This Week In Game: Can You Teach Funny?

Hey Guys,

Welcome back to This Week in Game, your source for what?s new in the world of dating and mating science. It was another relatively slow week as far as pickup info goes, but if the instructor blogs are any indication, there seem to be big things afoot in 2010 for everyone including some major players on the TSB Top 10 List like Entropy, Mehow and the guys over at Love Systems.

The big news of this week is that Big Business, improv and standup comedy extraordinaire and Love Systems instructor out of NYC, has finally launched his ?Humor, Improv and Attraction? workshop. You can read about it over at the Love Systems website. The first workshop is on January 31 and is already sold out, but I have a feeling given the high demand for this program there will be plenty more in the future.

I do improv myself, and started doing it because I wanted to become funnier in conversations with women (though now I continue doing it because I enjoy it), so when I saw that he was launching this program I got very excited about it. I have a very analytical and linear way of thinking, so while I?ve always been pretty good in conversations with people, I used to have a lot of trouble enjoying myself because I was always thinking of what to say next. Taking an improv class greatly improved my ability to be with someone in the moment during a conversation, and also improved my ability to fluidly deal with everything from congruence tests to interrupts to bouncers, etc.

This seminar is not without its doubts in my mind though. First, the price tag: the one day workshop costs $947. A class at the theater where I do improv costs $325 and includes 8 weekly workshops that are three hours each, in addition to a number of other opportunities to practice. Second, the time frame: can you make meaningful changes to a person?s ability to be funny over the course of a one day workshop?

I corresponded with Big Business over email to learn more, so I?ll summarize for you what he says and you can decide for yourself. To the point of the pricetag, he says that while an improv class focuses on theatrical improv, this class focuses specifically on attraction humor. There may be some overlap, but there are plenty of guys who are professional comedians yet struggle with their dating lives, and part of that has to do with these guys utilizing the wrong type of humor with women. It?s a good point, but I would argue that the majority of the reason comedians struggle with women is unrelated to the type of humor they use. Or if it is related to the type of humor it can be corrected by reading an introductory pickup book like Double Your Dating. Comedians who cannot get laid typically have one of three problems:

1. He turns off his humor with women (nice guy syndrome)

2. He is generally too needy in other aspects of his game (inner game issues)

3. He misses the signals when girls are throwing themselves at him (uncalibrated or afraid to pull the trigger)

To the point of the time frame, he says that he places major emphasis on the importance of infield practice, and to that end, has structured this program to give students techniques and some practice and coaching with them, as well as exercises to do at home and diagnostic tools. I really look forward to seeing the results of this seminar. It is an awesome idea, and if it does what it claims, can be really helpful to the intermediate guy who can open with little trouble but has his conversations dying out with regularity.

Until Next Week,

Hammer