Penn Does Stand-Up & Presentation Tips with Page Fehling

Summary

Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness

Episode: Penn Does Stand-Up & Presentation Tips with Paige Fehling

Release Date: April 15, 2025

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness, hosts Kim and Penn Holderness delve into the art of public speaking and stand-up comedy. The episode marks Penn's first foray into stand-up comedy, offering listeners an authentic glimpse into his fears, preparations, and the learning process involved in stepping onto the comedic stage.

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Penn's Decision to Try Stand-Up Comedy

The episode opens with Kim addressing Penn about his upcoming stand-up comedy gig. Penn candidly shares his apprehensions:

Penn Holderness (05:38): "Might be my last."
(Penn hints at the intimidating nature of stand-up comedy and his uncertainty about returning to it.)

Kim reassures him by introducing their guest, Paige Fehling, a seasoned public speaker and workshop facilitator who will provide invaluable tips for overcoming stage fright and delivering effective presentations.

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Guest Introduction: Paige Fehling

Paige Fehling, a third-generation speaker with over 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism and professional development training, joins the podcast. Her impressive background includes roles such as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras and an NBC page. Paige emphasizes the importance of continuous practice and embracing the learning curve in public speaking:

Paige Fehling (13:55): "Any book that someone wrote, any concept they came up with, like, they just went, 'I think this could work.' And maybe they tried it out a couple of times and they went, 'Oh, it does work.' Okay, now I'll teach other people how to do it."

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Presentation Tips from Paige Fehling

Paige shares a comprehensive set of strategies to enhance public speaking and presentation skills:

1. Utilize Your Hands Effectively (23:05):

   • Paige: "If you are addressing a crowd... let yourself speak with your hands, but just give yourself some boundaries. The safe zone for hands is between your shoulders and your hips."

2. Mastering Eye Contact (24:07):

   • Paige: "In a Zoom setting, virtually your best way to make eye contact... is to look at the camera, not at yourself."
   • She also discusses alternatives for those who find direct eye contact challenging, such as focusing on the forehead or the tip of the nose.

3. Content Familiarity Over Memorization (27:30):

   • Paige: "You don't need to memorize your content. You just need to know it so well that you have access to it in your brain, which comes from practice and repeating it."

4. Effective Practice Techniques (31:45):

   • Paige: "Practice at least one time in the mirror, one time to a blank wall, one time to another person, and one time recorded on your phone."

5. Tying Stories with a Strong Beginning and End (35:33):

   • Using relatable anecdotes to create a cohesive and engaging narrative during presentations.

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Penn's Stand-Up Comedy Experience

Penn recounts his stand-up performance, highlighting both the successes and mishaps:

Penn Holderness (45:22): "I am turning 50 big readers with some nice features... good morning. How are you?"
(Penn humorously narrates his unintended mix-up during his set, where he began his act with a "good morning" remark at night.)

Despite his nerves, Penn expresses relief and satisfaction with his performance:

Penn Holderness (43:33): "It was amazing. I was terribly nervous before... it felt like an hour and a half. But I know I'm downplaying it all."

Kim and Paige offer their support and praise, encouraging Penn to continue experimenting with stand-up comedy:

Kim Holderness (52:40): "I really would [love to see Penn do more stand-up]."

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Reflections and Takeaways

The episode concludes with heartfelt reflections on stepping out of one's comfort zone and the importance of perseverance:

Paige Fehling (53:23): "You just have to make yourself do it and then do it again. Again, and then do it again."

Penn shares his eagerness to watch the recording of his performance and the positive feedback he received from the supportive audience. The conversation underscores the value of facing fears, embracing imperfections, and the rewarding nature of trying something new.

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Key Quotes with Timestamps

• Penn on Structure in Comedy (06:09):
  "If you put me in front of a million people and say, 'make something up,' I'm comfortable. But comedy has to have structure."

• Paige on Continuous Practice (27:34):
  "You just have to know it so well that you have access to it in your brain, which comes from practice and repeating it."

• Kim on Celebrating Wisdom in Aging (04:27):
  "There are a lot of things that get better, get easier with age... it's so freeing."

• Paige on Handling Mistakes (39:37):
  "The worst way to deal with the mistake is to pretend like it didn't happen... call attention to it and move on."

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Conclusion

This episode of Laugh Lines with Kim & Penn Holderness offers a blend of humor, vulnerability, and practical advice. Penn's journey into stand-up comedy, complemented by Paige Fehling's expert insights, provides listeners with both entertainment and actionable strategies to enhance their own public speaking and presentation skills. Whether you're an aspiring comedian or simply looking to improve your communication abilities, this episode serves as an inspiring guide to overcoming fears and embracing new challenges.

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Note: For more detailed tips and resources mentioned in this episode, be sure to check the show notes or visit the podcast's official website.

Transcript

[Kim Holderness]

Penn, you feeling that spring travel itch?

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, you know it. I'm looking outside. The sun is shining. It's perfect out. I'm ready to head to the beach.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, like the lightweight European linen styles from $30 washable silk tops and comfy lounge sets with premium luggage options and stylish tote bags that carry it all.

[Kim Holderness]

The best part? All Quint Items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands by part directly with top factories. Quince cuts the cost of the middleman and passes the savings onto us.

[Penn Holderness]

And Quint only works with factories that use safe, ethical and responsible manufacturing practices and premium fabrics and finishes, which we both love.

[Kim Holderness]

I'm definitely going to be grabbing an Italian leather pouch travel set to upgrade my makeup for our next vacay.

[Penn Holderness]

And I may need to grab like a new toiletry bag as well. For your next trip, treat yourself to the luxe upgrades you deserve from quints. Go to quint.comholderness for 365 day returns plus free shipping on your order.

[Kim Holderness]

That's Q-U-I-N C E.comholderness to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.comholderness hey Penn, have you ever had this conversation? You meet someone, they say, hey, how you doing? And without thinking you just reply, I'm good. You?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, of course. Right.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I decided when I say I'm good, I want to meet it. That's why I'm using Headspace.

[Paige Failing]

Great.

[Penn Holderness]

So Headspace is the app that helps me and 100 million people with their mental health and well being with GU meditations, mindfulness practices, breathing and calming exercises, and so much more.

[Kim Holderness]

It reduces stress, boosts your mood, and helps you sleep better. By combining scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness with modern practices, the app.

[Penn Holderness]

Has these customized personalized approaches to help you navigate through all of life's moments, whether they're big or small.

[Kim Holderness]

If you're a total newbie or have been meditating for years, there's always content for what you're going through.

[Penn Holderness]

And if you're short on time, Headspace has these quick on the go programs that help you get in the right headspace in just a few minutes.

[Kim Holderness]

With more than 1000 hours of mindfulness exercises, it's got the most complete meditation library I've ever seen. I can feel my mental health getting a boost by taking a few minutes every day, listening to the programming, and reframing my relationship with stress and anxiety.

