You can be a comedian

That was the thought that went through my head after taking my speaker school to see Trevor Noah in February of 2023. 

What amazed me about his 60+ minute skit that evening was for 15 minutes, he told a joke about funny things at the airport. 

Years prior, I had heard my mentor tell a similar story about traveling at the Orlando Airport, to help us understand how important it is to paint the picture in a speech. 

So, I decided to give comedy a try, the only way I knew how. 

Rent out a room and sell tickets. 

On August 2nd, 2023, I performed 15 minutes of my 1st YouTube Special, Bar-Cation, to a packed show of 75ish people. 

When I looked back on the experience, having more reps telling jokes in front of an audience felt like what would help the most. 

Eventually, I found out about open mic nights. So, while judging a speaking competition in Tampa, FL, I stopped by a Thursday open mic. There were spots for 25 comics and I made the list. Unfortunately, it was a randomized order and we had no idea when our names would get called. 

At the peak of the night, there were 100 people packed into Funnybone Comedy Club. By the time my name got called at 11:20 PM, I had been sitting around for 4 hours waiting for an opportunity to perform for 5 minutes. As expected, the audience thinned over time, and there I was at my first open mic, in front of about 15 people, many of whom were staff members who had to be there. 

That’s when I realized comedy wasn’t as easy as I had thought. 

This is my 3rd year doing comedy, and Wednesday was my 73rd time performing...

There were 5 people in the room, all in the back, 4 of whom were looking in the opposite direction when I started performing. I used to think that was a bad thing.

But now I look at moments like that as an opportunity to get better. So, I acknowledged it and got my biggest laugh of the night. 

I’m sharing this with y’all because I meet so many speakers who put way too much expectations on perfecting a speech in the beginning stages, filling a room, or getting paid engagements.

The truth is, if it were easy. Everyone would be doing it! There’s a reason why most speakers…

Can’t fill a room.

Don’t get paid engagements.

Lose the audience during their speech.

AND THAT’S BECAUSE THERE HAVEN’T BEEN ENOUGH REPS PUT IN.

Comedians, musicians, and actors all need to practice.

And it’s no different for speakers.

SPEAKERS, please do me a favor and stop expecting to be great right from the start; focus on getting better.

If you can do that, eventually, you’ll get the opportunities coming your way. 

At speaker school, we focus less on being perfect and more on getting reps in pressure situations. When you can do that, just like I do almost every week at open mic night. It gets much easier to refine your skit, speech, or creative work! 

Sincerely,

Brandon Gaydorus 

Upcoming Speaker School Masterminds

January 23rd & 24th, 2026 (Stamford, CT)

March 20th & 21st, 2026 (Miami Beach, FL)