey I, I kept training in

improv after our, our group broke up.

Uh.

And we went and kind of, I, I just

went and did more improv training

and then eventually I got into the

standup comedy scene, started

hitting more open mics, doing some

clubs in New York.

Um, And then, you know, we had the

opportunity to throw an event at my

office that I worked at, and we had this

awesome stage and lighting and the

just sound system was perfect and.

I also had one of my best friends

at work played the drums and could

work the lights and the sound and, you

know, suddenly we were our own Jimmy

Fallon and the Roots um, situation.

And so, you know, we went and started

throwing what I would consider

at that time, the best comedy show in

New York City on a Wednesday at 7:00 PM

and it was electric.

The comedians that we had on this

show were some of the best, not

just in the, in New York City,

but in the whole.

Country.

And you know, I'd say since we first

did those first 10 shows, you know,

there have to be at least 10 people

that have done Netflix specials.

I mean, It was that kind of talent that

were on our shows and I was incredibly

grateful for those experiences because

one, I got to perform alongside

mega huge stars and that was so cool.

But I also got to.

See how they prepared, what

they were like before they got on

stage, what they were like after.

Um, you know, Then I would be, some

of them I'd be able to pick their

brains like, Hey, what is, what was

it like to prepare?

How do you learn from certain

situations?

So I'd bug a lot of them and be like,

just, I wanna get into your psyche

about what, what it's like uh, to

perform at such a high level.

So this was like one of the first times I

was able to really.

You know, Work with comedians

at this level, both producing

and hosting and performing in these

shows, but, you know, performing

alongside of them.

And that was a really cool

experience.

Um, And then, you know, about

10 shows in, you know, I was like,

let's, no, let me do this full time.

So I was, I I'll leaving my company

uh, doing this full time and then

the pandemic hit and I was like,

what have I done?

Uh, This is a horrible

mistake and.

We got really, it was, it was a

blessing in disguise and we went into

corporate comedy and we said, how

can we put these comedians that I've

been working with over these last 10

shows uh, in New York, and how do we

put them to work?

Because all those comedians were

actually out of work because of

the pandemic, and they weren't

legally allowed to even perform

in comedy clubs.

So.

You know, Doing virtual comedy was

a, was a good outlet for, for folks.

And uh, I had the uh, opportunity

to give some, some comedians uh,

corporate gigs.

And so I started to get into that

corporate scene and kind of see

what it was like for people to how

they were at work.

And, you know, COVID was a Hal.

Its Its own thing, but people were so

not pumped to be at work or be at

this event, or like their day was like

just absolutely killing them.

So, you know, It was the first time

I was actually able to see.

How our comedy shows were impacting

people during the workday.

And it wasn't just like great

show in our post-event surveys.

It was, thank you so much, I really

needed that.

I've had a horrible week or a month or

something's going on in my life and this

was the best outlet.

It was these like incredibly

impassioned things.

And since it was COVID, people were

like, I haven't bonded with my

teammates like that uh, since we were

back in person.

So, you know, I also, I

started to see.

This was making people less

depressed.

It was uh, bringing people more

social bonding.

Uh, It was, you know, people

suddenly leaving their jobs.

Men mentally for a second and showing

that they could have fun uh, in the

same environment, AKA, the zoom link

uh, that they were having some of their

most boring and mundane and probably

brutal experiences.

So, you know, It was a very good,

you know, immersion therapy, I'm sure

as well, to be like, oh, this is a really

good experience.

So that was the first moment

where I was like.

Comedy at work works, and I

really want to keep going down this.

How else can we serve these

organizations, especially as we go

back in person, but more importantly

as people stop to think about how

do we meaningfully spend our budgets

uh, on team building or professional

development?

Uh, Because there was a shift and

said, Hey, we gotta tighten uh,

the coffers and we can't really

just be doing.

You know, Cocktail making classes and,

you know, comedy shows were thrown

into that mix too.

So we started, that's when we first

developed laughing and development.

And I brought, I went back to my

time starting comedy and starting um, my

professional career.

And I realized that that was the key.

That was the key to really unlocking

folks, is taking them pretty

much through my journey that I did

myself, because I saw firsthand

the impact that.

Training in improv could have if

I applied it to the workplace.

So that is really when our

business took off.

Um, And we were able to, you

know, have real meaningful impact.