[Penn Holderness]

So feel good and mean it when you say it. For a limited time, get Headspace for free for 60 days. Just go to headspace.com holderness yes H-E-A--S-P-A c e.com holderness to unlock all of Headspace. Free for 60 days.

[Kim Holderness]

Headspace.com holderness hey, Penn, have you ever had this conversation? You meet someone, they say, hey, how you doing? And without thinking, you just reply, I'm good. You?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, of course. Right.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I decided when I say I'm good, I want to meet it. That's why I'm using Headspace.

[Penn Holderness]

Great. So Headspace is the app that helps me and 100 million people with their mental health and well being with guided meditations, mindfulness practices, breathing and calming exercises, and so much more.

[Kim Holderness]

It reduces stress, boosts your mood, and helps you sleep better. By combining scientifically proven benefits of meditation and mindfulness with modern practices, the app.

[Penn Holderness]

Has these customized personalized approaches to help you navigate through all of life's moments, whether they're big or small.

[Kim Holderness]

If you're a total newbie or have been meditating for years, there's always content for what you're going through.

[Penn Holderness]

And if you're short on time, Headspace has these quick on the go programs that help you get in the right headspace in just a few minutes.

[Kim Holderness]

With more than 1000 hours of mindfulness exercises, it's got the most complete meditation library I've ever seen. I can feel my mental health getting a boost by taking a few minutes every day, listening to the programming, and reframing my relationship with stress and anxiety.

[Penn Holderness]

So feel good and mean it when you say it. For a limited time, get Headspace for free for 60 days. Just go to headspace.comholderness yes. H-E-A-S-P-A C E.comholderness to unlock all of Headspace. Free for 60 days.

[Kim Holderness]

Headspace.comholderness hey, everybody. I'm Kim Holderness.

[Penn Holderness]

And I'm Penn Holderness. And this is the Holderness Family podcast. And we are so glad that you're here.

[Kim Holderness]

You know, on this little corner of the Internet, we love celebrating the wisdom and just the wonderful things that happen as we get older. Because to me, there are a lot of things that get better, get easier with age, Right? Like, I am so good now at telling people what I think. Really, it's just like, it's so freeing.

[Penn Holderness]

You are good at that.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, now, I used to suck. I used to dance around it a little bit. But there are things that do get harder, you know, like seeing at night, reading off a menu at night. Yeah, that's harder. Okay. Something else I think is a lot harder is trying new things. Right. We get stuck in our ways, and I think it's good for us to continue challenging ourselves. And this is why, Penn, I am so very proud of you because on today's podcast, you're going to get. This is the before, during, and after of Pen trying something new and something very scary. We're going to. This is going to be a process, this podcast, so stick with us. This week, we're going to be talking about Pen's first attempt at stand up comedy.

[Penn Holderness]

Might be my last.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, my God.

[Penn Holderness]

Might also be my last. We're going to see.

[Kim Holderness]

But have no fear. We have an amazing and amazing resource, Paige Failing, who is our dear friend. She has some tips that are just you can put into practice today if. And you're going to be just blown away about how to conquer your fears of getting on stage or presenting for work. So we're going to make this some kind of news you can use. But first, to my husband, Penn.

[Penn Holderness]

Yep.

[Kim Holderness]

How are you feeling? You're 24 hours from taking the stage.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I feel completely unprepared, nervous, terrified, Partially regretting it. Having tremendous respect for the people who do this for a living. I don't know how they actually got onto the stage the first time. To clarify, and I think I'll say this on the podcast when we talk to Paige, too, if you put me in front of a million people in an amphitheater and say, okay, I just need you to talk about this for 15 minutes and just make something up, I'm very comfortable with that. If you said, I need you to go up and make up a song in and sing it to people, and I need you to figure it out instantly, I can do that, too. Comedy, I'm realizing now, has to have structure. Just like a speech or a preacher's sermon or any type of, you know, it has to have some structure to it. And it's just not something I'm used to doing in front of people. And I just. Sorry, I'm rambling here, but there's a lot of stuff worried about right now because I've never done it.

[Kim Holderness]

So to be clear, Penn is doing a 10 minute, 5 to 10 minute opening bit for our dear friend Charlie Barron, who is on tour right now. Charlie Barron's is touring all over the U.S. he's very hysterical. He's a fellow content creator, to be clear. He asked you to do this last year, too? He came through North Carolina. He came through the south last year.

[Penn Holderness]

Yes.

[Kim Holderness]

He asked you to do this. You run a trip. But I could see last year when you said, no, I can't do it. Like you were relieved to have an excuse to not do it.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, yeah, I was relieved. It is. It seems like it would be something that's adjacent to what I do. Right. We make videos that are musically comedic. We do interviews, we go on stage, and we interact with crowds. Like it's something that I'm used to. And for some reason, this feels different. It's a different type of art to me that I just don't think I've. And it's a day before I still don't think I've mastered it or even come close to it.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. 75% of people cite that they have a fear of public speaking. And it's one of their greatest fears, death being a close second.

[Penn Holderness]

Wow.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. But what you're saying is you're not afraid to get in front of a crowd to speak. It's this format that you've never done that is that. That's freaking you out.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, Especially because I think people are going to assume that I'm. Hey, you're good at that. You're going to be great at this.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, so there's some expectations you're feeling.

[Penn Holderness]

That might be part of it. Yeah. Never really thought about that, but, yeah, that might be part of it.

[Kim Holderness]

Can I do a pen holderness thing?

[Penn Holderness]

Sure.

[Kim Holderness]

This is what.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

You would do to. You say to me when I do a freak out. When I have a freak out, which there are many, you say, okay, and you do this with our kids too. What is the worst thing that could happen?

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, I think I just completely lose track of my set. None of the jokes land that I think are gonna land. I pause for a laugh and nothing comes. And I never do it again because I liked it so little.

[Kim Holderness]

That sounds like that would sting.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Right?

[Penn Holderness]

Although not really, but probably would sting for a few minutes and then I could.

[Kim Holderness]

Then you move on.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Then the sun continues to rise and set and you come home to your smoking hot wife.

[Penn Holderness]

Exactly.

[Kim Holderness]

And you have a great life and people still love you.

[Penn Holderness]

That's a good point.

[Kim Holderness]

And you know what? Also, babe, there are no self. There's a no cell phone policy, so nobody's gonna have video evidence of you Sucking if you do suck.

[Penn Holderness]

That's true. Except for Charlie.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, Charlie will have it, but he's a good friend.

[Penn Holderness]

But I could ask him nicely not to air that. But that's a good point.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, so not everyone is going to be doing stand up comedy, but everyone. At some point in your life, you're going to have to give a presentation at work, at school, give a speech for your community, even at a family function. So, in the spirit of pen taking the stage, we brought in a close friend and an amazing public speaker and workshop facilitator, Paige, failing to give us some tips that anyone can use. I mean, she's a pro and she teaches this stuff.

