Let’s just be real for a minute: most public speakers are boring. And aside from making your day a little less fun, dull presentations are bad for business.
Audiences have become conditioned to receiving information with a dose of entertainment, and that makes humor a critical tool for any professional communicator. We want our data with a punchline these days-- witness the success of The Daily Show or the stickiness of many of President Obama’s speeches for example.
Speaking of excellent punchlines ... here are the accompanying links to the videos mentioned in the class
- Amy Cuddy - Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are - http://cr8.lv/amy
- Tim Urban - Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - http://cr8.lv/tim
- Sir Ken Robinson - Do Schools Kill Creativity? - http://cr8.lv/sir
- Larry Smith - Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career - http://cr8.lv/larry
- AJ Jacobs - The World’s Largest Family Reunion...We’re All Invited! -
http://cr8.lv/aj
- Maysoon Zayid - I Got 99 Problems...Palsy is Just One - http://cr8.lv/maysoon
- Louis von Ahn - Massive-Scale Online Collaboration - http://cr8.lv/luis
- Dave Eggers - 2008 TED Prize Wish: Once Upon a School - http://cr8.lv/dave
It’s not just about getting some laughs to make yourself feel good; it’s about using humor to grab and hold your audience’s interest, making your message stickier and ultimately more persuasive. In a world full of bland, dull speakers, if you stand out, you win!
The good news is that humor is a skill, which means that it can be learned by anyone. The notion that we’re “born funny” couldn’t be more false: “being funny” is just a set of easily-replicated techniques (for example, the setup followed by the punchline) that anyone can pick up with a little practice.
Whether you are preparing for a business presentation, giving a wedding toast, defending your thesis, raising money from investors, this class will take you from nervous and sweaty to stage-ready.
Bestselling author, storyteller, occasional comedian, and Irishman, David Nihill will teach you:
- How top business speakers are using humor
- One Sure Fire Way to Add Funny to any content
- How To Replicate Top TED Talks
- Basic Comedy Writing Techniques
- Quick ways to get funny fast
- How To Make Boring Things Funny (with guest Sarah Cooper)
- Storytelling Tips that everyone can use
- Advanced Comedy Writing Techniques
- How to critique your own stories
- Never go blank on stage with the memory palace technique
- Content delivery tips for all levels
- Manage stage fright
As an added bonus, Sarah Cooper, a writer, comedian, and creator of the satirical blog TheCooperReview.com, will be joining David to teach you how to make boring subjects more entertaining.
Learn more about David Nihill from his appearance on the “Profit, Power, Pursuit Podcast”!
