Episode 108

You only need to make your audience laugh if you want to get paid well | Shaun Eli

What does making people laugh have to do with influence and persuasion? Quite a lot really. Comedy and humour can be very useful tools in your influence and persuasion toolkit when employed well and sadly, it's an area that is often overlooked in studies on influence and persuasion.

It can be a powerful rapport tool. We tend to like people who can make us laugh and we are more likely to remember things when we find them funny. Being able to vary the emotional experience of your audience is one of the hallmarks of a confident and experienced speaker. Humour requires looking at the world a little differently.

Not everyone will feel humour is for them but even a small chuckle or groan-worthy dad joke in a presentation can lighten the mood and expand the emotional journey of your audience. My guest Shaun Eli helps us out with some ways we can add some humour into our social, professional and public interactions. 

In this episode:

  • The importance of being a clean comedian (if you can be)
  • making humour through storytelling
  • Connecting and engaging with people through humour
  • How to make your audience feel it's all about them
  • Simple ways to add humour to a presentation
  • Why a comedy class could be just what you need
  • The big difference between a professional speaker and a comedian
  • The three steps to making a joke

and more besides.

As Shaun states during the episode, our chat wasn't packed with jokes. We talked humour but not so much the jokes, so if you want to see Shaun in action, and he is indeed a funny guy, you can visit his website BrainChampagne.com and you can connect with Shaun if you'd like him to help make your talks and presentations more entertaining.

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About the Podcast

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Present Influence
The podcast that helps professional communicators learn the skills that increase influence, impact and authority.

About your host

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John Ball

John Ball is a keynote coach and professional speaker on a mission to help upcoming leaders master their communication, create impact and stand out as experts in their field.
John left the high life of his flying career to do something more meaningful to him and has since worked with several leading personal and professional development organisations as a lead coach and trainer.
The heart of everything John does involves helping people shift to personal responsibility and conscious awareness of how they show up and perform in every situation, whilst equipping them with the tools to be exceptional.
John also co-hosts The Coaching Clinic Podcast with his great friend and colleague Angie Besignano.
He lives in the beautiful city of Valencia, Spain with his husband and often visits the UK and US for speaking and training engagements. When he's not speaking or podcasting, he's likely to be out swimming, kayaking or enjoying time with friends.

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