How Open Mic Stand-Up Comedy Helped with Public Speaking

Introduction

• Speaker: Peter Wang
• Topic: Using open mic stand-up comedy to improve public speaking.
• Background: Peter Wang is tall and shy; used comedy to overcome shyness.

Motivation for Pursuing Stand-Up

• Sales job requiring better public speaking skills.
• Personal desire to break out of his shell and avoid structured activities.
• Lost a bet which made him try stand-up comedy.
• Discovered he wasn't bad and continued with it.

Key Learnings for Public Speaking

1. Confidence

• Confidence is crucial but not easily learned directly.
• One strategy: Pauses
  • Makes the speaker seem confident.
  • Helps in dealing with silence effectively.
  • Important for processing both good and bad audience reactions.

2. Storytelling

• Essential for keeping an audience engaged.
• Techniques include:
  • Playing with words.
  • Using pauses effectively.
  • Voice modulation for suspense.
• Example: Describing an experience with a double-double patty.

3. Riffing

• Interaction with the audience.
• Benefits:
  • Reduces need for prepared material.
  • Makes jokes feel original and spontaneous.
• Example: Interactive question about election preference in the audience.
• Inspiration from comedians like Louis C.K.

Conclusion

• Peter expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share his learnings and be vulnerable.