Lessons
How To Watch This Class
01:25 2Class Introduction
08:53 3Top Business Speakers Are Using Humor
04:00 4One Sure Fire Way to Add Funny
05:29 5How To Replicate Top Talks
13:41 6Basic Comedy Writing Techniques
18:07 7How To Get Funny Fast
19:40 8How To Make Boring Things Funny
19:54Lesson Info
How To Watch This Class
Hello, my name is Chris Jennings, and I'm the host and producer of David Nihill's Become a Better and Funnier Public Speaker class here on CreativeLive. In this class David references some amazing videos from world-renowned public speakers. These videos are freely available on the internet, and they're a great way to learn from some of the best speakers in the business. Unfortunately, due to copyright laws we are unable to embed those videos within this class. But rest assured, we have come up with a solution to give you the best user experience possible. Here's what you need to do. Before you watch the class, download our video link's PDF that's found under the Class Materials section of the Course page. In this document, you'll see a list of the videos that David references throughout the class in the order that they appear. Once you get to a point in the video lessons where you see this screen, you'll want to click on the corresponding video link in your companion PDF to open the vi...
deo in a new browser window. Once the video is finished playing, click back over to the CreativeLive Course page and resume the class where you left off. It's as simple as that. Keep going through the video companion PDF until you've reached the end of David's class. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to send an email to support@creativelive.com. Thanks again for watching the class, and we'll see you next time.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
lunarkitty
I always wondered why my favorite TED talks look so effortlessly off-the-cuff while commanding my undivided attention: Laughter. David's class taught me how "The end of laughter is followed by the height of listening." Applying stand-up comedy techniques to the art of storytelling makes information much easier to retain, and hence, easier to share with others. David handily makes the case for why the comedic structure is necessary and applicable in a variety of cases, ranging from business presentations to blog posts. After learning about the joke structure and funnel, I now hear/see them in action throughout my day. He also shares specific tips on how to "memorize" talking points while remaining totally flexible to last-minute time changes (e.g. "Your 20-minute talk just got chopped to 5 minutes. Go!") David covers specifically how to start your talk, end your talk, and where precisely to position your Q&A sessions to maximize audience reaction to the speaker. He supercharges this talk with so many actionable tricks and tips. Sarah Cooper makes a guest appearance sharing 4 tips that I found especially helpful for creating funny visuals. David's heartfelt honesty about the guts it takes to "get up on stage" - the vulnerability of it - really shines through. And now, I carry my "Funny File" with me at all times. This is a truly phenomenal class, both in content and delivery. Thank you for making me laugh, David and Sarah!
Kashif Rashid
Pretty brilliant. David is hilarious so he is definitely using his techniques. Its also easier to follow the class and want more when they are funny. I think most of the presenters on Creative live should be taking this class too . Make it funny so that learning becomes "fun"-ner
Philipp @PhotoAmmon Ammon
Brilliant lecture. David managed to keep me hooked, and I am pretty sure I will do so much better on whatever public speaking I have to do next As a photographer, I know this will help improve the way I look at talking about my work, and I think these kind of skills are vital to any artist. One little thing I didn't like about this was more of a technical issue. He uses videos as examples to the content he is teaching, but none of the CL links to the videos worked. I know its probably a copyright issue, but I would rather watch bad footage of the TV in the studio than nothing at all. Especially since I can't pause the talk and find the videos. Regardless, brilliant talk. Definitely watch it!
Student Work
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