--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a sick thing, right: people are…" description: "\"It's a sick thing, right: people are afraid of public speaking. I do public speaking, except my public speaking involves the audience only having one t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/hari-kondabolu-12177_absurd_it-s-a-sick-thing-right-people-are-afrai_2501063.jpg" --- # It's a sick thing, right: people are afraid of public… ![“It's a sick thing, right: people are afraid of public speaking. I do public speaking, except my public speaking involves the audience only having one type of emotion and one type of reaction. If they have anything other than laughter, it's a failure. That's an absurd thing for a human to try to…” quote by Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/hari-kondabolu-12177_absurd_it-s-a-sick-thing-right-people-are-afrai_2501063.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/hari-kondabolu-12177_absurd_it-s-a-sick-thing-right-people-are-afrai_2501063.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16c/hari-kondabolu-12177_absurd_it-s-a-sick-thing-right-people-are-afrai_2501063.jpg) > “It's a sick thing, right: people are afraid of public speaking. I do public speaking, except my public speaking involves the audience only having one type of emotion and one type of reaction. If they have anything other than laughter, it's a failure. That's an absurd thing for a human to try to seek. The main thing to realize is that whatever I say, it's my truth and I believe in it, and if I don't get a laugh off that, then it's not working.” [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He highlights the pressure to elicit laughter, equating audience reaction with success, while asserting personal truth over approval. **In simple terms:** Comedy often demands laughter, but truth matters more. Key Takeaway Prioritize authenticity over audience approval. Themes comedy authenticity performance audience expectations truth Mood reflective critical humorous Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - stand‑up shows - political rallies - teaching - public debates Key Concepts social commentary self‑validation humor dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you gauge success when laughter is absent? - Can truth be conveyed without humor? A Different Perspective Laughter isn’t the sole measure of impact; deeper messages may resonate silently. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Emotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotion/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Public speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-speaking/) ## Related quotes > [I think everyone's afraid of public speaking. There have been times where I've come out of my own show and been like, 'Oh, God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-think-everyone-s-afraid-of-public-speaking-there-have-been-times/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [“99% of the population is afraid of public speaking, and of the remaining 1%, 99% of them have nothing original and interesting to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/99-of-the-population-is-afraid-of-public-speaking-and-of-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I used to be incredibly afraid of public speaking. I started with five people, then I'd speak to 10 people. I made it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-sharma/i-used-to-be-incredibly-afraid-of-public-speaking-i-started-with-five/) [Robin S. Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-sharma/) > [Public speaking is done in the public tongue, the national or tribal language; and the language of our tribe is the men's language. Of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/public-speaking-is-done-in-the-public-tongue-the-national-or-tribal/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Comedy is basically action but you get the reaction on laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sajid-khan/comedy-is-basically-action-but-you-get-the-reaction-on-laughter/) [Sajid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sajid-khan/) > [It's really funny if two women stand on the House floor. There are usually at least two men who go by and say, 'What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/it-s-really-funny-if-two-women-stand-on-the-house-floor-there-are/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [“I can’t function here anymore. I mean in life: I can’t function in this life. I’m no better off than when I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/i-can-t-function-here-anymore-i-mean-in-life-i-can-t-function-in-this/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [If your lot makes you cry and be wretched, get rid of it and take another; strike out for yourself; don't listen to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/if-your-lot-makes-you-cry-and-be-wretched-get-rid-of-it-and-take/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [My accent really comes out when I'm speaking in public or when I'm passionate about something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-sol-invictus/my-accent-really-comes-out-when-i-m-speaking-in-public-or-when-i-m/) [Augustus Sol Invictus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-sol-invictus/) > [My greatest fear is speaking in public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/my-greatest-fear-is-speaking-in-public/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [My greatest fear is speaking in public. You meet, like, um, people who just concentrate on me. I'd rather not have everyone focus on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-love-hewitt/my-greatest-fear-is-speaking-in-public-you-meet-like-um-people-who/) [Jennifer