That was another thing.

Although the comedy shows are awesome,

we still do uh, they're a huge part

of our business.

We still do a lot.

Um, There's a time and a place for

a comedy show.

There's a time and a play and that's

a celebration.

It's having a lot of fun.

Um, And, but when it comes to like,

you know, every quarter, every

month or offsites or moments where we

need to really dial in and figure out

people's why um, you know, that we're

able to come in and have real meaningful

impact, that helps companies,

you know, through us tell their

message to their employees about.

This is an environment where we

value collaboration and we want to

communicate more effectively and

we wanna listen to one another and

we wanna go to war with each other at

work, and we wanna support one another.

So that really was, you know, added

a whole extra uh, meaning to what

we were doing.

First it was in the world of like, let's

just get people to laugh more, have fun

and, and brighten up their day.

And then it turned into, okay, how

do we help people really start

effectively?

Communicating and using these

skills at work to make each other

smile at the very least, hopefully it

leads to a laugh.

So are you going in

with businesses and talking to them

in advance so you understand what

the messages are that they maybe

want to give over so that that is

worked into whatever it is you are

delivering for them?

Kevin Hubschmann: Oh yeah, absolutely.

It's a very prescriptive

solution that we're offering,

whether it is a. Entertainment comedy

show on the virtual.

I mean, We do virtual comedy shows

that are so specific and tailored that

we have attendees completing pre-event

surveys to tell us office buzzwords to

incorporate or memes to incorporate.

Um, But then on the other side of things

with professional development, you

know, we will ask the event organizer

to tell us.

What do you want out of this event?

And there are so many different

exercises and games that we can

incorporate into our sessions.

So we wanna know exactly like I

have them rank a list of 12 outcomes

um, from one to 12, which they

think is the best, you know, outcome

for their group.

And a lot of the times people are

like, they're like, they'll

write in a note.

Like, I couldn't, I wish I could.

Put all of these at number one.

You know, That's how like pe, how

much people resonate with the material.

But we then try to take like sort of

like the average of the six and say,

let's create a theme connected with what

their purpose of it.

We asked them, why are you

doing this event?

Or what challenges.

Is your company seeing, you know,

we have a recent one that we're

working with now.

Um, you know, It's like, hey, we are

a new sales team.

Uh, We're coming people that have,

you know, one style of selling

with, you know, a transactional style

of selling and we need to bring them

together as a group.

And, you know, and then we also need

to uh, you know, have people be

more comfortable uh, creating

relationships with clients.

So we wanna help build that rapport.

And so, you know, it's stuff like

that where we then say, okay, we have

a series of games and exercises that

we think are going to lead you in this

right direction, so that in the

OutCo outcomes of all of this,

people are going to feel like they can

take these skills and apply them

to their, to the next day at work.

And that's where you

are using things more like the improv

and those kinds of ideas, rather

than it necessarily being a comedian.

'cause I imagine the comedian's

gonna be a little bit harder to adapt

to some of those things, but I, but

I gather that that's still part of it as

well, potentially.

Kevin Hubschmann: Yeah, but

not really.

I mean, We're kind of all business

when, I mean, it's silly and it's fun,

don't get me wrong.

Like laughing and development is, it's

in the name there.

It's a lot of laughing.

People are going to have a lot of

fun, but it's not gonna be from a

comedian telling jokes, like if you

had hired us from an entertainment

perspective, this is all.

Parentheses funny business and we

are trying to, you know, help your

team accomplish your goals.

And so these facilitators,

I don't call them necessarily

comedians, even though they are

all comedians, but they're facilitating

a session with the group.

And that's different than the

entertainment side of our business

that we offer.

Uh, It's a completely

separate thing where, you know,

we are one side.

We're trying to create a great

comedy show that's for this moment.

Then the other side of our business

is we're trying to create a really

great team building and professional

development experience that

will have people really learning or

even bringing out some of their skills

that they uh, may have had dormant.

What a great business

to have both sides of the things that

you can, you know, do the straight out

entertainment side and you can do this

stuff that, that really gets into

the uh, that's the

Kevin Hubschmann: best.

Yeah.

The man of business.

Uh, I'm interested though, 'cause

you talked about.

This coming out of the COVID period

and o obviously operating in a

virtual environment, which I know you do.

