Anger is Good
Anger! Rarrr. It’s a negative emotion, but in the world of the stand-up comic it can be very useful indeed, when aimed at the everyday, the trivial, the mundane. Despite being negative, this anger is a passion which provides the energy and themes that the audience can identify with.
Passion
In a speech or presentation, a passion is the fire that burns brightly to hold the audience’s attention. When I’m listening to someone speak, I don’t really care about anything that they don’t care about; if they don’t appear to be interested, then why should I be? But if they show real passion, then I’m hooked. It doesn’t actually matter what the subject is; if I think this person really cares about the subject, that it gives them both joy and pain, that perhaps they’ve even suffered for this thing because of their love for it, then I’ll listen to them for hours.
An obsession with an obscure subject such as a particular species of caterpillar or arable farming techniques in 16th century France may seem irrelevant to my life, but someone who knows their subject inside and out and who loves all its different aspects will breathe life into it through their sheer enthusiasm. They’ll convey the emotion of joy, which is similarly powerful, but positive.
Show true emotion and you will be far more likely to move your audience. Admittedly, that’s quite a stunt to pull off at a Tuesday morning meeting about sales, but it’s possible.
How to Use It
Not sure how you can be passionate about the Q3 numbers in Europe or the proposed extension to the warehouse to take place in six months’ time? Look for a connection, something personal, that links you to the material, that makes it real. Incorporate a story as well and you’ll have a very powerful combination indeed. Then you’ll allow your audience to really connect with it, and remember it. Find the characters, events, heartbreaks, fury and victory over injustice. Those words may seem grand, but including those themes even just a little will lift the whole thing for your audience (and for you, which is always a bonus, right?).
Imagine being the one person in your circle who can make anything sound interesting. That, my friends, is not just truly incredible*, but completely achievable. Go to it.
* I linked it all back to the Hulk again. Clever, eh?
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