Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker

Description

Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. Something had to change. In what doesn't sound like the best plan ever, David decided to overcome his fears by pretending to be a comedian called "Irish Dave" for one full year, crashing as many comedy clubs, festivals, and shows as possible. One part of the plan was at least logical: he was already Irish and already called Dave. In one year, David went from being deathly afraid of public speaking to hosting a business conference, regularly performing stand-up comedy and winning storytelling competitions in front of packed houses. And he did it by learning from some of the best public speakers in the world: stand-up comedians. Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker shows how the key principles of stand-up comedy can be applied to your speaking engagements and presentations to make you funnier, more interesting, and better looking. (Or at least two of the three.) Whether you are preparing for a business presentation, giving a wedding toast, defending your thesis, raising money from investors, or simply want to take on something you're afraid of, this book will take you from sweaty to stage-ready.

David Nihill was born in Dublin, Ireland. After graduating with a Master's Degree in Business in 2003, he moved to San Francisco where he worked for the Irish government helping startups expand rapidly. He has been involved with startup companies ever since. David is the Founder of FunnyBizz Conferences, a community conference series helping content creators tap into the power of storytelling, comedy, and improv to create better content. He has performed stand-up comedy at California's leading clubs including Cobbs, the Comedy Store, the Improv and the Punchline even though he strongly denies being a comedian and is well aware most people don't understand his accent. His learning, taken from one year's intensive experiments in comedy, performed on someone from the business community with a huge initial fear of public speaking (i.e. him!) have been featured in Inc. and Forbes, among others. He loves sharks, still dislikes public speaking, and calls San Francisco home when immigration officials permit. Nils Parker is the editor of multiple New York Times, Amazon, and Wall Street Journal bestselling books, including I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell and Assholes Finish First by Tucker Max, Trust Me, I'm Lying and The Obstacle Is The Way by Ryan Holiday, and Choose Yourself by James Altucher. He loves comedy, Cal football and his wife. Not necessarily in that order.

"David Nihill talks funny. He also writes funny. But his book isn't just entertaining, it's incredibly useful. It's packed with effective and easy-to-implement tips that have helped me in my presentations." --AJ Jacobs, author of Drop Dead Healthy and The Year of Living Biblically "Your next talk will be 10 times more entertaining if you read this book." --Charlie Hoehn, author of Play It Away: A Workaholic's Cure for Anxiety "This is a book you don't just read, it's a book you DO. Look, I'm such an expert in this field that I'm quoted in the book, and even I learned a tremendous amount reading it, so I'm gonna guess you will too." --Bill Grundfest, Golden Globe Winner, 3 Time Emmy Nominee, Founder of NYC's Comedy Cellar "It is one of those rare books that makes you think, laugh, and embrace your quirky self. In an inspiring and entertaining manner, Do You Talk Funny? teaches you how to find your inner storytelling mojo. A great read!" --Michael Margolis, CEO, Get Storied "Not only does David nail how to add funny to your talks, he also practices what he preaches in this very entertaining read. My two complaints are: 1) This book didn't exist when I started as a speaker and 2) I didn't write it." --Andrew Tarvin, author of Humor That Works, award-winning speaker, NYC-based comedian "From writing to performing to where to put your hands, David Nihill will help you become a more humorous storyteller." --Peter McGraw, University of Colorado professor, director of the Humor Research Lab (HuRL), coauthor of The Humor Code: A Global Search for What Makes Things Funny "Read this book and you'll enjoy presenting to people, they'll enjoy listening to you and crucially they'll happily retain your message. A riveting read, a super story, and awesome advice." --Neal O'Gorman, CEO, Artomatix "David's rich life experiences shine through in this wildly entertaining guide to public speaking. Whether you're reading it for fun or to stand out at your next business presentation, I promise you'll be inspired." --Sami Aziz, Producer on ABC's Shark Tank and two-time Emmy Award Winner