[Penn Holderness]

Love Paige. She. Like you said, she's an old friend and she's got a very impressive bio. Let's read it. You ready? Paige is a third generation speaker and facilitator who grew up just outside of Washington D.C. graduated from UNC Chapel Hill. Go heels. She was a Peace Corp volunteer in Honduras and NBC page. Yes, Paige was a page in New York and a news anchor in both Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina. Her favorite role, however, has been as a teacher. Helping guide fellow humans into being their best selves, both at work and at home. Makes Paige tick.

[Kim Holderness]

Paige and her husband Jake co host the award winning podcast Date Night with Jake and Paige and are co authors of the bestselling book Holy Crap, We're Pregnant. They, along with their three kids, three dogs and too many reptiles, live on the Same street as 20 of their family members. Yes, they live on a compound. It's actually quite dreamy. With more than 25 years of experience in broadcast journalism and professional development training and she's almost 6ft tall. Paige failing sets the bar high. Get it? Both literally and figuratively. So welcome our dear friend, Paige.

[Paige Failing]

Hi guys. Thank you so much for having me.

[Kim Holderness]

I'm so excited to see you. Okay, first of all, we are joining you in what is your home office. And I'm just seeing in the background, I'm counting a thousand post it notes. What's going on here?

[Paige Failing]

1 million post it notes on the wall.

[Penn Holderness]

It looks like the periodic table.

[Paige Failing]

I don't know about you, Kim. Well, I do know about you. The older I get and the more Perry creeps in and creeps in, I cannot keep anything in my brain. So I just keep it all on post its and I literally any idea that ever hits me content wise for what I do for work or just something I want to remember or a quote I like, I write it on a post it and I stick it on the wall and it frees that post it size portion of my brain up.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, I love this tip. Going to have to find an empty wall.

[Penn Holderness]

So Paige and I met as anchors and reporters for a news station. So Paige has always been a very skilled communicator. It was her job to do that on television for many, many years. She had a successful career as that. And I've known you, I'd say, very well for about 20 years now. What I didn't know was that your family has been doing speaking and communicating for three generations now. And so it's no surprise that you're now doing what you do. But tell me about your family history. This.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah, how about that? So my mom and my grandmother. My grandmother started in the 50s teaching at the Junior League. So she would teach like what fork to use. And she taught women to walk across the room with books on their head and, you know, manners and things. And then my grandfather was relocated. He was in the military and he was stationed at the Pentagon. And when they moved to DC, she started getting asked to teach things like secretarial skills. And you guys know how it is when you're launching a new business and people are like, do you do this? Yes, I sure do. Do you do this? Yes. Do you wash windows? Yes, I sure do. So that she had no idea how to be a secretary or what skills they needed, but she said yes, and she taught herself. And then she turned and taught other people. And then, as she did throughout her career, six of her children would go to her classes with her and two of them became full time facilitators also, one of whom was my mom. So since the age of 12, I would be in the back of her classrooms doing flip charts and then gradually started teaching and learning myself too.

[Kim Holderness]

That is incredible. And you know what I love most about that story is that you are third generation. Let's figure it out. Let's just figure it out. Because I think as I get older, I have realized that. Does anybody really know what they're doing? You gotta figure it out, right?

[Paige Failing]

Let's figure it out and let's make it up. Because you realize like, oh, everything's made up. Any book that someone wrote, any concept they came up with, like, they just went, I think this could work. And maybe they tried it out a couple times and they went, oh, it does work. Okay, now I'll teach other people how to do it.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, so do you think being a news anchor made you such a good communicator and presenter or Just sitting in the back of your mom's classes.

[Paige Failing]

Oh, for sure. Both. Also, I want to be clear, I don't teach this because I'm so good at it. I teach it because it's something I myself need to learn also. Right. Like, it's the only one of the reasons that I can do a lot of things comfortably on camera or in front of a group is to your point, because I was on live TV for four and a half hours every single day for almost a decade plus. Pan. If we count the time that you and I had together at NBC. Right. So when everybody says, like, how do you get good at this? How do I do it? I'm like, honestly, one of the biggest things. You just have to make yourself do it and then do it again. Again, and then do it again, and you'll still suck many times. I had one of the worst speaking engagements of my life about a month ago, and I've been doing this full time for three years, and I sucked. But you know what? I learned from it, and I learned some things I won't do again next time.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. I need. I, I, I'm fascinated because Penn is about to go into this standup comedy thing for the first time, and I love the idea that you just have to keep trying. You have to have that beginner's mindset. Can you. But I'm also fascinated, like, when people bomb. Like, what was it that made you. What was it that was so terrible?

[Paige Failing]

Okay, Pan. If I can give you one piece of advice, and I don't think this is going to happen to you that night, but don't have seven different version. What are the courses of a meal dropped and picked up during your set? That was.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, so the environment. That was the environment you were in.

[Penn Holderness]

Wait, okay, so you were talking during a very fancy dinner of. During the Gilded Age or, like, why were you.

[Paige Failing]

It was at one of those Renaissance festivals, you know, and there was.

[Penn Holderness]

It was the medieval times. Yeah.

[Paige Failing]

No, I thought we were in the dinner portion. And we were in the first, like, appetizer course of apparently a four appetizer course. The bar stayed open. The, like, photo booths stayed open. I know. It was tough. It was tough.

[Kim Holderness]

So were you. It was at a keynote. That was like, a keynote that you were trying to give.

[Paige Failing]

Yes, but it was like a. It was. I mean, that was one of. That was. Part of it is like, preparing the right content for the right setting. And I had kind of prepared to your point for, like, a keynote workshop interactive kind of thing. And I was, like, a lot of these people are drunk. Like, they don't want to be hearing instructional. You know what I mean? So listen, Penn, your. Your timing is probably going to be perfect because hopefully people will be drunk, but they won't also be eating. And so you'll be. You'll be set.

[Penn Holderness]

This is at a theater where everyone's facing the same direction. Right. I'm. I'm happy about that.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah. And no shrimp.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. It is interesting. Like, I. Yeah, for this show, it's going to be. They're going to be nicely warmed up. It's the. The guy who I'm headlining for is awesome. So they're gon pumped to be able to see him. They're probably going to want me to get in and get out as quickly as possible, but I also think that they're. They're probably going to give me a lot of grace and clap and laugh at stuff they wouldn't even laugh for. So the biggest critic is going to be myself, I'm pretty sure, once I'm done with this.

[Paige Failing]

But this is your first time doing, like, actual standup, Right? I mean, we all know you're hilarious, and I know you can come up with something in three seconds that will make us all laugh for 30 minutes, but, like, stand up is a different animal. Right.

[Penn Holderness]

I'm terrified.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Let me. Let me just. Let me just say that I have no problem if it was. Honestly, if they were like, okay, come up for 10 minutes, and we're going to tell you what to talk about when you get up there. Yeah, fine. Totally fine with it.