And for those that are in

Australia and, and uh, watching

or listening to the podcast at the

moment, there is opportunities to

do some of this stuff in a virtual

environment.

And, And I think we talked about

before, could be coming soon in a,

in a real world environment as well.

But talk to me about the virtual

environment because.

It's a lot harder to get

responses, right?

I mean, you know, Comedy doesn't play

as well when you've got one person

delivering something and you've got

these other people that may or may not

have microphones open, but you're

not feeding off one another in the same

way as you are in a sitting down in

a live audience.

So how does that play out in not

just comedy, but in the improv and,

and other things you're doing?

Kevin Hubschmann: So just in the

higher arching of everything, you'd

be surprised in that virtual, in

a non-corporate setting.

You're right.

It doesn't, I don't think it

works very well.

Um, you know, It's like a bunch

of strangers.

I remember being at that in the,

in the beginning of the pandemic

and we started to this idea of doing

like that, that was got what got very

popular public.

Virtual comedy shows and see had like

200, 300 people in, you had to like

mute some people, some people were

listening on their phones, like it

was just like a complete disaster.

And so I remember going, we're doing

this, but not that.

And, And what I mean by that is.

The public nature of it.

Now, when it becomes corporate,

your company is sponsoring your

event and your company is asking

you to attend this event, and your

company is asking you not just to

attend the event, but you're attending

as a member of the organization.

So there is this built in sense of

like, I have to be, I'm at work, you

know, I'm getting paid to be here.

So there is this sense of like, I

need to focus and dial in and, and so.

I was very surprised at it.

But the, just the nature of a, of a

corporate virtual event has a like,

kind of like bouncer feel to it.

Like that, like you're, the company

is the bouncer being like, you

gotta, you better pay attention.

Um, And so much so that like, we

don't even have to like, we,

I've never kicked anybody out, ever.

And we've done so many things of

like, of events that people are

being like rowdy or not good.

Or not paying attention whenever

it might be.

I've had other people that, like

the companies have kicked out uh,

because like they're so dialed into it.

So that's just one kind of

misconception that comedy can't be

done virtually.

I think the setting is so incredibly

important.

And we also, on the virtual comedy side

of things, and I'll get into the improv

side of things, but on the virtual

comedy side of things, we started

to say, okay.

First we started with just standup,

and then we realized what's another

way that we could bring people to

always be focused on what's going on.

So we went from standup to what I

said before was, let's have the

content be about the people in the room.

So let's do pre-event surveys

with the attendees and get information.

We said, all right, maybe let's layer

in images on top of screens when

comedians are doing shows, like it's a

late night format.

So creating another virtual element of,

of it or, or visual element of it.

Um, We also started to get into musical

improv where, or we have comedians

that will create songs about your

company live on the spot from ideas

that they have in front of you.

So.

It is actually amazing when the,

when the audience is dialed in and

everyone's on their mics and everyone's

on their cameras or as many people

that can be, it is as fun as it can

get on virtual.

Obviously nothing beats in person, but

it is as fun as it gets, and you'd be

very surprised at how fun it can be.

Um, Now when it comes to improv,

it's kind of the same thing.

You know, People, we recently did an

event where there was actually one

of the women, uh.

that was, had to catch a flight.

And so she was actually like going

through, she was in a cab and then she

was going through security and then

I think she had to, when she got

on the plane, she had to turn her

phone off, but like this was a moment

where you see.

We put people into breakout rooms, like

we do warmup events where we get people

assimilated, create that psychological

safety.

Then we'll do two person activities.

So we'll put them into a breakout

room and then we'll do five

person activities, put them into a

breakout room.

So, you know, The beauty of

the virtual side of things

is that we can.

When we're trying to do team building

and professional development, we

can leverage the technology that

virtual softwares have, like breakout

rooms to make sure that people are

getting that, you know, high level

uh, engagement uh, from one another.

And then on the entertainment side,

you know, we don't use any breakout

rooms and we're just like, bring

the laughter in.

Let's, Let's just have a good time.

So it really is dependent on it, but

we found ways to be.

The leader in, in our category as it

relates to um, doing any sort of comedy

experience online

Anthony Perl: improv.

The improv let's, you know, to,

to make it work.

