Humor Power

Here are some highlight keepers from the second and third day of the NSA Presentation and Peformance Lab in Las Vegas, April 11-13, 2008. 

Richard Oberacker, Director of KA, Cirque Du Soleil’s dazzling show at the MGM in Las Vegas, kicked off Saturday morning.

One of the main themes of his presentation and coaching was truth in performance.
     - Everything in performance art comes from truth.
     - If it doesn’t come from truth, the audience will know, and it doesn’t belong in your speech.
     - When speaking, just be yourself.  Remove the obligation to be something else.
     - Take risks.  Don’t be afraid to fail.
     - Allow your audience to enter your program and find their own message.

Patricia Fripp, speaker and master presentation skills coach.
     - Consider every theatrical performance as a learning lesson.  As you sit in the audience, watch other performers (not just speakers) to learn techniques you can adapt to your own presentations.
     - Quoting Ron Arden:  The enemy of the speaker is sameness.
     - Like a movie, in your speech, “grab them right from the beginning.”
     - Transcribe your talk and then edit to elimate the unnecessary words.
     - For another post on Fripp keepers.

Robert Fripp, internationally-famous rock-and-roll guitarist.
     - What ever it is that you do, if you don’t practice it for one hour each day, you aren’t really doing it.
     - Work and surround yourself with better people.
     - Anything within a performance is significant, intentional or not.
     - Everything we are is revealed in our playing.
     - Life is too short to take on the unnecessary.

Dan Maddux, Executive Director, American Payroll Association.
     - Your responsibility is to give an experience ON the platform and OFF the platform as well.
     - Be available before and after your speech.
     - Coordinate the flow of your talk with the IMAG and video crews.
     - Never pass up the opportunity to do a sound and lights check before you speak.
     - You don’t need to be an Audio-Visual technician, but you need to speak the language.

Brian McDonald, Film-Maker, Writer, Story expert.
     - He shared his short-film, Whiteface, a comedy about the problems clowns might face if they were an actual race of people.  Insightful and brilliantly done.  Highly recommended.
     - What can I take away from my talk to strengthen it?  What can I not do?
     - Your job as a storyteller is to be an observer.
     - Stories are not complicated.  They are simple…but difficult to create.
     - Invisible ink is the writing beneath the words.  Most people will never notice it.

D.J. Vanas, Motivational Storyteller, Author, Success Coach.

     - Know your center of gravity, your bottom-line message or point.
     - Don’t re-tell your story.  Re-live it.
     - Stories are meant to be delivered to one person.
     - Hit all the senses.
     - Debrief yourself after every talk.

Victoria Labalme, Theatrical Keynotes and Coaching.
     - Make your spoken word imaginative and more precise.
     - Your body tells the audience what you are thinking.
     - When developing characters in your talk, explore specificity.
     - Don’t force an emotion.  Always come from truth.
     - When you write a speech:  Write it.  Speak it.  Write it.  Speak it.

Scott McKain, All Business is Show Business
     - Some great music is never heard because the presentation is not compelling.
     - Act as if you had a secret.  It adds power to your presentation.
     - What can I do to be distinctive?  If you’re the same as everyone else, you are a commodity.
     - You can’t command respect, you can only attract it.
     - Broadcasters have had more impact by being more intimate; by talking more softly; by pulling back on their gestures; by being quietly confident.

NSA Presentation and Performance Lab Day #1

Upcoming NSA Events:

NSA Branding and Promotion Lab
Cambridge MA
May 2-4, 2008

NSA National Convention
New York City
August 2-5, 2008

I’m attending the National Speakers Association (NSA) Presentation and Performance Lab in Las Vegas this weekend.  The first day was terrific.

