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“Don’t think. Feel.” When Bruce Lee says this classic line in 1973 martial arts movie ‘Enter the Dragon’, he’s instructing a student in the ways of unarmed combat, of allowing things to flow without letting conscious thought cloud the process. This is also pretty good advice for anyone standing up in front of a group of […]

How does a comedian, when walking out onto the stage at a comedy club, achieve that incredible level of confidence? I mean, come on, they’re smiling! Most people think “If that was me, I’d be terrified.” When I was going on-stage at a comedy club, here’s what I had: 1.) Lots of experience2.) Bravado Yes, I’d

This post is the epitome of blog efficiency: brief, to the point, and full of goodness; the electronic equivalent of salmon sashimi. So crack apart your wooden chopsticks and tuck in. Here’s one of the most important lessons I learnt as a stand-up comic for public speaking:If in doubt, cut it out. Cut out the

“Powerpoint leads to unoriginality, unoriginality leads to boredom, boredom leads to suffering.” When Yoda meets Anakin Skywalker for the first time, he declares that he sees his fear, and predicts that it will lead to anger, then hate, then suffering. And let’s face it, he has a point. Perceptive chap. But in the world of

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fjim0ooJGdg It’s Ricky Gervais at the 2008 Emmy awards. Notice how at 2 minutes and 8 seconds, he apparently goes off-script and verbally attacks Steve Carrell. It’s a fantastic example of how doing something seemingly unprepared creates an atmosphere of compelling uncertainty. At an event where everything is strictly regimented and unsurprising, you can be sure