Presentation tips from stand-up comedians
Over the past few months I’ve been going to a stand-up comedy night called Knock2Bag at Moth Club in Hackney. It’s a mix of household names and emerging talent. There are some of the ‘traditional’ stand-up styles we all know and love, other acts are what I’d describe as ‘awkward but hilarious’ and some are just downright weird (but usually still pretty funny!)
Anyway, one Thursday before going to the comedy I had spent the afternoon in a presentation training session with a small group of colleagues at my agency, Transmission. The training itself was fantastic and I’ll likely talk about it in another blog post or two down the line. Like a lot of that kind of training it was a great refresher, with some new tips and tricks.
Having had the training, the art of presenting was at the forefront of my mind and I found myself watching the acts in a slightly different way to usual.
It got me thinking, and I realised there’s a lot we can learn about presenting from how stand-up comedians approach their acts.
Here are five things I’ve taken from watching stand-up comedians - both the TV stars trying out new stuff for the first time and young upstarts showcasing their best material.
1.Own the room
The more confident you are the more the room seems to go with you and enjoy it more. When the comedian is comfortable, the audience seems to also be at ease. Adopting a bit of a persona seems to work for some of the comedians I’ve seen. Keep in mind that the audience have no idea if you’ve mucked something up, so don’t be afraid to make a mistake. And if something does go wrong, don’t highlight it, just keep going and learn for next time.
2. Be a bit weird (or, be yourself!)
From a ventriloquist witch trying to kill their child (one of the weird but hilarious acts!) to a song about trowels - the acts that were a bit odd are arguably the ones that are most memorable. When it comes to presenting, especially in a work context, most of the time people have been in similar presentations many times before. You might try a different approach or visual format, but most importantly don’t be boring. Put your spin on it. Make your audience sit up and listen. Think about what you want them to remember - what are the 2-3 key points from your presentation that they should really care about?
3. Embrace silence
This is a big one for me personally as I tend to speak quite fast, sometimes not stopping for air! What I’ve learned is really great comedians use silence to their advantage. Some are able to make the audience laugh without saying a word. Little more than a raised eyebrow or smirk. Silence is a strong tool. It’s great for pacing, emphasis and allowing your audience to take in what you’re saying. And it’s a massive help if you want input - ask your question and then be silent. Resist the urge to fill the gap.
4. Invite audience participation at your own risk
Asking your audience to respond to questions or for input can go very wrong. There’s a risk it undermines your hard work, turning what should be a great show into a bit of a disjointed mess. It can even derail your entire presentation - the last thing you want is to run out of time. We’ve all been in an audience when the presenter asks “any questions?” and is met with silence. You don’t want that. It’s your presentation and you need to own it. If you want an answer, ask for it directly. Like a comedian with the person in the front row – put them on the spot.
5. Practice! Practice! Practice!
The whole point of these smaller comedy nights is to practice and test material. If that’s not something to adopt I don’t know what is! When trying new material, many of the acts record themselves on stage so they can learn and improve.
Bonus: own any hecklers
If someone tries to heckle or ruin your performance. Nail them.
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I hope you found these points interesting. Let me know what you think. It’s not rocket science but like my present ration training, hopefully it’s a nice reminder of how to approach a presentation.
A broader point I’ve taken away from writing this blog is to be more open to learning from things I usually wouldn’t attend or watch. Think about how I can apply what they do to what I’m trying to do. From football to documentary film makers and beyond. Maybe a little series I could start for this blog.
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Lateone is written by Rick Harrison. If you like what you read please leave a comment, or follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter. To join my mailing list, sign up with your email in the footer below.
