had a terrible dream this morning.
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I gave this talk without pants.
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Last time I had this dream, I was 14
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the night before my math exam.
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Clearly, my brain thinks this is as
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I called my comedian friend Brian.
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Brian is a wise person.
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He has a lot of time to think about
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because he's also unemployed.
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Brian is Irish. I can't do accents, so
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imagine it yourself.
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"Akash, don't worry. Life is like
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It's all about perspective.
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Just flip the perspective."
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imagining all of you
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First of all, Freiburg, congratulations.
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For people without pants, you're way
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more confident than I expected.
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And Brian is right. Comedy is about
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Today, I want to share
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two messages with you.
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your perspective already makes you
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humor is one of the fastest ways we can
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connect as human beings.
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Let's test this, okay? I'll ask you a
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Uh who here among you thinks you are
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funny? Can raise your hand.
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Okay, fantastic. Uh that's that's great.
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more than I expected. You guys can come
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to me after the show and join my comedy
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Those who did not raise your hands, do
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We are going to work on it right now.
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So, the next question is for those who
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did not raise their hands.
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Who here among you has laughed at your
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Can you raise your hand?
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Your best comedy material
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is already accessible within you.
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So, without knowing,
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you're already funny.
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Brian told me something else.
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>> Brian said there are three jobs in life
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one can do without any training.
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No exam, no qualifications needed. Isn't
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I don't think everyone should be a
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I definitely do not think everyone
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should be a parent.
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but I really, really think everyone
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Because humor is one of the easiest and
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simplest ways we can bond as human
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In fact, scientific research has shown
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an evolutionary mechanism
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that generates endorphins and enhances
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Why do you think our prehistoric
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ancestors drew penises on cave walls?
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I was at the Ausländerbehörde last week,
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uh the foreigners office,
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uh to extend my visa.
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I stood in queue for 2 hours.
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I was pretty frustrated.
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I could see the woman behind the
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counter. She looked even more frustrated
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I had mentally prepared all the German
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dialogues in my head, so I am I can I
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uh be ready when my turn comes. So, my
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turn came. I stepped up to the counter,
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and I forgot everything.
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And I mumbled something completely
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And this woman was like, "Wie bitte?"
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And she responded to me in Turkish.
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So, I told her, this time in English,
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"I'm so sorry. I did not understand
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And she puts her hands on her hips, and
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she says, "I did not understand you,
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>> We both laughed.
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And the tension broke.
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I still don't have a visa.
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But I at least left the Ausländerbehörde
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From my perspective,
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she was the bureaucratic hurdle against
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But to her, I'm the hundredth confused
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person coming to her without reading
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She must be so tired of saying
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>> Sometimes in Turkish.
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I don't even look Turkish.
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But she's trying her best.
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But when we laughed, we were just two
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confused people failing together.
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The funny thing about um humor I find is
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I laugh with people I like.
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Maybe you have noticed that as well.
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When I met my girlfriend a few years
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ago, she used to imitate her parents.
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And I thought that was hilarious.
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Now I know her parents really well.
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And they're nothing like how she
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Which I find even funnier.
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And it goes both ways. Humor is a
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So I'm a physicist, so I'm a I'm obliged
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to bring in a physics analogy.
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Newton's third law says for every action
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there is an equal and opposite reaction.
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In human terms, I say
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with people you like.
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And you like people you can laugh with.
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Laughter induces likeability.
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I imagine all of us are or most of you
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want to be liked. I want you to like me.
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Nobody stepped out of their house today
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thinking, I will make one person
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uncomfortable at Aldi.
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>> And humor isn't just making others
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It's also the ability to laugh.
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And that comes from empathy.
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The ability to put yourself in somebody
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and see the world from their perspective
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and recognizing the humanness in them.
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Most humor follows a very simple
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You take an expectation, something
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that's already there, something you
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everybody knows, you see it,
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and finding the surprise hidden inside.
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since I moved to Freiburg,
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ask me if I do yoga.
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>> At first I thought they were curious.
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Soon I realized they don't care if I do
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They want to inform me
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I went to her a few weeks ago for back
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and she looked at me, "Ah,
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young man like you,
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don't you do yoga?"
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I just wanted painkillers.
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I did not want to be shamed for a bad
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being a bad Indian who doesn't do yoga.
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So now I pretend I do not know what yoga
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So whenever someone asks me,
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Is it like a vegan cake?
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The joke is that there is an expectation
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The surprise is now Zara has to explain
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to me, an Indian, what a downward dog
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My role as a comedian
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is not to tell you the objective truth.
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And laughter comes from when you can
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empathize with my perspective.
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I don't know if your doctor ever asked
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you if you do yoga,
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but I imagine you felt my frustration.
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I started comedy because of Brian.
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I was inspired by Brian
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not because I found him funny.
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I was inspired by Brian because I did
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not find him funny.
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I thought if Brian could do it, I can do
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And I went through the process, I
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realized something very very
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significant. When I tried to be cool and
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smart, nobody laughed.
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But when I spoke about raw uncomfortable
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Not because I became funnier,
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because my humanness became relatable.
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You do not need to do not need to lead a
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life like some of the extraordinary
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speakers before me.
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Even they are not perfect. Nobody is.
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and some self-awareness.
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am friends with a kickboxer.
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he told me something.
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gave me so much trauma
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I had to become a fighter.
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But they did not give me enough trauma
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that I could be a world champion.
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So now I am a coach
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giving young kids a lot of trauma
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so one of them can become a world
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my parents were abusive
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But what he said was I went through
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something difficult.
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Humor lives a lot in how we frame
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And there is so much tension around us.
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I want to ask you two last questions.
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Who here had a wonderful start to their
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Who here had a terrible start to their
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Okay, some of you. Some of you. Can I
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>> Hi. What's your name?
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Teresa. Okay, what happened? Can you
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just quickly tell us if you don't mind
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She Sorry, you don't sleep anymore?
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Since you didn't fell asleep anymore
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Okay, and that has been going on for 18
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>> Like I said, some people shouldn't be
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>> Thank you, Teresa, for sharing. So, what
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Um she calmed down, fell asleep. I
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>> You She calmed down from
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>> You did some yoga. That helps you.
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>> And that worked. Uh had tea and
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everything was better.
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>> Okay, wonderful. Okay, so you found a
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solution to your problem. And then maybe
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tomorrow you make your daughter do yoga,
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and then she calms down.
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Thank you, Teresa. Give a big round of
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applause to Teresa.
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>> Comedy is also risky. Sometimes it
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works, sometimes it doesn't.
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But it's okay even if it fails, you have
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And that story can be funny.
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Uh so, when I say everybody can be
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you all have a unique perspective that
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Because you have lived a life.
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And when you share it honestly,
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humor can become a powerful tool
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for connecting people.
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So, after this talk, I encourage all of
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you to go into the foyer,
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be in a room full of strangers, take off
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your emotional pants,
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and laugh together.
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And maybe you'll be one day you'll be
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inspired to share your own awkward story
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And watch a room full of strangers
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become a community.
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