VEDANTAM: The high she felt from inchworming across the stage just got even higher. And I was like, OK, a tripod and a $50 Amazon gift card for $25. And also, I'm going to give you this $50 Amazon gift card. I think I could get a lot of use out of a tripod. And he was just like, does anybody want to buy this tripod? And I was like, yeah, I want to buy this tripod. VEDANTAM: He was carrying a tripod and a bunch of other stuff. SMALLEY: This guy, like, walked out of nowhere. Like, I didn't want to just go home and, like, go to sleep. SMALLEY: I just needed to do something with my energy. When Morgan walked out of the theater that night, she was practically bursting. I, like, got on the floor and I, like, acted like a slug. SMALLEY: When you get the laugh, it's just, like, such as self-esteem boost (laughter). When she does that well, she can hear the results immediately. VEDANTAM: Morgan prides herself on being able to pick up on subtext, on being able to read between the lines, behind the lines. Like, why am I mad at them? Is it that when it was my birthday last time, they treated me like garbage - things like that. SMALLEY: Like, let's say I came out and instead of saying happy birthday, like, with a happy face, I could be like, happy birthday and clearly that means that I'm upset.

That means not just hearing what people say you have to pick up on everything that surrounds the words. VEDANTAM: After dozens of performances, she's learned that you need more than a creative mind to get the audience laughing. Morgan Smalley (ph) has been performing with an improv comedy troupe since she was in college.

SHANKAR VEDANTAM (HOST): From NPR, this is HIDDEN BRAIN. Our transcripts are provided by various partners and may contain errors or deviate slightly from the audio. The transcript below may be for an earlier version of this episode.

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