20 years of storytelling for business by international trainers and storytellers Speakers' Corner
International trainers and storytellers

Boo!

The renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival has just come to a close for another year. It’s the largest arts festival in the world where thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste – from big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers.

We were interested to hear a discussion between a group of leading stand-up comics.

Two things stood out.

1. In order to be funny you need to surprise, even shock your audience.

2. The people who feel most uncomfortable about your take are not the people who you think you might have offended.

What has this to do with making presentations you might be thinking?

Well, if you don’t say anything unexpected you’re probably telling your audience things they already know – and boring them.

And simply describing a situation as anyone might see it will make no impact on your audience – so be frank.

Don’t be afraid to say ‘boo’ to your audience.