We're running a Presentation Skills workshop on Saturday 28th September run by ComedySportz player and Stand-Up comic John Cooper. This one day class will show you how to use the skills of a stand up comic to help deliver engaging, entertaining presentations for your work and business.
This fun and friendly session is perfect for anyone looking to build confidence in public speaking or learn new tricks to help spice up their presentations.
Below you will find a few tips and tricks to get you started!
Whether you're talking to ten people or over a hundred, before rolling out pie charts and bar graphs, you must make a connection with your audience. You're speaking to people, not performing a monologue.
Try sharing a short personal story with a positive outcome in only three sentences; beginning, middle and end. Show your audience that you don't fear them, and you're human.
Like a good comic would, approach your presentation topic from as many angles as you can think of. Try finding fresh ways of expressing the subject. Don't cram too much in. Let your personality come out, it's not an exam.
Give your brain and mouth room to breathe during rehearsal and delivery. Keep the language simple and natural, the way you would normally speak. Don't become a mechanical delivery automaton.
If you have a favourite comedian, go and watch them live. Observe how they move and speak. Aside from their jokes, great comedians have a pace and rhythm that complements their personality. They have a strong sense of their own identity and how they are perceived.
What is yours?
There's a phrase in stand-up comedy: "Put your best jokes at the beginning and end, and let the middle sort itself out."
As a metaphor, imagine columns supporting a bridge. Place the strongest points of your presentation at the beginning and end. Then think of each topic in your presentation as a pillar, evenly spread across the bridge.
This helps build rhythm to your delivery.
Making people laugh is a great way to deliver a talk that will be memorable. It's also a minefield of personal taste, sense of humour and knowing when it is and isn't appropriate within the context of subject you're speaking on.
Comedians learn this the hard way. Three words of advice: Keep. It. Clean.
If you'd like to learn more you can sign up to the presentation skills workshop here. There will be plenty of laughter and learning and valuable feedback from John. The workshops will run Saturday 28th September 12.30-4.30pm. Workshops are held at the ThoughtWorks space in Federation House, Balloon St, Manchester.
The full cost of the presentation skills workshop is £45. Price includes £10 non-refundable deposit. Alternatively, you can pay the £10 deposit here and pay the rest on the day.
Want to take your learning even further? We're also running an 8 week course in Stand-Up Comedy for those wishing to develop their own material with regular practice performing in a safe and supportive environment.
Looking to build connections, develop your listening and communication or get comfortable with going off script? Why not try our 8 week Improvisation classes?
Both Beginning Stand-Up Comedy and Foundation in Improv commence 5th October and will run Saturdays 12.30-2.30pm for 8 weeks. Visit our workshops pages for more information or get in touch and we'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Our workshops and classes are fully accredited by CSzWorldwide so when you take a workshop with ComedySportz you're not just drawing from our 18 years+ experience teaching and performing but from the combined experience of over 30 ComedySportz teams worldwide.