[Paige Failing]

But that's not your superpower.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So I'd probably be better if it was some sort of improvisational thing, but at a comedy show, they expect you to come in with what they call a type 5 or like a 10 or whatever it is and have everything down pat. And I've. I've never experienced the timing of being on a stage in a comedy show. I don't know how long it's going to last. I'm going to have to pace myself. I'm going to sweat profusely through every pore in my body. I've already decided I'm wearing a dark blazer so that I might sweat through my clothes onto the outside of my blazer.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. So I do know this is what happens when I know somebody so well. Paige, I know sweating is something you also deal with.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Any advice?

[Paige Failing]

Maybe also wear dark pants in case the sweat comes from other areas or drips down to other areas. Pen I'm just looking out for you.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay.

[Paige Failing]

I was at the gym the other day with a guy who could have used dark shorts. I'll just put it that way. So just maybe just be sure that nothing will show sweat.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. Is that what you do, Paige?

[Paige Failing]

Always. Kim, you know me. Prescription deodorant is my best friend.

[Kim Holderness]

Maybe you need prescription deodorant.

[Penn Holderness]

It honestly helps just to talk about it. I've been internalizing this entire time. Do you know how many people have seen or heard my set? And it's happening tomorrow.

[Kim Holderness]

No, not even me.

[Penn Holderness]

No, I'm not even you. No, I'm going to. I'm going to.

[Kim Holderness]

He asked me to leave the house so that he could practice.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So I'm going to practice to people.

[Paige Failing]

You don't want to practice to people?

[Penn Holderness]

No, I do. I just wasn't ready until like, about five minutes ago, and I'm still not ready. But maybe I'll. If Kim is okay with it, I'll try to go tight 10 with her.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. Okay.

[Paige Failing]

Well, there you go.

[Kim Holderness]

All right, more on this after these words.

[Penn Holderness]

Are you looking for a new podcast for your kids? Maybe something to hold their attention on car trips?

[Kim Holderness]

We know there are a lot of kids podcasts out there, but we found something we think you're gonna love.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, while most of those podcasts are made and hosted by adults, we found one that's for kids. Made by kids and hosted by kids.

[Kim Holderness]

Wild Interest.

[Penn Holderness]

Wild Interest. It is super well produced with original music, great sound design, and a whole audio mission designed to calm and regulate kids.

[Kim Holderness]

You know, we talk a lot about ADHD in our podcast. And one really important thing you can do to thrive with ADHD is regulate your nervous system.

[Penn Holderness]

Absolutely. When people get dysregulated, even people without adhd, actually, Kim, it can snowball and make regular life, well, difficult. Well, Wild Interest is actually designed to help regulate kids nervous systems. There's calm music and thoughtful subject matters, and the vocal tone and cadence are all made with the same result in mind. Calm and happy kids.

[Kim Holderness]

Parents. Try the Wild Interest podcast. You'll be hooked. And it's in its second season, so there's tons of episodes to enjoy.

[Penn Holderness]

Wild Interest follow wherever you get your podcasts.

[Kim Holderness]

Hey, Penn.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah?

[Kim Holderness]

You know I love a good spring refresh. Deep cleaning the house, putting winter clothes away, and getting prepped for the warmer days ahead.

[Penn Holderness]

No, I remember just this weekend carrying all the bulky jackets up to storage.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

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[Kim Holderness]

That's Holderness to 64,000. Message and data rates may apply. See terms for detail. We are trying to make this, this is, you know, it's a podcast and we host it so it can be about pen, but we do want to make it, you know, helpful for other people listening so you have a lot of tips you share around, like speaking, presenting. I mean, we're going to say standup comedy, first of all, like, what do you tell people? Like, what do you do with your hands?

[Paige Failing]

Right. The big. I love what you did.

[Penn Holderness]

Not that Kim is Ricky Bobby ing her hands right by the side of her face.

[Kim Holderness]

What do I do with my hands?

[Paige Failing]

I mean, it's the first question everyone asks because we go through life with hands and we all function perfectly well, right? We wave each other, we give money to each other, we shake hands, et cetera. And then we get up in front of people and truly, it feels so awkward. All of a sudden. We go, what do we do with these appendages at the end of our arms? And honestly, the easiest answer is use them. If you are addressing a crowd and you are, I don't care if you're on a zoom like this, a virtual setting, or you're in front of people, if you speak with your hands, let yourself speak with your hands, but just give yourself some Boundari. Okay? So I always like to say the safe zone for hands is between your shoulders and your hips. Above your shoulders can look a little flaily. Below your hips can just look a little sketchy, especially if you're in a virtual setting, if you know what I'm saying.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Paige Failing]

Follow Buster rhymes advice and just keep on your hands where my eyes can see. Let us see them, let them use them, and then bring them back to home base.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah, I love that, that. See, there's my girl. So eye contact, you're in a zoom setting. You're doing a presentation at work or you're getting up on stage, like, what do you. What do you recommend?

[Paige Failing]

So in a zoom setting, virtually your best way to make eye contact, and we all know this from our backgrounds in TV news, is to look at the camera, not at yourself. Right. So if you're on a phone, you can do this. Actually, you can test yourself with this on a phone to show people. If people are listening and want to do this, take a selfie of yourself looking at yourself on your phone, make eye contact with yourself, and then take a selfie looking at the black hole up at the top, the camera lens, and you'll see the difference, how it feels like you're making eye contact with people. So when you're on a virtual setting, try to look at the camera, not at yourself. And in person, if you have trouble with eye contact or eye contact makes you nervous, just give yourself about a sentence per person in the room or per section of the room. So you say one point over here and you're looking to the right, and then you finish that and then turn back to the middle and you kind of say this, and then you're done there, and then we're back over here, and you say this, and then you're done with that portion of the room. And it takes the pressure off you and the audience and you feeling like you're boring holes into their soul by, like, just staring at one person.

[Penn Holderness]

There is a percentage of the population, and it's a very. A large one, that, like, eye contact makes them a little bit nervous. Right. There's a workaround for that. Right.

[Paige Failing]

So, yes, I'm so glad you said that, Pen, because there is a work. You can always kind of look just right at somebody's forehead or at the top of their head, at the tip of their nose, at their chin, et cetera, so that you're not right into their eyes if that's uncomfortable for you or them. And I am so glad that you said that because, Penn, I got a message on Instagram once when I did a video, an instructional video about eye contact, how important it is and how. How to do it. And the lady goes, hey, out of love, do you mind if I share something with you about people who are neurodivergent? And I was like, of course. What a lovely way to ask that, please. And she said, there's the same portion of the brain that processes eye contact, processes language. So for some people, it's too intense. It's too much coming at them at once to listen to what someone is saying and absorb all the content and make eye contact at the same time. So who knows, maybe there's even more portion of the population for whom that is an issue. And if you find that to be true for yourself, like you said, yeah, do do workarounds by sort of pseudo eye contact where you're connecting with people, but you're not having to have that sort of distracting, true eye contact, if you will.