I mean, It's, and it's amazing how

you've adapted the business and found

ways to make it work and made it

probably larger than it would've

been 'cause you would've otherwise

been looking at very localized

offices and, and operating perhaps

just in New York.

And now you can operate globally.

Kevin Hubschmann: It's the

coolest thing.

I mean, There is the, the first, I'd

say 2021 was the first year where

it was like, whoa.

Like, I mean Maybe even early 2020 or

like at the end of 2020, but it was

2021 where we had like at one point

13 events in one day and it was.

So also not only like the volume

was crazy because the demand was so

high because of uh, the pandemic.

Um, but you know, We were doing so

many events that it was starting

at like, you know, 9:00 AM my time and

ending at 9:00 PM.

My time.

And so it was this full, like using

Eastern time zone uh, to, you know,

or, sorry, not eastern time zone,

but like we do a show on that in the

European time zones.

Then us time zones, then uh,

APAC time zones.

And it was this very like, we had

companies that were hiring us for like,

all three of their holiday parties

and they would just have like,

you know, different time zone areas.

So it's just very cool.

We've performed on, on nearly

every continent.

Uh, Which I never thought I'd be

able to say.

Uh, VIR uh, obviously virtually.

And, you know, we get to reach

so many different audience members and

that's what's cool about performing

for remote uh, audiences and

remote workforces.

And do you get much opportunity

to perform or you uh, it's

just stuck in the entrepreneur space.

I'm, I'm a host of a lot of these

events, so I get to get the crowd,

the crowd going, you know, that's

my natural position is, is the host.

Um, And so anytime I have a chance to

put myself into the event, I usually do.

Uh, And so, you know, but it, it's,

it's very fun to kind of be in that

host space, get the crowd engaged, make

sure people are, you know, on the virtual

side of things, you know, have their

cameras on, mics on, you know, do

some crowd work, you know, practice

what I preach a lot of the, of what,

what I'm doing.

So, um, And so the, the performing is

always very fun, but you know, we

always like to.

The people that we're bringing

in are, are just the best

at what they do.

And so we really respect that and

these companies are paying good money

for great talent.

And, you know, we wanna make sure that

we're delivering the best show possible.

So there are, there are moments where

I gotta step out of the limelight

and, and let, let the real uh,

craftsman take over.

Tell me, you've done

a lot of shows for the business.

Have you collected the data?

Do you know where the main problem

areas are that businesses are,

are highlighting and, and where

you are seeing a result after what

you've been doing?

Kevin Hubschmann: You know, I think

the best way to answer that

question, and I, I think 'cause we

went through a bit of a, we've been

through a bit of a wave in terms

of like what, what our offering was

and it was virtual uh, entertainment

to in-person.

Um.

Laughing and development.

So there's been like a very large wave.

And so in the beginning, people

had bad cultures, frankly, you

know, they weren't transitioning

well in the COVID space and they

didn't know how to connect with people.

And they were really open to

trying new things.

They just wanted people to

have more fun.

Um, Now I would say I'm, I'm

able to dial in so much more.

I love being on the.

Professional development and

team building side of things because

I'm really able to now ask questions

about what is wrong with your

organization that you think you need

to do a laughing and development

experience.

And, And what I mean by what is wrong,

it's more like, what do you think that

you can improve?

Um, Not like I can't believe that

you've come to us um, but it's like,

what do you think?

You can very be very honest and you know,

I would say the biggest thing is.

AI has kind of lowered our EQs

a bit across the board, and that can

either be veterans in the professional

world or it can be people that never

started a job or you had to go in

person five days a week uh, or go out

to uh, meet with a client over lunch

uh, or whatever, or pitch in person.

I think that that's really the biggest

trend that I'm noticing is that a

lot of people are sort of still, you

know, assimilating into this new normal

uh, because we all went through

an experience where virtual

was normalized.

And so, you know, I think that

people got um, you know, some

of their muscles atrophied on the

EQ side of things.

And so people are, organizations are

really looking to get that mojo back

and what, what we're able to provide is,

you know, I like to like, it's like a

gym, you know, we're able to help with

those muscles and, you know, the people

that work with us best are the, are

not the ones that do this one time.

It's the people that do intermittent

um, sessions with us that can allow

for people to, you know, really work.

Better with each other and

work better with their clients.

And it's because they're working

on these skills.

I think that's an

important point for people to hear from

you as well, is that this is not about a

one-off kind of gig.