Keynote speaker and magician Giovanni Livera opened the conference with a powerful program on creating Transformational Experiences for your audience.  He asked the question, “How can I be more astonishing?”  Here are a couple of things he suggested:

The first suggestion:  Create Audience Impact Moments to enhance the “experience” of the audience.  The group brainstormed forty-plus types of experiences a speaker could use to enhance a speech: Humor, Magic, Stories, Props, Music, Sound Effects, Gymnastics, Mime, Cartoons, etc.  You add “texture” to your talk by incorporating a variety of these moments and not relying on a single element to create your speech.  For example, rather than expecting humor to carry your message; or expecting stories to do the job; consider how much more effective it would be to include humor AND stories AND music AND cartoons AND poetry AND sound effects.  He also shared a storyboarding technique using colored Post-It Notes to visually see the flow of audience-impact-moments in your speech (color-coding each type of speech segment; stories from the heart, audience participation, music, etc.  Pick categories most relevant to the texture of your speech.)

Another suggestion:  If you close your talk with what you consider the strongest part of the speech, Giovanni suggested experimenting by moving the big closer to the front end.  It would start your talk with high energy and challenge you to strengthen the rest of your talk to match your new strong opener.  I’ve tried doing that during the past year, and I’ve discovered that it creates a wave of energy which enhances everything that follows.  I moved my funniest material, which was normally in the last third of my keynote to the front part of the talk.  It improved the impact of everything else in the speech.  The segments that followed benefited from riding-the-wave of energy created by the stronger opening.

That’s a small bit of what Giovanni shared with us.  A great presentation from the Creator of Experiences.

We also enjoyed a session by celebrity impersonator and impressionist Rich Little, an educational and entertaining program by a show-business master.  A lengthy question-and-answer session gave us many insights on connecting with and entertaining an audience.  One question was:  How much does he exaggerate or embellish when creating stories or humor. He said that he embellishes about five-percent of the time, usually when needed to strengthen a punchline at the end of the joke.  It was interesting to see how careful he was throughout his talk to add “no, he didn’t really say that” when he wanted to clarify that the funny words he was putting in the mouth of a celebrity were not words that the celebrity had actually said.

The conference was welcomed by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, a celebrity politician who embodies the style of Las Vegas.  His warm and witty remarks were a hit.

The afternoon closed with a Jam Session with two speakers from the audience receiving feedback from our panel of faculty experts.  A great end to a terrific day.  Looking forward to Saturday and Sunday.

NSA Presentation and Performance Lab Day #2 and Day #3

Upcoming NSA Events:

NSA Branding and Promotion Lab
Boston MA
May 2-4, 2008

NSA National Convention
New York City
August 2-5, 2008

Internationally-known Story Coach Doug Stevenson has posted a video on YouTube which brings to life 9 steps from his Story Theater Method.  The video is fun and instructional and it’s less than 10 minutes in length.  It illustrates creating a story that is a movie in the minds of the listeners.  You’ll enjoy it.

Here are the 9 Steps.

Step 1:  Set the scene.
Step 2:  Introduce the characters.
Step 3:  Begin the journey.
Step 4:  Encounter the obstacle.
Step 5:  Overcome the obstacle.
Step 6:  Resolve the story.
Step 7:  Make the point.
Step 8:  Ask the question.
Step 9:  Repeat the point.

Here’s the link to the video.

Check out Doug’s website for more information on the Story Theater Method.

Oh no!!!  Not another observational humor monologue!

I realize that few readers have an interest in writing observational humor monologues.  And I also realize that because of the You-Had-To-Be-There factor, reading a transcript of a monologue from an event that you did not attend probably doesn’t make you laugh.  So why do I publish them?

Writing about creating and using humor can easily result in something that looks and sounds like a lecture.  Nothing but theory becomes an exercise in mental gymnastics.  It’s not especially interesting and it’s difficult to link the theory to real-life examples.  You’ve probably heard the E.B. White quote, “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.”

So the question becomes, “how to teach and learn humor without feeling like you’re in a lecture hall?”  I use observational humor monologues as a teaching tool.  Hopefully it’s a vehicle which brings humor techniques to life with real-world examples of humor in action.

