I’ve experienced first hand how humour can amplify influence and income. A decade ago when I decided to pursue keynote speaking as a full time career, I invested an eye-watering amount of money with leading comic Vince Sorrenti to write some material for me. It paid off almost immediately and marked a turning point in my speaking career. I started getting more bookings, my fee went up and I started to get a reputation for being an engaging and entertaining speaker. Since then, I’ve continued to invest in the ‘funny’ side of my content creation with other humour coaches, one of my favourite being Marty Wilson.
Marty is one of the most ‘accredited’ funny guys around. He’s a previous stand-up comic of the year (which essentially makes him the funniest of the funniest people in the country) and he’s an award winning TED speaker and author.
His latest book, More Money More Funny, is a seriously good read on how to incorporate humour into all aspects of business – from improving your chances of getting your dream job to pitching a million dollar idea.
Marty not only explains why humour is such a powerful communication tool, he lifts the curtain on humour, deconstructs it and outlines a model that anyone can use to be funny, even if it doesn’t come naturally to you.
This Book in 200 words
Being funny can literally change the way people perceive you, your product, your service and your brand. It’s one of the fastest ways to stand out and be memorable. It’s also a great strategy for improving your resilience and enhancing your skill for storytelling.
But how do you be ‘funny’ particularly if it doesn’t come naturally to you? Marty’s book approaches humour more as a science than an art and almost demystifies humour so you can find a humour technique that fits with your style, try it and master it quickly.
Quite simply, Marty believes that the fastest way to funny is to be funny. In other words, try humour, refine it and practice it.
He gives specific and proven humour techniques for presentations — which he breaks down into five key sections – Title, Introduction, Opening, Body and Closing — and explains why humour should only live in three parts. Once he’s explained the science of humour and why the placement of it is as important as the humour itself, Marty then goes on to give the nuts and bolts of funny including the specifics of techniques such as self-depricating humour, puns and how to take a real-life story and squeeze the funny out of it.
Three Things to Action from this Book
- Being funny is much more complex than the ability to tell a good joke. There’s a science to it and it’s a science that anyone can master. Practicing and mastering techniques like puns (when you’ve seen one shopping centre you’ve seen a mall) trains your brain to find clever word plays and after a while you find they come more naturally to you.
- Creating humorous content takes time and commitment. If you want to write a great joke, write hundreds of jokes and one of them will be funny. Humour is sometimes a numbers game. Learn to brainstorm and banter content with friends and colleagues to refine the funny, rather than waiting for the punchline in something to just land from the sky.
- In Marty’s own words, ‘use your wit as a shield, not a dagger.’ Be someone who makes this world a better place by shining a gentle, humorous light on human frailties. Always be funny first, then you can preach.
Summary
Seeing the funny side of things is one of life’s greatest skills. And in an increasingly competitive business arena, the abillity to use humour to connect and instantly make your message more memorable is bankable expertise.
Marty Wilson, in More Money More Funny, gives the why but also the all-important how. It’s a potent playbook for bringing the humour to your stage, regardless of whether you’re an aspiring keynote speaker, passionate entrepreneur or business leader.
It’s the closest thing to having a comedian write material for you, at a fraction of the price.
Grab your copy of More Money More Funny here.
