Improve your presentation skills: Tips from a comedian

Here’s a simple rule for marketers to improve their presentations: Don’t tell jokes. That may seem odd advice coming from a (former) stand-up comic, but it is 100% true. Read on and I’ll explain why and give some other tips for better presentations.

I worked as a professional comedian for several years (professional meaning people paid me to do it, not that they paid me enough to support myself) in the Greater Boston-Rhode Island area. I performed at comedy clubs, theaters, restaurants, school auditoriums and many bars. I was the opening act for several comedians who are now nationally known. In addition to being a lot of fun, it was a master class in communication skills. 

The first thing a comedian must do is connect with an audience. If they can’t do that then it doesn’t matter how good their material is. Connecting involves two things: presence and content. 

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Presence is how you get and keep the audience’s attention. The most common way of doing that is showing confidence in yourself and what you are doing. This reassures the audience. It tells them they are in capable hands. They relax and give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment.

Please note that I said “showing confidence,” not having it. Nearly all performers are nervous before going on. The great actor Laurence Olivier went through a long period where he had to perform mostly with his back to the audience. Adele, Rihanna and Ozzy Osbourne are other examples of artists who have struggled with this. So when the fear hits you (and it will), please remember you are in good company.

That said, you can learn how to appear confident.

Presence

I have an unfair advantage when it comes to being onstage because I love doing what is many folks’ biggest fear: talking in front of people. I love the attention. That doesn’t mean I don’t get nervous, though. My fear is always that I will forget my material and be stuck in front of people with nothing but a shoeshine and a smile.

The solution to my fear is also how you learn to be comfortable onstage: practice. One of the rules of comedy is you “go up” (perform) every time you can. This is why big-name comedians show up unannounced at little comedy clubs and do a quick set. For someone like me, it meant going to as many open mic nights as possible. I would regularly drive 45 minutes to an hour for a chance to get seven minutes in front of an audience.

While there is no equivalent to an open mic for conference presentations, there are some reasonable substitutes. First, of course, is practicing the presentation by yourself. Read it aloud while going through your slides over and over. This cannot be done too often. The next thing is roping your friends and family into watching you do it. Thanks to things like Zoom you have a huge pool of people available to you. Record it each time for review and ask the audience to give you feedback. Even if they have no idea what you are talking about, they can tell you what worked and what didn’t. 

I didn’t like reviewing my recorded performances. It was too easy for me to focus on what I did wrong. If you’re at risk of that, have someone with you when watching the recording. They can use reality to counteract your negative opinion of yourself. 

No one likes the sound of their voice

Another bonus from doing this is learning to ignore the sound of your voice. I’ve yet to meet anyone who liked how their voice sounded the first several times they heard it. My time working in radio taught me that that goes away the more you hear it. Even if you don’t come to love your voice, it will stop bothering you.

Another important thing to know: There is no one right way to have a confident presence. I’ve seen performers who had it even though their entire act was on looking like they didn’t. I’ve seen people who expressed it with manic energy and others do it with silence. You need to figure out what works for you. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you must present in the same tone everyone else does. The more it is your way and not someone else’s, the more memorable your presentation will be.

When it comes to content, you have a huge advantage over even the most accomplished comedian. You do not have to worry about your audience not knowing what you are talking about. Whether you are presenting to co-workers or at a conference, they all have the experience and knowledge to get the reference. An example of the opposite: When I was in college I once did a 10-minute set about my experiences in Catholic schools for an audience that was overwhelmingly Jewish. I got some laughs, but I got more confused looks.

No jokes

I was once at a very large marketing conference and the CEO of the company behind it was doing the Big Talk for that day. This CEO is someone I have incredible respect for. When they talk you learn something. They are not just an expert in their field, but also an expert about people and businesses. Their topic that day was hugely important to all marketers.

The first 15 minutes were great. I found myself wishing he would talk about this for hours. Then he tried to tell a joke. I don’t remember the joke, but I do remember it wasn’t bad or offensive. As soon as he told it, though, the mood in the room changed. And this goes to the first reason not to tell a joke.

Jokes distance you from your audience. They set up a situation where one of you knows and one of you doesn’t and not in a let-me-share-my-knowledge-with-you-way. It tells the audience I AM GOING TO MAKE YOU LAUGH. You have built up a huge expectation. Getting a laugh is one of the toughest things for a performer to do. And, to be clear, I know how to deliver a joke and I wouldn’t do one in a presentation. 

The other reason not to tell a joke is comic timing. I could tell the CEO had been carefully coached in how to tell the joke. He had been told exactly how long to wait between the premise and the punchline. Unfortunately, that time cannot be determined in advance. How long to wait depends on so many intangibles it’s impossible to list them all: The mood of the audience, the weather, time of day, how much or little people have had to drink, how anxious they are to get to lunch, and most importantly, what feels right to the teller. 

Timing can’t be taught

Tig Notaro, one of my favorite comedians, waits forever to deliver the punch line. Other comedians go so fast you’re always laughing at a joke you heard two jokes earlier. Comic timing cannot be taught, it can only be learned.

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One of the ways you learn comic timing is by bombing. I have a lot of experience with bombing. There are two types of bombing in comedy. One is where only the other comedians are laughing because of how badly you just failed. The other, which is worse, is when even they are silent. You hear crickets in the audience and they’re all saying, “Hey buddy, can you wrap this up?”

At this conference, I learned there is something even worse than that: obligatory laughter. A huge number of people in that audience worked for that CEO. For me, the laughter was even worse than the joke.

By all means, be humorous (if you’re comfortable with that) in your presentation. That kind of humor draws people in and increases connection. It can work even when it’s awkward. But please, leave the jokes to the pros.