My improv troupe had a workshop last week.  Ten of us met to practice the principles of good improv comedy.  Nobody in the group has a dream of becoming a main-stage player at Second City or being discovered by Saturday Night Live.  Most people take improv classes because they are fun, because they teach skills which apply to success in life, and because they help people become better public speakers.  It’s not about the improv…it’s so much more than that.

Likewise, members of a Toastmasters Club did not join because they intend to become a professional speaker.  They join for the fun and to gain some skills that will make them more productive and competitive in the workplace.  It’s not primarily about public speaking, it’s about leadership, growth, and personal communication.

Within a Toastmasters Club, members have the opportunity to compete in several contests every year.  It’s not about the contests, it’s not about winning.  People participate in the contests to improve their skills. 

You don’t enter a Cartoon Caption Contest or a Joke Contest with the intent of becoming a professional writer.  You most likely do it to sharpen your creative skills.  Maybe you do it just to have fun.

People don’t go to the gym to become a body builder.  They go to the gym simply to be in a little better shape than they are today.

So it is with studying Observational Humor Monologues.  It’s not about creating the monologue.  It’s about discovering the Ah-Ha’s which help you make the connections needed to create your own fresh humor.  It’s about the possibility of closing a PTA meeting with just one observational humor line.  It’s about brightening a staff meeting with just one small quip which you create out of nothing.  It’s about relaxing a prospect at a sales presentation because you can react naturally with humor, even if it’s only once.  It’s about opening a speech with just one observational humor line.  It’s about becoming better at using humor…just a little bit.  Studying Observational Humor Monologues, you slowly begin to see how humor connections are made.  One step at a time.  We grow in baby steps.  And the exciting thing is…the better you get…the faster you get better.

So remember, it’s not about the monologue.  It’s about something much more important…you and your skills.

On February 9, I attended the gymnastics Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas.  Defending Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wisconsin, was the winner.  This was the first time Hamm had competed in a full all-around event since the 2004 Olympics.  I’m always inspired by the performances of world-class athletes.  They show us what’s possible and encourage us to dream of what might be achievable in our own lives.  I always try to search for life-lessons that would apply to public speakers.

Here are ten lessons to be learned from the gymnasts that apply to speakers:

1.  Having a coach.  All gymnasts have a coach.  Even the champions at the top of their game have coaches.  Being a speaker is no different.  You need a place to practice and get quality feedback and coaching.  Top professional speakers use high-level coaches.  Many speakers get feedback from participation in Toastmasters.  A speaker going-it-alone will not likely achieve their potential.

2.  Warm up before you perform.  The gymnasts warmed up in each of the event areas taking a total of 90 minutes.  In addition, they spent time stretching before the formal 90-minute official warm-ups began.  As a speaker, it’s critical that you warm up your voice and body before taking the platform.  If you don’t warm up before you take the stage, you’ll warm up in front of the audience.

3.  Visualize your success.  Many of the gymnasts went through a mental visualization of their routine before approaching the mat.  You could see their mental gears turning and they appeared to be in a trance state.  As a speaker you can visualize your connection with the audience, getting the response to your humor, and the positive response at the end of your talk.  Visualize your success before it happens.  See it, hear it, feel it.

4.  Connect with the audience before you begin.  Before the gymnasts began a routine they made clear contact with the judges.  Eye contact and a raising-the-hand gesture were part of the routine before they started their exercise.  Starting an exercise while the judges had their heads in the score-sheet, while still judging the previous competitor, would be an obvious mistake.  Likewise as a speaker, before you begin speaking, pause a moment to connect with the audience.  Make eye contact.  Receive an acknowledgment from the audience that they’re ready to receive you. 

5.  Support from buddies.  Just as the gymnasts have workout buddies that cheer them on from the sidelines, speakers also can receive support from their speaking buddies.  Humor buddies can help you sharpen your humor and stories as you prepare your speech.  Friends can give you great support when you perform at a comedy club open mike night.  In a speech contest your club members will often be your buddy-system when you compete at an area contest or higher.  Cultivate a network of support buddies and never take them for granted.

