You’re Such a Child

I like to mess about. When it comes to most things in my life such as my finances, my family – you know, the important stuff – I like order, for things to be in their place, to have logic and predictability. Left brain stuff.

But when it comes to anywhere you can be creative, such as going out with friends, or playing in the park with my kids, then I like to look for opportunities; moments where unexpected chaos adds that spark which makes life worth living. This is the essence of the stand-up comic, to surprise with true creativity and imagination, to upset convention and show how much fun being playful can really be. Right brain stuff.

Open Your Mind

We frown upon being ‘childish’; the very word is an insult. And yet, by being childish you access the limitless, playful, creative capacity for joy that children have, which is slowly drained from them by being told, relentlessly, to just ‘stop that’. Every time I tell my kids not to do something, I’m aware of the part I’m playing in this awful process, even if the joy they’ve accessed is from poking me repeatedly in the eye with a piece of Lego.

Total Recall

So here’s what you should do: tap into this playful nature that lurks, suppressed, waiting within you (it’s there, you’ve just got to find it). Use it in your next presentation to throw a unique spin on the material, to surprise your audience with an unconventional perspective, to show your true character and make the whole experience something enriched with actual joy. Use stories, emotions, questions, words that paint pictures in their minds, and take them back to their childhood. Whole brain stuff.

How to Do It

1. Question everything: the location, the duration, media, even the layout of the room. Why not do things differently and surprise your audience?
2. Go back to basics: by removing all the technology such as Powerpoint and even the projector, you force yourself to use the essential skills: great writing, emotional delivery, and audience interaction.
3. Try to have fun.

Good luck out there.