[Penn Holderness]

I just realized something about myself. When I really want to listen to someone, eyes can be distracting for me just because they're pretty and they're deep and they're many colored, and I just get lost in people's eyes. So, no, no, seriously, when I really want to listen, I look at people's mouths, and I don't know if that's weird or if that's okay because I'm kind of looking down a little bit. But I'm like, this is something I just learned about myself. Maybe that's okay.

[Kim Holderness]

Maybe because your brain is a little special.

[Penn Holderness]

No, it is. No. Yeah. I have adhd, and I. I think that has something to do with it, but I hope it's okay that it does. Like, because, you know, it doesn't look like I'm looking any farther south than. Yeah. You know what I mean?

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Paige Failing]

In order to listen to. I'm just gonna look at your boobs because it really helps me concentrate. That's okay. Right?

[Penn Holderness]

It's so. And also, guys, we just think that we can sneak a quick look and no one's gonna notice.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Always notice. Thank you for sharing that. And I think I always feel like I know so much about neurodiversity adhd, but I really only know about the ADHD brain and the two brains I live with, and I probably. This was so good. That's a really good little tip. I love that. Okay, so should Pen be memorizing his stuff or using, like, cue cards and. Or what do you do on stage or presenting?

[Paige Failing]

And I assume you're not using cue cards. Right. Are you a memorizer for this?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I'm not, because it's. It's a hybrid performance, so my hands are going to be. I'm going to be playing the piano for probably half of it, so I can't. I can't. That's where my hands are going to be.

[Paige Failing]

Okay, great point again. Because Pen or Kim, to your point, both of you, you're right. We. For you. I was kind of joking. I don't expect you to be up there and have cue cards. However, to apply this to the listener who's not going to stand up and do a tight five. Right. Like Pen do, think of what you need to memorize and what you don't. Because so many people have cue cards with themselves or note cards to kind of remind themselves. Or you'll put notes for yourself in the portion of your deck if you've got the presenter view that you can have. And fine. If you need that and you want that and it's a safety blanket, great. It can be very helpful. However, two things. A, if you do have note cards and all of a sudden you are not on a podium and you're given a stick mic and you're having to hold a microphone and flip your note cards at the same time, that's really tricky. And you're not going to want to have to rely on note cards to know what you're. And B, if you have note cards and you drop them or you have presenter view notes on that you're counting on and the tech goes down, which it always will. We can't count on those notes to, to make us remember the things we're trying to say. Unfortunately, the bad news here, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you don't need to memorize your content. You just need to know it so well that you have access to it in your brain, which comes from practice and it comes from repeating it and it comes from not relying on those extra things and, and giving yourself the grace to know it's okay if I don't say it verbatim the way I was hoping to say it, as long as I know the concepts and I know the content well enough. I mean, most of the people listening, I would imagine, are not getting up and giving or maybe they do want to challenge themselves to stand up comedy or doing a TED TEDx talk or something like that. Right. But a lot of people are also just preparing to stand up in the boardroom and introduce themselves at a conference or they're being asked to speak at the chamber and tell people what their business about and they want to be able to do that comfortably. And those. You can give yourself the grace that it doesn't have to be perfectly scripted and you're going to connect with the people in the room a lot better if you don't have the barrier of something like a written out speech or note cards or presenter view notes, etc. Have those as a backup, but rely on them in case they don't work.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So my brain, it's interesting. I definitely have access to the information. I memorize things fairly easily. It's just something I. Some people are better at it than others. I am.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

But I also have access to everything else.

[Kim Holderness]

So he's going to start talking about dinosaurs.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. If I, that's the dangerous part.

[Paige Failing]

Right.

[Penn Holderness]

Like if I've got to stick to at least some level of what we're doing because again, this is a timed thing that's happening. And also when I go off on this tangent, it's not always easy to bring the rest of the audience with me.

[Paige Failing]

Right.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

So that's what I'm worried about.

[Kim Holderness]

That's what you worry about. And I, I mean this is, there's a reason why I'm not doing this because my perimenopause brain, I would just like I would have to have note cards at this point in my brain, which is, which is fine.

[Paige Failing]

But you know what? I heard someone make the Analogy one time and I think it's perfect. When someone asks the two of you how you met, you tell it. Probably you tell the story all the time, Right. If I asked you guys right now, I can probably repeat the story. There was like someone borrowing shoes at a basketball game, right? And like boyfriend shoes, right?

[Penn Holderness]

Yep.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Paige Failing]

When you guys tell that story, do you typically tell it the same way? The same person tells the same part and you go back and forth and one corrects the other other, etc.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, there is a rhythm to it at this point. Yeah, we've told it enough times, so.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah, exactly. So that's the same type of thing when you're giving up and giving content. If you've practiced it enough, it doesn't feel memorized because you're not intentionally doing it. But just like telling the story of how you two met, you kind of get into a rhythm of how you tell it or you know that this person's, you know, Kim's going to correct you when you miss this detailer pen's going to correct. Well, let's be honest, that's the only way it will typically go down. Kim won't forget to detail.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I'm, I need to zip, zip, zip it on that one.

[Kim Holderness]

So what is the best way to practice? So for the person standing up and having to introduce themselves at a all hands meeting at work or somebody going on stage and doing standup, what's the best way to practice?

[Paige Failing]

So I think it's good to just say do it a couple times a day, a couple days in a row, the week leading up. However, I know that most people function better with a to do list. Like we like to check something off the box or check the box of something rather off the list. So if people want an assignment for themselves for how to practice to make that feel like that's part of the process for them. I always say there's a five step process that you can assign yourself to make yourself actually do it rather than just say I'm just going to get up and kind of practice. So practice at least one time into the mirror. Practice at least one time to a blank wall, like staring at the wall that you guys have behind you. Don't come in because you'll be distracted by the post. Its practice at least one time to one other live human being.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, got to do that.

[Paige Failing]

There you go. Practice at least one time to a mixed group. So what I mean by that is at least one live other human being. And then get creative. Like use your pets Use framed pictures, depending on how big the room is going to be. Kind of set things up so that you're making yourself look around the space. And then practice at least one time recorded on your phone. And then number five has an asterisk, which is an impossible word to say. Don't ever try to say it on stage, because then after you have it recorded, play it back at least one time with it face down on your desk so that you're just listening to yourself so you can isolate just your tone and your pace and your voice and your content and you're not distracted by what you look like. And then play it back one time and put it on mute and just watch yourself so that you see. Does my hair fall on my face when I say this part? Is this a good outfit? Does the makeup look good? Am I making good eye contact? Am I expressive enough? And you're not distracted by your voice or your pace or your content.

[Kim Holderness]

That is a really good advice, Paige. You should do this for a living.

[Penn Holderness]

It is. It is great advice. I wish I had gotten this advice more than 24 hours before I have to do this. We could do.

[Kim Holderness]

We could not. Bottle.

[Penn Holderness]

We could do it. It's. By the way, this is. This is my wife's birthday. We're recording this on my wife's birthday. I. I don't want you to have to.

[Kim Holderness]

What am I doing?

