Comedians learn about public speaking the hard way – but you don't have to

David Nihill says you shouldn’t worry about that stain on your shirt.

By David Nihill Author and founder of FunnyBizz

I TRULY BELIEVE we are all funny.

Some of us are naturally funny, others have to work at it. But we all have moments in life that make us laugh.

The good news is that this is a skill, which means it can be learned, and few are better placed than comedians to help us develop it.

Comedians’ content and delivery are honed through years of practice as they master their craft.

In doing so, they are among the few public speakers that clock up the 10,000 hours Malcolm Gladwell says make a master. Yet not many of these masters are asked to share their knowledge with a business community which needs it.

Comedians learn a lot the hard way. Here are some of their top tips for public speaking for business people.

Develop an opening line

As any metre sprinter knows, it’s much harder to win if you get off to a weak start.

The first 30 seconds of your presentation can determine the rest of the duration as easily as the sprinter’s time off the block.

It will set the tone for the rest of your talk. Rehearse this 30 seconds the most.

Acknowledge the obvious

If you’re visibly nervous, have a stain on your shirt, or if there’s anything unusual about you physically – anything that the audience might fixate on at the start – now is the time to address it, get a laugh, and move on so the audience can focus.

Acknowledging the obvious is known in comedy as ‘calling the room’. It means vocalising exactly what’s going on in the room or what people are likely thinking.

Run through your presentation in fast forward

Saying the words out loud as quickly as possible when you’re practicing is a great technique to identify words and parts of your talk that may trip you up the day of your talk.

David Nihill David Nihill
Source: David Nihill

Know your times

Break down each story you intend to tell, each section, record it and know how long it takes to tell (for example, intro, pitch, numbers component, lessons, and main takeaways).

Knowing the associated times for each part will help you craft the perfect performance.

Don’t wait to work the room

Try to introduce yourself to as many people in the room as possible before you start to speak. It helps break down that initial barrier that a stage can create. Don’t wait until you have already addressed the audience to start working the room.

Stretch first

Just before you go on stage put your hands above your head in a full stretch. This will help calm your nerves.

Permanent beta

Video or audio record every time you’re on stage and review it. Be pleased, but never satisfied, with every performance. The idea of being in continuous beta, that there’s always room for improvement, is a perspective that will set you up for success.

Speak instead of preach

Be conversational on stage and avoid preaching. This relaxes the audience and makes it seem more of a spontaneous discussion.

Speak up, not ah, eh, but…

It sounds straightforward enough, but make sure you speak loud enough for people to hear you. You need to reach everybody in the room.

The added benefit is that by speaking at little as 20% louder than normal you will reduce the amount of filler words – ah, eh, but – you tend to use.

It’s hard to say “eh” or “em” with this higher than normal tone. This feels strange to do but sounds perfectly normal to your audience.

Try to use the present tense

Avoid “I was walking and I saw.” It should be “I’m walking and I see…” Even if the event happened many, many years ago, you want the audience to be living that moment with you as if it’s happening right now.

Create the scene for the audience as if it’s unfolding in front of their very eyes.

Put the key word at the end of the sentence

If you’re getting to punchline of a joke, don’t say, “There was a cat in the box.” Say, “In that box was a cat.” That way you’re not still talking when the crowd’s meant to be laughing, according to British comedian Matt Kirshen.

Same goes for key metrics in a business speech. If you want to emphasise that you have an 80% growth rate year-on-year then say, “Year-on-year we had a growth rate of 80%”.

Don’t speak for too long

Comedians know their strongest material and know that the best nights are the ones when they do just that: If you are not confident in your ability to speak for 40 minutes, ask for less.

Never finish on a Q&A

Never finish your talk with a questions and answers section. Say, “Now I am going to take a few questions before I make my conclusion.”

Save a slide that lists the main points from your talk (ideally three) before delivering your parting words of wisdom after the Q&A and not before.

David Nihill is the author of Do You Talk Funny and the founder of FunnyBizz. This column was taken from his guide to public speaking, which you can read in full here.