6.  Audience energy.  The gymnasts receive energy from the audience.  The audience cheers them on before they start, provides them energy during their routine and gives them an ovation after a job well done.  A speaker receives energy from their audience.  As a speaker, you’re never presenting a monologue.  Every speech is a dialogue.  There is always a two-way conversation with energy flowing both directions.

7.  Ta Dah!  At the end of a great routine, the gymnasts almost always strike a victory pose and soak in the response of the audience.  As a speaker, don’t be in a rush to leave the speaking platform.  Give the audience a chance to express their appreciation with applause and other positive feedback.

8.  Being the best doesn’t mean being the best at everything.  Paul Hamm won the All-Around Championship.  In the six events, he was the best at two.  On one of the events he was ninth best.  As a speaker, you should strive to be as good as you can be in all areas.  But it’s normal that you may be tops in some areas and not others.  You may be terrific with eye contact, but less accomplished in physical energy and gestures.  You may be great in humor but not quite as good as a story teller.  Know your strengths and weaknesses.  And work on keeping strong skills in all areas.  But remember that you can be one of the best speakers without being the best at everything.  Professionalism doesn’t require perfection.

9.  There is always room for growth.  On rare occasions, a top gymnast may receive a perfect score.  I don’t know if a perfect score has ever been attained on all events in a competition.  Probably not.  There is always room for growth.  As a speaker, if you complete your most awesome speech you’ve ever given or win a high-level contest, just think of it as a new platform for jumping toward your next, even greater challenge.

10.  The value of competition.  The gymnasts are inspired and challenged by entering competitions.  It’s not the same as practicing in the home-town gym.  They’re pushed to be their best.  Toastmaster speech contests are also a great challenge to reach new levels of excellence.  A contest is less about winning than it is about growth.

Here are some resources you may want to check out.

Bert Decker’s Create Your Communications Experience blog for The Top Ten Best (and Worst) Communicators of 2007.  Number One is a presidential candidate.

Andrew Dlugan’s Six Minutes: A Public Speaking and Presentations Blog features his post:  75 Public Speaking Blogs:  The Public Speaking Blogosphere.

Eric Feng’s The Public Speaking Blog, The Best of The Public Speaking Blog In 2007.

The January 2008 issue of Toastmaster magazine features a five-page article by John Kinde, Acceptable Humor: How To Navigate the Minefield of Good and Bad Taste.

Eric Feng, a bright, energetic, young public speaking coach from Singapore has added a new feature to his site, The Public Speaking Blog.  Every week for the past four weeks he highlights the Top Five Public Speaking Articles To Read.  He’s an avid reader, screens many of the blog posts and articles which appear on the internet each week,  summarizes the best for you, and provides you a link to the original article. 

Earlier this year, Eric wrote an article on international humor, for our blog, called, So You Think You can Make A Singaporean Laugh.  Recently he posted another cross-cultural humor article on his own blog:  Who Says Sri Lankans Aren’t Funny People?  Eric is currently living in Sri Lanka and shares his experiences at a speech contest in that country.  He shows us how everyone has a sense of humor and observes what makes it tick.

Forty-six-year-old Carnegie Mellon University computer science Professor Randy Pausch, dying from pancreatic cancer, gives his last lecture on September 18, 2007.  A motivational speech delivered by a real person.  Learning points from the viewpoint of public speaking:
1.  Have fun in the present moment.
2.  The power of humor.  Often, the more serious the topic, the more appropriate it is to use humor.
3.  Be conversational.  He didn’t lecture.  He visited with us.
4.  Notes are OK.  Glance at the notes and speak from the heart.
5.  The power of original stories.  He talks about his life.
6.  Visuals add power.  Photos and video clips are worth 1000 words.
7.  Know your limits:  “I’m not going to talk about my wife and kids.”
8.  Know the parameters of your talk:  “I’m not going to talk about spirituality.”
9.  Watch the close.  I thought, wow, he’s only left two minutes for the close.  And he did it in 27 seconds.  With impact.

