Martial arts philosophy and my public speaking philosophy have huge parallels, which you will see from the rest of my blog: Adaptability (see my post ‘Be Like Water’). Flow, with unconscious competence (see my post ‘Kung Fu Candour’). Going on-stage can be a form of combat, where – and this may seem deep, but you’re […]

Did you read about that pyschic dwarf who escaped from prison? The headline read “Small Medium at Large”. Now, it may have raised nothing more from you than a smile, but I really like that joke, because: It’s short. It requires the listener to think. Everyone I’ve told it to likes it. Now hold on

Here’s a great philosophy for improving your performance and rate of new material generation.  The slightly dubious-sounding title of this post is a body-building technique, where you do small sets of exercises (e.g. pull-ups) on a piece of exercise equipment that you pass several times a day, such as your hallway. It allows you build

Please don’t bullsh*t when you’re speaking in front of a group. Please. One of the key things stand-up taught me was to see through all the nonsense, whether it’s from advertising (a rich, if over-used, vein of material for stand-ups), the news or the government. And if someone’s trying to be impressive in a presentation

It’s said that stand-up comedy gigs are like one night stands: you go out on-stage and try to seduce strangers with your wit. When speaking to people you don’t know, you can present a new, impressive persona to to them, much like a date with a stranger. Need some confidence? You’ve already got it, by deciding that