[Penn Holderness]

I think I'm gonna be a diva. I think I'm going to, like, try to do this, and you're going to give me feedback, and I might get a little testy. So I don't like. So I'm speaking that into exist because I'm like, this is my little nugget that no one's ever seen before.

[Kim Holderness]

You're going to have to show your nugget to some people.

[Penn Holderness]

I am going to have to show people my nugget apparently five times today. So that's like. I mean, it is your birthday.

[Kim Holderness]

That's a lot for my birthday.

[Paige Failing]

But that wall getter better be ready for a nugget exposure here after we're done.

[Penn Holderness]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. That was great. Okay. Hopefully there's people listening. They're inspired to try something new, to raise their hand to be the person who presents at work. Is there a way to take your presentation just to the next level? Get really advanced with this?

[Paige Failing]

Yes. Okay. A couple of fun ideas for that one. Just researching the crowd ahead of time, of course. Knowing who's there. If you're presenting to the CEO of a company, find out where they're from and make a reference to their favorite hometown sports team or your client. Same thing. You know, they're. They're coming in from a certain spot or from where you're coming in. Bring, if you're coming from North Carolina and you're traveling somewhere to Pennsylvania to a client for presentation, bring them some cheer wine, bring something from just to kind of make like a human connection, right. That, you know, shows you you took some time to learn about them or you're bringing something from yourself too. During the actual presentation, if you're telling a story, tying it in a bow is a great technique. And I bet pen that you're implementing this for your type 5. It's something comedians are masters at. And what I mean by that is basically starting with one point of a story and then all the content that you share in between in the presentation at the end, you somehow come back to tie it back to that point also. Right. And stand up comedians, they let me. I'll give you a quick example. So Penn, you'll. You know this guy, Thomas Davis, former Carolina Panther?

[Penn Holderness]

Yes.

[Paige Failing]

Interviewed him years ago in his home with his wife and heard their story and it's a really cool story. They both come from like a teeny, tiny town. They each came into their marriage with a child from a previous relationship. They talk about how growing up, if you looked at their past, you would never assume that would be where they are today with their wonderful family and their healthy relationship with each other and their successful story that they have. And they, they were like, you know, you just never know somebody if you look at where someone comes from, you never know where they might end up. And I was like, what a great story. Left the interview, didn't take a single picture of them, and forgot for social media at the time to be able to post. So I went back and the only picture I got of them was me with them, like, chopping up an onion for their dinner because that's what they were doing when I went back. And it's the stupidest, most horrible picture ever. And as I was explaining this to my photographer as we were leaving, the camera person who was there, he goes, I the story. And I'm like, how am I going to tie these things together? And he goes, well, I guess you never know what you're going to get when you start peeling back the layers of that onion.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, okay.

[Paige Failing]

Right.

[Penn Holderness]

There you go.

[Paige Failing]

And I was like, you just wrote this post for me. So just starting off with their story and then basically and say, here's the stupid. I only got this one stupid picture. Here's their story. Guess you never know what you're going to get. So if you can ever sort of do that, Tie it in a bow for the audience. Chef's kiss.

[Penn Holderness]

I like it.

[Kim Holderness]

Are you doing. Are you ending with how you started?

[Penn Holderness]

Not as such, but. But that's.

[Paige Failing]

But he's got a whole day to change it, so have fun with that pen.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So, yeah, we can. Let's. Let's get away from Penn for a while. And you've been very helpful, but I like. I want. So when I listen to you speak and I hear you talk about public speaking, one of the most endearing and favorite parts is hearing about all of the fails that have happened in not only your career, but the careers of other people on live television and what you can learn from them. Everyone loves watching local news bloopers. I'm so glad that I'm old enough that YouTube wasn't really fully up and running when I was anchoring, or I would have been on there a lot.

[Paige Failing]

Oh, I've had too many bloopers to count. Yes, of course. We all have. Anyone who's ever done live TV has. Right. But the way to recover from them, to your point, is. Is the key thing when you're talking about a presentation. Honestly, one of the best bloopers I've ever seen was was this a woman who was speaking on stage at one point, and she was wrapping up, and it was one of those stages that was like. It was riser. So it wasn't like a giant stage, but it was, you know, probably three steps up, and she was finishing this awesome ending of her story, and she told this, and it was like a moment, and then she took a step, you guys, toward the crowd, and she literally fell off the stage into the crowd, and there was, like, a gasp, and you could hear everybody, like. And she popped up and she goes, well, I was gonna take answers. I was gonna take questions from the crowd anyway, so here I am. Might as well. I was like, wow, Way too. Like. People love a comeback, right? They love to hear pop up and make a joke out of it and be able to recover from it. One time I got. I mean, more than one time, but once on camera, I got tossed to when I was in the middle of eating my breakfast. It was Nick Kozer, who you guys know, the dancing weatherman some of your listeners might be familiar with, too. He was. He and I were together at a station, and he tossed to our traffic reporter and the camera Instead came to me at the desk eating my breakfast. And I was. And they, like, didn't cut back away. It was like, here I am, still sitting here eating. Okay, well, I'll just tell you what the next story is. And everybody laughed. And it was one of those moments that we got the most emails from viewers because they were like, we love that you show us what really happens behind the scene. And we were like, we didn't mean to do that, but we're glad that this got a bunch of, you know.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Paige Failing]

People tuning in to watch mistakes.

[Penn Holderness]

So I guess it's just important for people to know that To Air is human. And sometimes it's. It's even the most memorable moment of when you're trying to present. It proves that you're not an AI bot.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah, it proves that you're not an AI bot. And it allows you to prove to whoever you're talking with or presenting to that you're human. I think honestly, the worst way to deal with the mistake is to pretend like it didn't happen and try to, if everyone knows, if everyone saw something happen, just say it out loud, just right. Just like call attention to it and move on. But pretending like it didn't happen, that's when it feels cringy for everyone because everyone kind of goes, we all saw that, but we're all pretending that we didn't.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, like when I. I have a lot of local news bloopers, like when I. I was the newbie reporter and there had been such a bad bar fight in this one, like, small town, that somebody died. And so for whatever reason, at the 11 o'clock news, I went live from inside the bar. Like the next day they let me go inside the bar to go live at 11 o'clock, like on a Friday.

[Penn Holderness]

So there were some buzzes and there.

[Kim Holderness]

Was buzz being had. And I was sitting there and I was very serious and I was like 24 and came next to me, grabbed my face and licked my face. And I just kept talking, right? I kept talking like, they'll never notice and let's see if we can. And I mean that you could tell, like, oh, that's a new person. Because that, first of all, like, very inappropriate, I think borderline assault. But I was just like, and here we go, back to you in the studio.

[Paige Failing]

But I did that too. I did, like the last year that I was on television, they again cut to me. This is. I was in my art, our bonus room right next door because I was anchoring from home. It was during COVID And they cut to me when I did, and I literally. I had a sandwich in my hand. I'm always eating. Apparently during the newscast, I had a sandwich in my hand. And they cut back to me. They go, paige, you're live. And I'd literally go. And today, the school busy, and my kids were downstairs watching, and they were like. And I watched it back. I mean, it's so cringy and embarrassing. And you're right. And I tried to pretend like no one just saw me drop a sausage, egg, and ham biscuit on my lap and then talk about the school board meeting, but what can you do?