Uh, you know, It can be, but

I, I assume, but ultimately you want

people coming back and continuing to

work and obviously seeing a, a level

of improvement that happens in that.

So are you seeing a lot of that and,

and do you, are you able to track it?

Kevin Hubschmann: You know, It's

the organization.

It's, it all depends on what

the organization allows us to

track, obviously.

Um, But the ones that continue to do

more events with us.

We do not have to reset and

start at zero.

You know, like If we are doing

an event with an organization, we can

pick up into 1 0 2, 1 0 3, eventually

get them up to 2 0 1, 2 0 2 0 2.

So I think that that's the best

thing is like, uh, you what, when I

was training in improv, I didn't

see the value the first day after.

At work the first day after I left

or went into work after doing improv,

it was until like probably a month

or so in where I had done it so many

times that it was now a part of me

and it was a, it was now a muscle and a

skillset that I had grown and developed.

And you know, I think it was when I

started to combine both of the two, I

was more conscious of it and said, oh,

this is like improv and listening and

communicating and going off script,

adapting, all that stuff that I'm

now conscious of.

But it took my subconscious a while

in reps to do so.

I think that, you know, that is what

people can really benefit from is,

is seeing that and, and my goal is that

there's gonna be.

A sales team that comes through and,

and wants to do a case study with us.

That's very clear.

I've seen case studies done with

organizations uh, like Salesforce,

where I saw that they had a uh,

I think a 20% increase in, in

sales conversions when they trained

their uh, uh, sales reps in, in improv.

And that's a case study that I've

pulled from the internet um, and.

Those are the, the things that are so

fascinating, but you also have to

have people that are kind of in um,

in it with you to, to want to grow

and, and have the same people and the

same studies and, and go from there.

But the good news is like, I don't

need to prove this to anybody.

These, this is in medical

journals, it's in case studies.

I'm kind of just picking up where

a lot of people have already done

the hard work.

And how much resistance

do you get from people, because

obviously there are people that

are going to be uh, embrace it

straight away for whatever reason.

And, and, And you would have, I

imagine, you know, people who are

more outgoing and then you have the

people that are more insular in their

approach and maybe a little bit reticent

if you, when you start doing some

of these exercises.

So how do you bridge that gap?

Kevin Hubschmann: Yeah, I would say.

The first five minutes are a lot

different than the last five minutes.

And, And that's basically everybody

comes in with preconceived

notions, whether it's improv

or not improv.

That's also, we don't call it improv

'cause that's a scary word for

a lot of people.

We call it laughing and development.

Um, And so I think that is,

no matter what, you gotta shake

those cobwebs off.

And so I think that the.

The important thing is like how do you

create psychological safety in the

beginning of the event to be like,

Hey, we're gonna have some fun.

And so whether that's an

entertainment event that we're

doing or an IMP or a laughing and

development improv event that we're

doing, you need to spend those first

five minutes of.

Doing really easy warmups uh,

with folks and icebreakers with

folks so they get familiar and create

that psychological safety so that

you're able to kind of take them into

the deep end and uh, and everyone ha can

have a lot of fun.

Anthony Perl: How much baggage

does the term laugh carry?

Because I imagine and, and maybe you

can tell us what it was like the first

time you jumped on stage as a, as a

standup, because most people can't

really imagine what that'd be like.

But you stand on stage and the

audience is sitting there going well,

your job is to make me laugh, so go

on, make me laugh.

Like That's hard.

Kevin Hubschmann: Yeah.

I mean, I think that, uh.

that's definitely the, the worst

audience member uh, that could

be if that, that they're coming

with that attitude.

But you're right.

No, that is the, that is what people

pay for a show.

And I think that what I learned

is that there are comedians that

take that part very seriously.

You know, They go and they're

not just doing a throwaway show and

throwaway event.

They know people that have come out.

They've paid money.

They've gotten babysitters

in some cases.

Not for me, obviously I'm not

in this category, but I think what

I've, what I've noticed is that you

try to take it with that same approach

and mentality.

You try to prepare.

Um, and, And I think that

that's a really.

Good lesson that I learned from folks

is really giving a crap, you know,

giving, really making this very

important to you.

Um, And so that you not only prepare

what you're gonna say, but you're

very dialed in and focused and

very present in what's going

on in the room.

