If They’re Laughing, They’re Learning

I guess I need to start somewhere, so I thought I'd start out by referring to something that actually got me started with Stand-up Comedy; "Public Speaking".

Now, many of you who know me today don't realize that I used to travel throughout the States and Europe, training various Network Marketing organizations. A very enjoyable but none the less challenging task.

While as a speaker at business conventions of this kind, you usually already have the audience on your side, for they are noted for being hungry for the information you are going to provide to help them get rich, but they still want and need great content and a bit of a performance.

That's when I started studying Comedy, because I discovered something very important and this is now my speaking mantra:

"If They're Laughing, They're Learning"©

I found time and time again that the presentations where I made the people laugh most were the ones that were remembered longest. Around 14 years ago I did a speech which I titled :"Let Go of Your Peanut"© (more on that in a later post) and people still approach me that heard that seminar back then and praise me saying they can still remember what I said because I left them laughing so hard that they were in tears. 14 years later! That is the type of impact you want to leave. Encase your message with humor and people will remember it longer.

Now mind you, using humor is not always possible. War talks, funerals and divorce proceedings are places where using humor could backfire on you. But then again you could go out with a laugh. Talk about "killing".

Traveling internationally and speaking to audiences in foreign countries creates an additional challenge. Many don't understand English and on top of that their sense of humor is different. I tried on several occasions to be funny in my presentations but found that people in places like Istanbul, Budapest or Brussels just might not get it. I'll cover performing internationally in another post.

So remember this; if you find yourself not connecting to your audience, add a few jokes or funny anecdotes to your material and get them laughing. That connection will work wonders.

Here's to Your Wealth!

Cheers, Smiles and Laughs,