director of Kennoway Investments
“DYTF is a witty and clever take on how to apply the lessons of a business-savvy experimental stand-up comic into today’s world of droll and monotonous business presentations. David gives great, practical advice on how to structure any business talk to be as engaging as a five-minute set at the Comedy Cellar. Highly recommended for anyone that has to do corporate presentations for 2- to 5,000-plus-person audiences (and keep them awake and cheering you on).”
—Rob Kniaz, founding partner of Hoxton Ventures
“David’s rich life experiences shine through in this wildly entertaining guide to public speaking. Whether you’re reading it for fun or to stand out at your next business presentation, I promise you’ll be inspired.”
—Sami Aziz, producer on ABC’s Shark Tank, two-time Emmy award winner
“This book is great. I haven’t read it yet but David drew a picture when he was six years old of a penguin drinking beer in a Chinese restaurant and it was clear the potential for slight wisdom and misguided creativity were there.”
—Marita Nihill, David’s mother
Do You Talk Funny?
Do You Talk funny?
7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker
DAVID NIHILL
BenBella Books, Inc.
Dallas, Texas
Copyright © 2016 by David Nihill
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
BenBella Books, Inc.
10300 N. Central Expressway
Suite #530
Dallas, TX 75231
Send feedback to [email protected]
First E-Book Edition: March 2016.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Nihill, David, author.
Title: Do you talk funny? : 7 comedy habits to become a better (and funnier) public speaker / David Nihill.
Description: Dallas, TX : BenBella Books, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015037723| ISBN 9781942952275 (paperback) | ISBN 9781942952282 (electronic)
Subjects: LCSH: Business presentations. | Wit and humor in business. | BISAC:
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Business Communication / Meetings & Presentations.
| HUMOR / Topic / Business & Professional. | PERFORMING ARTS / Comedy. Classification: LCC HF5718.22 .N54 2016 | DDC 658.4/52—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037723
| Copyediting by James Fraleigh | Front cover by Erin Tyler |
| Proofreading by Brittney Martinez and Greg Teague | Full cover by Sarah Dombrowsky |
| Text design and composition by Aaron Edmiston | Printed by Lake Book Manufacturing |
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To my father, Patrick Nihill, who taught me that you cansqueeze humor into just about any situation.
Contents
#3 Write Funny
#4 Rehearsed Spontaneity
#5 Delivery
#6 Control the Audience
#7 Close the Book, but Not Fully—Permanent Beta
Conclusion
Further Material
Tipliography
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author
I truly believe we are all funny . . . at least some of the time. Some of us are termed naturally funny and others have to work at it. We all have moments in life that make us laugh. How we communicate those moments to others, in a way most conducive to sharing our joy, is often the missing link. The good news is that this is a skill, which means it can be learned, and few are better placed to help us develop it than comedians.
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 ten thousand hours Malcolm Gladwell says make a master. Yet few of these masters are asked to share their knowledge with a business community who needs it. Almost every book ever written on public speaking says humor is a key part of successful talks. Yet none of them explain well how to employ it, which is about as useful as handing a MacBook Pro to a goat. None of them describe the techniques