And then the next thing is like reps,

you know, like it's scary, but like,

it's only scary if it's your first

time or second time, third time, you

know, it's, I mean.

the scare the, the scare turns

to nervousness and this, and

the nervousness is different

than the scare.

Because the nervousness is

because now you want it to go

really well.

You know that that nervousness is

just meaning that you care about it.

And so you can ask other comedians

like, do you still feel nervous?

Where you get on stage, people

that are huge, and they'll say yes.

And that is coming from a place of

like, I want it to go very well versus

in the beginning.

It's scary because you're

not used to it.

You haven't kind of gone through the

ups and downs or the bombs or the

failures, and so you don't know the worst

that could happen.

But most comics, they have to go

through the worst before they can have

really good sets, myself included.

You know, I, I have so many moments

where I've bombed for five, 10

minutes straight.

It's the worst feeling in

the world.

But that's uh, those are are scars

and calluses that I can leverage.

Not just for future performances, but

sort of anything that I'm getting

into of being like, I know it can go

bad, but also I've survived a lot of,

of crappy awkward moments where my

body is telling me they hate it.

Uh, but you know, At the end of the

day you survive.

And uh, and it's just another story

that you can tell yourself that

you're resilient.

Is it, tell me when, when

you talk about laugh and development,

is it that.

Uh, It just puts a smile on people's

faces and brings the barriers down.

Or does it carry some level of

expectation in a similar way

for people?

Do you find?

Kevin Hubschmann: Well, I think

that the laughing component is to let

people know that this is going to

be fun, and that is the mo, the mo most

important aspect.

We're not calling it jokes, you know,

and development.

And I think that's a very clear

distinction between jokes and laughter.

You know, People can laugh in a whole

different number of ways, and the

whole, the goal is that we are going

to do these games and exercises, and

I almost guarantee you are going to

laugh out of the experience and

you're going to laugh probably

within the first five minutes because

we're going to do something silly.

Enough that you are going to break down

your barrier uh, and you're gonna

make a mistake and you're gonna laugh

at the mistake and you're going to

laugh at others making mistakes,

and suddenly nobody really cares.

And you've broken down these barriers.

So the laughing component of it

is, you know, it's a result of what's

gonna happen and when and, and then

the development part of it is also

another result of what's gonna happen.

And when you can combine laughing

and development together.

When you laugh, you and you associate

a new skill with a moment of

laughter, your brain remembers it better.

So our goal is to always be combining

the laughing with the development.

And that's why we named it that

because uh, applied Improv and applied

standup has have so many opportunities

for people to laugh and connect with one

another, and then simultaneously learn

something that they can take away and

use in the future.

And we didn't.

Talk too much about it

uh, but the uh, musical comedy side

of things as well.

So I'm, I'm open to having a musical

comedy version of the, of this show.

So whenever you, whenever you're

ready, you know, just uh, just pluck

out the guitar and get, and get going.

Um, But no, I, in all seriousness, I

wanted to ask you as well, you talked

earlier on about learning from a lot

of the comedians and things.

So, So tell me what are some of the, the

biggest learnings that you've had?

And if you wanna name drop a few

people, go for it.

But uh, are there some particular

things that you've learned that have

then transferred across to this stuff

that you're doing in, in, in uh, laugh

and development,

Kevin Hubschmann: you know.

I can name a, a lot of comics that I've

worked with um, and, and I could talk

forever about this.

I'll, I'll kind of just focus on one.

Um, And someone I, I've worked

very close with over the years,

a comedian named Jessica Kirson.

She's, you know, your

favorite comics, favorite comic.

She is amazing.

She's such a killer.

Um, And I had the pleasure of opening

for her once.

And, you know, I was opening for her and

I remember doing my set and you know,

it was whatever, you know, my, my

experience my, my, my uh, I did the job

I hosted, you know, it was a fun time.

But when I saw Jessica go up there,

I mean, you open that door and it was

the loudest laughs you've ever heard

she's killing for.

And I only did 10 minutes, she's

doing 60 and she's.

Lighting the room on fire.

She's absolutely uh, crushing.

And I went up to her after and I

was like, how do you kill every

single time?

And, And I was like, that is

what I heard in my room versus what

it was like when you were up there.

Those are two different sounds.

How do I, How do I get to

where you are?