Love Hewitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-love-hewitt/) > [In fact, their eyes sort of roll around and they kind of go, 'Hmm'- like there's something there and they don't want to talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/in-fact-their-eyes-sort-of-roll-around-and-they-kind-of-go-hmm-like/) [Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/) > [What I do when speaking in public is trying to do it as best as possible and trying to make everybody comfortable with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andres-iniesta/what-i-do-when-speaking-in-public-is-trying-to-do-it-as-best-as/) [Andres Iniesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andres-iniesta/) > [I hated speaking in public. I would miss school just so I wouldn't have to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/i-hated-speaking-in-public-i-would-miss-school-just-so-i-wouldn-t/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [I am becoming more silent this days, I am speaking less and less in public, bt my eyes see everytin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mso/i-am-becoming-more-silent-this-days-i-am-speaking-less-and-less-in/) MSO ## More by Hari Kondabolu > [Seattle is a place I've lived only a couple of years, but I feel like I've been adopted by this city. It's like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/seattle-is-a-place-i-ve-lived-only-a-couple-of-years-but-i-feel-like/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I have had vegan Thanksgiving of tofurkey and soy gravy. And it's not to say that Thanksgiving will ever justify the genocide of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-have-had-vegan-thanksgiving-of-tofurkey-and-soy-gravy-and-it-s-not/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [The words we use have weight. Whether it's in a conversation with a friend or something said publicly on stage or broadcast. And as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/the-words-we-use-have-weight-whether-it-s-in-a-conversation-with-a/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [Telling me that I’m obsessed with talking about racism in America is like telling me I’m obsessed with swimming when I’m drowning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/telling-me-that-i-m-obsessed-with-talking-about-racism-in-america-is/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I've been approached after shows from people who said, 'I don't agree with anything you said, but I laughed the whole way through.' That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-ve-been-approached-after-shows-from-people-who-said-i-don-t-agree/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [Just give us 50 years where we're the only ones who are allowed to profit from art, and then you can do whoever you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/just-give-us-50-years-where-we-re-the-only-ones-who-are-allowed-to/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [There are some dogs that are gigantic that look like they shouldn't be in existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/there-are-some-dogs-that-are-gigantic-that-look-like-they-shouldn-t/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [Both my parents are immigrants. I've seen different struggles they've had. There's a reason you don't see me using accents. I don't do impressions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/both-my-parents-are-immigrants-i-ve-seen-different-struggles-they-ve/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I would love the opportunity to create my own program. I feel like a TV show with a format of monologue with lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-would-love-the-opportunity-to-create-my-own-program-i-feel-like-a/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I never learned how to tie my shoes, and I was mocked for that. I still don't know how to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-never-learned-how-to-tie-my-shoes-and-i-was-mocked-for-that-i-still/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I'm not a politician, I'm not an ideologue, I'm not an organizer anymore. I'm a human being sharing ideas, and those ideas have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-m-not-a-politician-i-m-not-an-ideologue-i-m-not-an-organizer/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [We've never had a female President in this country, which I find stunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/we-ve-never-had-a-female-president-in-this-country-which-i-find/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [Politics and sports are the same thing in some ways. I like sports; I don't like the sports aspect of politics. The conventions are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/politics-and-sports-are-the-same-thing-in-some-ways-i-like-sports-i/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I don't tie my shoes right. I tie them the way you would tie a gift, like a bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-don-t-tie-my-shoes-right-i-tie-them-the-way-you-would-tie-a-gift/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) > [I don't drink before shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/i-don-t-drink-before-shows/) [Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) [Explore all 56 Hari Kondabolu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a sick thing, right: people are afraid of public speaking. I do public speaking, except my public speaking involves the audience only having one type of emotion and one type of reaction. If they have anything other than laughter, it's a failure. That's an absurd thing for a human to try to seek. 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