CBS News four-minute version of the story.

Google video:  One hour twenty-five minute video of the whole speech (highly recommended).   Or try this link.

Related Post:  If This Were Your Last Speech

Here’s a great post on The Ten Most Influential Bloggers on Public Speaking published by Eric Feng’s The Public Speaking Blog.

What’s really nice about the post is that he ranks the sites AND tells you why he ranked them the way he did.  After reading Eric’s reviews, you’ll know which blogs you’ll want to visit.

Here are the top ten:

1.  Garr Reynolds — Presentation Zen

2.  Life Hacker

3.  John Kinde — Humor Power

4.  Nancy Tierney — Unconditional Confidence

5.  Tom Antion — Great Public Speaking

6.  Paul Evans — Instant Speaking Success

7.  Steve Pavlina – Personal Development For Smart People

8.  Darren Fleming — Executive Speaking

9.  Gary Guwe — Connexion! Communication Resources!

10.  Bronwyn Ritchie — Pivotal Public Speaking

Visit Eric’s post for the full reviews of these sites.

I’ll give you a link to a terrific video which is a study of the power of authenticity.  The link is provided at the end of the post, because I’d suggest that you read the entire post before watching the video.  The video segment is about 6 minutes in length.  This post is only 500 words and will take you only two minutes to read.

In this video clip you’ll see the late Mr Rogers (creator of children’s TV programming) speaking before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications and Chair, the late John Pastore (D-RI) in 1969.  At stake was a $20 million grant for the Corporation For Public Broadcasting.  In the video, Mr Rogers was 40.  Senator Pastore was 61.  The clip shows the impact of authenticity.  While the effect of authenticity is not instantaneous, it is powerful.

In this post, I will not examine the content of the testimony; word choice, metaphors, comparisons, poetry and more.  I offer the segment solely as a study in style.  Observe how Mr Rogers sticks with his authentic style.  Study the change in body language of Senator Pastore.

Also note that I’m not suggesting that anyone’s specific style is universally appropriate for all people and all circumstances.  I would encourage you, however to study the style of someone whose style may not be a fit for you and ask yourself, “what is good about this style and what can I learn from it.”  And I would suggest that you develop your own authentic style which represents the real you.

Right from the beginning, Mr Rogers begins with his authentic Mr Rogers style.  And he maintains it.  Gentle and deliberate pacing.  Soft-spoken.  Non-threatening.  It’s clear during the testimony that Senator Pastore had not previously known much about Mr Rogers.  His opinions are totally being shaped by the content and style of Mr Rogers in a six minute testimony.

Mr Rogers testimony begins with the Chairman Pastore (a self-described tough guy) playing the role of Guardian of the Public Money.  The spotlight is given to Mr Rogers with “All right Rogers you’ve got the floor,” spoken by Senator Pastore in an impatient tone that almost said “OK let’s get this over with.”  That introduction by the Chair is accompanied by light snickers from some of those in attendance.

Mr Rogers does not match or mirror the tone of the Senator and within the first 20 seconds essentially says “I trust you.” Thirty seconds into his testimony, Mr Rogers is interrupted with an almost sarcastic “Will it make you feel better if you read it?”  More snickers.

Mr Rogers sticks with his steady, non-confrontational style, “I’d just like to talk about it, if it’s all right.”  He continues in an effective conversational style.

About a minute later, Senator Pastore’s attitude begins to shift as his body language says “OK, I’m listening.”

Less than four minutes after his gruffly spoken “feel better if you read it?” comment, Senator Pastore admits to having goose bumps.  And in less than six minutes he’s totally sold:  “I think it’s wonderful.  Looks like you just earned the 20 million dollars.”

This clip is a powerful example of the disarming power of authenticity.  Click here to watch.