And she said, Kevin, I've been doing this

for over 30 years.

And that was it.

It was, that was the answer.

It was like, I have been in

it, I've been in the trenches.

You've been doing this, you know,

for seven years or whatever the,

the number was at the time.

You know, You, we don't compare

and experience, and it was one

of these like aha moments where it's

like, especially in comedy, but

throughout all of our, our, you

know, professional experience.

We wanna cut the line and we wanna,

you know, get to that goal faster.

And the older that we get, the more

we realize how important those

years of struggling are to our, our

final story and how hard we could

kill it in the professional world.

And so I think that that was one of my

like, let me zoom out for a second and

realize where I am.

And I'm on a, I'm on a journey, whether

that's in comedy or as an entrepreneur.

And, you know, I've had a lot

of lows uh, during that time.

But that is ultimately for,

I'm investing in my ability to have

really big successes uh, in the near

future and beyond.

So that's how I look at it.

And that was probably my biggest,

biggest skill I took away uh,

from a comedian.

What I really enjoy

about Jessica and I followed her for a

while on, on uh, in my feeds on social

is that a lot of her stuff is bouncing

off the audience.

Right.

She's, you know, it's not like,

it's amazing.

See, great comedians like a, you know,

like a Jerry Seinfeld and, and

the like, and they have a pre-prepared

routine.

They, They do know how to respond to

an audience jumping in as well, but a

lot of her stuff is built around what

is in front of her.

Kevin Hubschmann: I mean, That's uh,

she's a killer.

I mean, She's, she is, she knows uh,

how to work a room.

She's very adaptable.

She really embodies uh, a lot of the

stuff that we're learning or teaching

and laughing and development.

Uh, She's really good at improvising

and she's really good at working

with what she's got.

Uh, She's really good at her, at her

act and her material that she's honed

over the years.

I mean, She.

She can, I've heard her do sets

back to back to back to back.

So I've heard like them do run

consecutively and the breaths that

she takes are conscious, you know,

like she is such a master at her craft.

And not only does she work with

what she's got to.

Bring the audience back in.

You know, She's doing that to bring

them in so that, that, that she can

really knock them out with a tried and

true um, joke that she knows is kills

in any environment.

So she's kind of constantly rope

a doping, you know, the, her

audience members and no one kills

harder than her.

And she's uh, and it's because she's

got, you know.

it's like, she's like out of a

helicopter, like shooting like

two giant guns.

You know what I mean?

So she's just like, uh, uh, but it's

she, she's awesome.

And uh, she's, she's amazing at

what she does, and she's a good friend.

Two quick things to

wrap things up.

Uh, One is, are there some top tips

that you can give businesses from the

things that you're doing and that

you've picked up to open their minds

uh, as to what you can do with this

sort of uh, stuff that you are doing?

My lesson to businesses

always, whether they work with us or not,

is find a way to improve your team's

active listening skills, which will

then help them more empathetically

communicate, which then will allow

them to uh, be more vulnerable and that

will allow people to trust one another.

And those steps are very important

and, and that's what we aim for in

all the workshops that we do.

Is with that ultimate goal of

kind of building people up in that

mentality and that can pay the

dividends for internal team um,

collaboration.

It can be external with clients and

prospects, and it's really investing

in your team's emotional quotient.

Um, And you know, that's, it has

to, I'm not saying don't do other types

of trainings and, and professional

development.

It's allowing people to be very

well-rounded.

But don't forget that these

emotional skills are invaluable and

could arguably be the X factor in,

in helping your team reach its

full potential.

So one final question.

I love those tips by the way, and

thank you for that.

Uh, The final question that I

have, and I always like to ask all

my guests this question, what's

the aha moment that uh, businesses have

when they come to work with you that

you wish more people knew they were gonna

have in advance?

Kevin Hubschmann: I mean, The aha

moment is like.

that is a lot more fun than I thought

it would ever be.

I mean, That's the, we do a survey

before the event and after the event, and

almost always the, before we ask people

to say one word or a phrase, and the

phrase always before is like, tired.

Don't wanna do this apathetic, you

know, just kind of neutral or negative.

And the, the words that they

end with are.

Enlightened ex uh, inspired, energetic,

you know, open to new experiences.

It's, It's just like, you know,

completely um,

opposite of, of what they had