A Conversation with Lynn Harris

TEDxAsburyPark host and GOLD Comedy founder Lynn Harris on humor, emotional intelligence, and widening the circle of who gets to be funny.

Brian Smiga: You grew up surrounded by comedy—The Carol Burnett Show, The Muppet Show, I Love Lucy, Laugh-In, Monty Python. Was there a particular moment that made you decide you wanted to make people laugh?

Lynn Harris: It was probably less one decisive moment than a series of fortunate events. Comedy was the soundtrack of my house. My parents were not in the business, but they were funny and had great taste; when we watched something together, it was often comedy.

I think it was a kind of cartoon tractor beam that grew stronger as I got older: this is what I like; this is what makes me feel good. I do remember how good it felt to get a laugh. When I was about six, my mom asked, “You’re coughing—are you a little hoarse?” And I said, “No, I’m a little child.” I got a big laugh. More than 50 years later, I still remember it.

Brian: You came into the conversation ready to play. That playfulness seems central to your work.

Lynn: Thank you. I’ll bring it to Asbury Park. I began doing stand-up simply because I wanted to do stand-up. I was drawn to it.

But over time, I have done comedy alongside a lot of other things: journalism, humor writing, producing, publishing books, advocacy campaigns, and building a company to help women succeed in comedy. The through line has been the belief that comedy is not the only force for change, but it is a potent one.

Comedy, Power, and Access

Brian: That belief led you to found GOLD Comedy. What was the pressure point—the experience that made you decide something needed to change?

Lynn: Less a pinch than a thousand paper cuts.

I was already a feminist, and I was doing stand-up in the 1990s, when it was impossible not to experience sexism in its many forms. Some of the worst things that can happen to women in comedy did not happen to me, partly through luck and partly because I was not pursuing every traditional career path—clubs, managers, writers’ rooms—that could put someone in more vulnerable situations.

Still, the structural barriers were plain. If a club, manager, or workplace was not safe or welcoming for women comics, deciding not to work there was not just personally disappointing—it was an economic injustice. That opportunity was being unequally withheld.

And there was the daily grind: being the only woman on a bill, or being introduced with, “Now we’ve got a lady coming to the stage.” A man beginning a set gets several minutes to establish that he is funny. A woman introduced as “the lady” has to prove, in the same time, that women are funny. That burden changes the room before she says a word.

Comedy is difficult for everyone. It has been harder for women and for many people who are not straight white men. My feeling was: let’s make it easier for the people for whom it has been hardest. Let’s flood the zone. Let’s make it normal that a person who is not a white guy is the one holding the microphone.

Brian: You have described comedy as power—not simply because it can make a political point, but because it helps shape culture and who gets to shape it.

Lynn: Exactly. Comedy can directly drive change, but it also matters who has the power to make comedy in the first place. Comedy is such a powerful cultural force that representation is not just about who appears onstage; it affects whose observations, perspectives, and humanity are treated as universal.

The Beginning of GOLD Comedy

Brian: What is GOLD Comedy today, and how did it begin?

Lynn: GOLD Comedy is an online comedy school, professional network, and content studio. The version people see now began during the pandemic, though the plan to build online had been in the works for years.

The earliest seed was an online comedy class for teen girls, which I launched about a decade ago. People would ask, “How do you teach teen girls comedy?” The answer is: you teach them comedy. The material was not a watered-down or separate version of comedy; it was joke writing, performance, craft, and practice.

What needed to be different was the environment. At the time, if you looked for online comedy instruction, nearly all of what I found was led by white men. They may have been perfectly good teachers, but an astonishing number would demonstrate humor with a joke at women’s expense. That is not a great way to run a business—or a great invitation to learn.

So the idea was straightforward: create a better, more supportive place to learn the same serious skills, without the “bro” vibe. We started with one class, then built outward. Eventually we realized we could create an entire ecosystem: learning, community, professional connection, and original comedy.

Brian: How can someone who sees you at TEDxAsburyPark—or watches the video afterward—get involved?

Lynn: They can start by exploring GOLD Comedy’s online resources, which are full of advice and insight for people who want to make comedy. They can join to access classes, a supportive community, and a substantial library of online learning material. And they can simply watch: GOLD also produces comedy, including sketch work by our digital teams. Sometimes the first step is to go down a rabbit hole, laugh, and see yourself in the work.

The Comedy Quotient

Brian: Your TEDxAsburyPark talk explores comedy and intelligence. You are especially interested not in intelligence as IQ, but in its connection with emotional intelligence.

Lynn: Yes. The most interesting connection for me is humor and emotional intelligence.

Humor can build trust, and people often prefer working with people who have a sense of humor. That does not mean the loudest or “jokiest” person in a room is necessarily the most effective. A sense of humor is, literally, a sense: the ability to notice an opening, read the room, or say what everyone is feeling before they have fully named it themselves.

Those are leadership skills. They involve attention, timing, empathy, and the ability to make a group feel seen. And they can be developed.

People ask whether you can teach someone to be funny. You can absolutely teach—and learn—the mechanics of joke writing. Practice is crucial. But you can also build the awareness that lets someone recognize an opportunity for humor and act on it. That kind of attention is closely related to emotional intelligence.

Brian: In a world where AI can increasingly do routine intellectual work, the interpersonal capacities may become even more valuable.

Lynn: That is the connection. AI can do a lot of things, but it cannot read a room.

About Lynn Harris

Lynn Harris is the founder of GOLD Comedy, an online comedy school, professional network, and content studio that helps women and other underrepresented creators build comedy skills, careers, and community. A comedian, journalist, humor writer, producer, and advocate, she approaches comedy as both an art form and a cultural force—one with the power to build trust, sharpen attention, and expand whose voices are heard.

Lynn Harris will host TEDxAsburyPark on October 7 and deliver a TEDx talk on comedy, emotional intelligence, comedic intelligence, and the skills that help people read—and lead—a room.