[Kim Holderness]

Okay, well, we love hearing your advice. Such practical, good advice. Where can people. Because they. I mean, you could come to talk to people in person, even so if people want to find more about what you do and tell us where to find you.

[Paige Failing]

So my website is just my full name, Paige failing. And it's P, A G E F E H L I N g dot com, like, page in a book. I don't know. Take it up with my parents. Why? They left the I out, but they did. And then on Instagram, I'm just ajfailing. Same thing on LinkedIn. Just my name.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

I always thought that Paige was the standard spelling was without the I. Do more people have it with the I?

[Paige Failing]

I love you for thinking that pen. I mean, either that or everyone in the world who first initiates a written conversation with me misspelled it. Because I think more women have an apparently Paige with no I is the male way to spell it. But I don't know that many guys named Paige either, so I really don't know.

[Kim Holderness]

Why would you put an eye in it?

[Paige Failing]

Thank you. Right, point.

[Kim Holderness]

Why?

[Paige Failing]

There's no I in team and there's no I in Paige.

[Penn Holderness]

There's your next. There's your next speech.

[Paige Failing]

There we go. You can edit these, right? We can cut that in the menu.

[Kim Holderness]

And we're back. It has been a week since Penn was on stage. You had some great tips from our friend Paige that you actually put into practice. I was very impressed. Babe, I was not there. I have not seen the video. How do you feel?

[Penn Holderness]

Okay. So I still haven't seen the video either.

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, really?

[Penn Holderness]

No, I've not. I've not. I've not looked at it yet. Some other people have looked at it. I. So it was amazing. I was terribly nervous before. We can get through all that later. But it seemed to be well received. I feel a little bit guilty because I. Because it was just. Just Group of, like, fairly enthusiastic, inebriated people who were there to see Charlie and they were gonna laugh at anything. Like, I think I could have walked out and been like, who likes vanilla ice cream? Or like, who likes tacos? And just like, I could have done that for eight minutes and they would have cheered.

[Kim Holderness]

You're saying they were a very generous crowd.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, they were super nice. And I. And so I know I'm downplaying it all. It was quite a rush, and everyone was super nice afterwards, and it was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad I did it. And I'm a little nervous to watch it because I remember some stuff that I messed up. And so now we're gonna have to watch it.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. Do you think the audience knew you messed this stuff up?

[Penn Holderness]

Apparently not. Like, I asked a couple of people, like, did you hear what I did right here? And they were like, no. What are you talking about?

[Kim Holderness]

Before you said, we're gonna get into it later. Can we get into it now? Sure. You said you were really nervous. It was strange for me as your wife life to hear you nervous, because I don't know that I've ever, ever seen you nervous.

[Penn Holderness]

I mean, unless I get nervous when I watch my kids play sports sometimes or, you know, that's probably the main thing.

[Kim Holderness]

We went on the Amazing Race.

[Penn Holderness]

I wasn't really nervous.

[Kim Holderness]

And it was the day of the finale. Yeah, I was losing my mind. And you're like, babe, it's fine. We got this. No, like, nothing but. So it was very strange. I. I actually, it was. It was nice. Nice being in the position of, like, the person who could provide calm.

[Penn Holderness]

Oh, yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Normally the roles are switched.

[Penn Holderness]

I appreciate it. So, I mean, we're about to watch this. And there was a warm up guy who went before me, and he went for 15 minutes, and it felt like an hour and a half. It just felt like. And not. He was very funny, but I just wanted to get out there and get it over with. I was watching from the wing, and my heart started really beating fast. Like, fast, fast beating fast. And so I used this, like, box breathing that we've taught our kid to use before he plays basketball, which I'd never needed before. And it settled it down a little bit, but not entirely. I did a rehearsal a few, about an hour and a half before that, and it felt really good. And then they were like, what are you going to do for your walkout music? And all I had to say was just pick something. And instead I said, I'm gonna Rap a song at the very beginning. I'm gonna rap a song to start out because we had this. Because I was like thinking about Biggie and I.

[Kim Holderness]

Because why wouldn't you.

[Penn Holderness]

I love Biggie. That would be my. And so Hypnotize is my favorite song. And I was like, wait a minute, I did a parody to this. So I showed it to everyone else. They're like, oh, yeah, definitely wrap that. Do you think he can do that? I'm like, sure, why not? And I had been working for like three weeks on this set set. And I'm just going to add something on to the beginning. And so that made me even more nervous. And I'm pretty sure no one could hear it because they were all cheering and.

[Kim Holderness]

Can we just play it?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. Okay, so here. Yeah. Can I say something before we play it?

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay. So I. I couldn't hear it. So I was just rapping to whatever and then I caught on to the music and then that was fine. And then at the end I was so relieved that it was over. Oh, I normally say good evening or how's everyone doing? As I got done, I said, you can if you listen carefully. I said good morning.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. Okay, here we go.

[Penn Holderness]

I am now turning 50 big readers with some nice features. Screen save too. Cause they Anton blue dead right got my phone light Flip it on every night Papa been blind since 1999 good morning. How are you?

[Kim Holderness]

Oh, that's fine. That's cute. Because cute.

[Penn Holderness]

I said good morning. It was 8 o'clock at night. I like. So right there I'm walking back and I'm like, did you just say good morning?

[Kim Holderness]

There's a lot going on in your head. Normally we go to bed at this time. It's like bedtime normally for you.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, yeah. That was not necessary for me to add that extra thing at the beginning of the show.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. You did great. Okay, thank you. Okay, play.

[Penn Holderness]

Okay, we'll hit play. Hey, guys, I don't know if you can tell I'm 50, like my. My phone light. My readers. I've got a note for what to do here. If you think about it, a number doesn't best describe your age. What you're going through during that period of your life best describes your age. For example, 18 years ago I was. I am covered in human feces and I'm used to it. Years old. I'm not that old anymore. Here's how old I am now. I am turning down the car radio so I can see better.

[Kim Holderness]

Years old.

[Penn Holderness]

I am, I think 1980 was 20 years ago. Years old. 1980 was 45 years ago, y'all. I am. Why are these restaurants making us use QR codes?

[Paige Failing]

Years old.

[Penn Holderness]

I am. I can't wait to get a colonoscopy because of the nap.

[Paige Failing]

Years old.

[Penn Holderness]

I am going on Merlin to see what type of bird that is.

[Kim Holderness]

Years old.

[Paige Failing]

I am.

[Penn Holderness]

They play my favorite music in the grocery store. Years old.

[Paige Failing]

I am.

[Penn Holderness]

Holy crap. Jon Bon Jovi's on the COVID of aarp.

[Paige Failing]

Years old.

