šŸŖ¶ Crafting Lightness into Serious Presentations: A Speaker's Guide

Ft. Julie Lythcott-Haims

Julie Lythcott-Haims is a magnetic speaker. Not the word you typically use to describe a speaker who is giving a talk on a contentious subject like how to be a better parent. But she understood thatā€¦

šŸ—æ Heaviness needs humour šŸ¤­ 

Let me explain.

As thought leaders, a big part of our job is to challenge the status quo.

Itā€™s not just about highlighting the norms that need to change, but also getting the audience to care about them.

*Cue a hugely passionate speech about the problem that sucks the life and energy from our souls.* šŸ˜«

We are very good at telling our audiences whatā€™s wrong with the world. We can get so caught up in the act of it, we miss critical opportunities for connection.

The secret ingredient?

Unexpected moments of joy and humour.

As Julie Lythoctt-Haims demonstrates not once, but twice in this clip. The first takes just 24 secondsā€¦ šŸæ

3 things to take away from Julieā€™s clip:

  1. Use the element of surprise to break the tension āœ‚ļø
    Two words were all it took to change the energy of the whole roomā€¦ ā€˜Hell no!ā€™ Saying it the way she did, Julie revealed another side of her character which enabled us to connect with her.

  2. Humour doesnā€™t diminish our important points šŸ”„
    Thereā€™s a misconception that by being funny at the climax of your point, youā€™ve undone all your hard work. Not true. Why? Because within a second of breaking the tension, she builds it back up again.

  3. Use ā€˜playful incongruityā€™ to make your audience laugh šŸ¤­
    ā€˜Love and choresā€¦ā€™
    ā€¦not two things we expect to be paired with one another. And thatā€™s the point. When weā€™re anticipating one thing and given another, laughter is the result!

    Alex

p.s. Did someone forward this to you? Read past issues & subscribe here.

Was this email useful?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.