[Penn Holderness]

I am really nervous. That's why I'm wearing a blazer. Cause I'm sweaty. Years old.

[Kim Holderness]

You got through your first big song that was.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, got through the first song.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

Relieved at that. Definitely relieved at that point.

[Kim Holderness]

Okay. There was a woman in the front row who kept raising her hand, like, was she hoping to be called on? I was just noticing.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. So she was part of a group of. I feel like I should bring salmon for this because she knew more about the audience than I did. She was a group of like five or six women who were in very glittery outfits who had come there to party. And she. Everything I said, she just shouted something back at me.

[Kim Holderness]

I love that.

[Penn Holderness]

And the first time I was like, oh, yeah, you really. But then she was just having an open dialogue with me for the entire rest of the show. And I'm sure Sam just did a. Yeah, she. I don't know. I don't know what she's like normally. If she's like that sober, she must be very gregarious. Yeah, no, she was great. Everybody was great and they were being supportive and it. But, you know, I ended up looking over there all the time because anytime I was worried that I wasn't doing great, they were. They just assured you they were super psyched. Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I'm glad some. I couldn't be there, so I'm glad she was there for you. Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

I would have much rather had you. By the way, can I tell a funny story? I mentioned my wife several times in the stand up. And I keep explaining my wife to these people as if they don't know who she is, because I don't know if there's anybody. I don't know if they know what you look like. I don't know if they've ever seen you or met you. Not until I walked off the set 10 minutes later did I know that there was a gigantic picture of you.

[Kim Holderness]

Behind me the entire time I was there. Look, look. So I've never seen a picture of me.

[Penn Holderness]

Dude, it's so big. Yeah. I had no idea that was up there. None. No idea. I didn't see it in rehearsal. I didn't see it. So I walked off and I was like, oh, yeah, there's a giant picture of my wife there. Okay, great. So I left my phone light on the entire time without realizing it. And there was like one teenager up front and just lost it at that. Like, that wasn't.

[Kim Holderness]

Cell phone light was on the entire time.

[Penn Holderness]

Not part of the bit.

[Kim Holderness]

You can make you commit to the bit.

[Penn Holderness]

Just left it on.

[Paige Failing]

I left my light on the whole time.

[Penn Holderness]

My daughter will be so proud.

[Paige Failing]

I leave.

[Penn Holderness]

Been on a long time now.

[Paige Failing]

Okay.

[Penn Holderness]

So can I just thank you guys for being so supportive. I've never done this before.

[Paige Failing]

This is my first time.

[Penn Holderness]

Like, I looked at it, I'm like, great.

[Paige Failing]

I.

[Penn Holderness]

It's going to ruin my battery. Like, that was, that was my main thought as soon as I got done.

[Kim Holderness]

You did such a good job. I am so proud of you. Did it feel like you just taken a giant dump afterwards? It feels so good.

[Paige Failing]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

I, I, I mean, yeah, just, like, enough for me to, to stand me up a little bit off the toilet.

[Kim Holderness]

Like, okay.

[Penn Holderness]

Like, it was. Sorry. No, it was, it was, it was incredibly relieving.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

My heart was still probably racing, but it had gone down a little bit.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

And I, I'd love to know what other people think about this. Maybe she probably even, like, bring Anne Marie on and ask her about this. But, like, I couldn't go to a friend. Yeah. I couldn't go to sleep at the time that I would have liked to have gone to sleep because the adrenaline doesn't come down for a while. And I'm sure it's a law of diminishing marginal returns. Like, it's exactly. Because, dude, Charlie. I don't know how well people know Charlie, but he, like, I come off that, you'll see, I, I get to introduce him.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

And I come off this, he comes off the stage and he's like, hey, so has anybody figured out if we're going to get some food or something? Or like that. Like, that's what he sounds like when he gets done.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

And I'm like, good morning. And it's like, it's right.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I am so proud of you. Your kids are so proud of you. They're dying to see the video. And it was just such a good example for our family of just trying something scary and doing it and taking the leap. So I'm so proud of you.

[Penn Holderness]

I missed you.

[Kim Holderness]

Missed you.

[Penn Holderness]

Everyone Missed you. Everyone who I ran into was like, you did great. Where's Kim?

[Kim Holderness]

Kim.

[Penn Holderness]

Kim. Kim. Kim is. We all know this here in this group is that you're the funny one. Like I'm the. I'm the musical one and you're the funny one. So this is really something that you would excel at. And I'm like.

[Kim Holderness]

I was just nodding. I. You're. But you're.

[Penn Holderness]

No, you're great. I was imagining how much fun it would be if we try to do something like this together though. I think it would be really cool.

[Kim Holderness]

Do you think we should. We should just like sell the kids?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, just sell them. I mean, Lola's.

[Kim Holderness]

She's really gone.

[Penn Holderness]

You see if we can just get him going with the car.

[Kim Holderness]

Yeah.

[Penn Holderness]

Like When I was 16, I was in essentially a single parent. Like as soon as I got my car, my parents were like, you can drive.

[Kim Holderness]

Bye.

[Penn Holderness]

Good luck. We'll be fishing every single weekend and you're in charge of everything, so. Yeah.

[Kim Holderness]

Well, I'm very proud of you.

[Penn Holderness]

Thank you.

[Kim Holderness]

And I hope you friends have enjoyed some of Penn's first stand up. Maybe he'll do it again. Should we do. Should we come to a town near you?

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah, I honestly, I think we could do it. There's some polishing to be done for sure, but gift card. I think, like, I think the in between stuff, I actually thought I was better at the in between stuff than I thought I was going to be. But you would be amazing.

[Kim Holderness]

I really would.

[Penn Holderness]

You would be.

[Paige Failing]

So.

[Penn Holderness]

Anyway, thank you, Paige.

[Kim Holderness]

Thank you, Paige. Failing. We'll put all our contact in the show notes.

[Penn Holderness]

Yeah. And thank you, babe. And just to those of you who are listening to this before noon. Good morning.

[Kim Holderness]

Bye.

[Paige Failing]

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[Kim Holderness]

Honestly, you might start thinking, dang, my.

[Paige Failing]

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[Kim Holderness]

Get your Money back.

[Paige Failing]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Paige Failing]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Paige Failing]

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[Kim Holderness]

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[Penn Holderness]

Rebirth, of reintroducing yourself to your fitness goals.

[Kim Holderness]

And Peloton has what you need to get started.

[Penn Holderness]

You can take a variety of on.

[Kim Holderness]

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[Paige Failing]

If group chats had a podcast, it would sound exactly like this. Unfiltered beauty secrets, wellness trends we actually try, and the kind of real talk you won't find on Instagram or anywhere else.

[Kim Holderness]

From celeb confessions to life's messy moments. Nothing's off limits.

[Paige Failing]

I'm Molly Sims, founder, actress, model, producer, and now your text or audio bff.

[Kim Holderness]

And I'm Emma Sha Gormley. We're in this together, ladies.

[Paige Failing]

Join us every week for Lipstick on the Rim.