Will You Change Your Lifestyle For A Cause

 By Harleena Singh 

If the world demands you to change your lifestyle – will you do it?

Okay, let me put it in another way.

Is it asking for too much if you are requested to make lifestyle changes in your life for a cause?

I know what you’d think. Your decision might depend on a few things.

If the need is genuine, if the situation is so alarming, and whether it will really make a difference.

Let me tell you that the answer to all of the above is “YES”.

Your lifestyle is directly related to global warming.

I’m sorry if this is a shocker for you, but it’s a truth that we all need to accept.

The need for a change of lifestyle is genuine because the global conditions are really alarming.

Certainly, your lifestyle change can make a whole lot of difference in saving the face of the earth – in saving the planet.

If you’re wondering why did I bring up this issue and why am I so serious, read further.

What is The Real Problem

Probably, everybody has heard of climate change and global warming.

Yes you’ve, but you’re still confused what has that got to do with changing the way you live! Hang on,  let me explain.

Abnormal change in weather conditions are caused due to certain human practices and the way of life, which result in global warming.

Global warming is the heating up of the Earth’s environment due to the increasing greenhouse gas levels.

Most of it is due to the emission of carbon dioxide out of burning of fossil fuel, and discharge of CFC gases when we use things like air conditioners.

Now, air conditioners, electronic devices, appliances, gizmos, vehicles, are all a part of our lifestyle – isn’t it?

If you all change your lifestyle and reduce the use of all these things, you might be able to change the global scenario.

Don’t take me wrong!

All these things and technology are not bad and even using them is essential. But, you can make a choice for a different way of living so that your life is not centered on, or around them.

If you still doubt the necessity of lifestyle change, then read these mind blowing facts!

Recent Change of Lifestyle and its Negative Impact

Did you know that the heat spike you experienced this year was the maximum our Earth experienced in the last 11,000 years!

Now that’s really serious, isn’t it?

Research shows that the globe was cooling for several thousands of years until the 20th century, when the trend reversed.

The duration from 1900 to 1910 was in fact one of the coolest in the past 11,000 years. But after that, it all changed.

The heating increased since 1910, and within a century, the globe was the warmest ever from 2000 to 2010!

Such rapid and dramatic change in the global temperature was never observed in the past. This proves that global warming is not natural; it is abnormal.

And, all of this is directly related to the lifestyle we adopted since the 20th century.

I’m sure this gives you clear signal to change your lifestyle that at present most probably depends on excessive use of energy and power derived from conventional sources.

Imagine that it took the world from ice age to up to 7000 years ago to warm up by 1.25 degrees. Contrastingly, we made it happen in just two decades – from 1920s to 1940s!

Hey, what are you up to?

It’s high time you acknowledge this fact that every single person contributes to global warming and the climate change on Earth.

The problem is grave and the consequences could be very bad unless you take steps to reduce global warming.

You cannot ignore to change your lifestyle for the better anymore. I’m not talking about exercising and having healthy food choices in life, which are essential.

However, it’s more about making a choice to lessen using things that utilize fossil fuels directly or indirectly, and not becoming dependent on them. Click here to know about fossil fuel.

To save the world from destruction, you need to change your lifestyle, as much as you can.

What Can You Do To Change Your Lifestyle

How can you control global warming? How is your lifestyle responsible for it? What lifestyle changes do you need to make?

Of course, you can’t make any big or drastic changes, which aren’t expected either.

But you can surely help a little to discharge less carbon dioxide and other harmful gases that cause the green house effect.

You see, every electrical, electronic equipment, or device you use, and every petrol, diesel, or gas powered vehicle you drive – contributes to global warming.

Of course, you cannot literally stop using all these – it’s not possible in this modern age.

However, what you can do is to reduce their usage, or not unnecessarily spend energy in these activities.

How to do that? You got plenty of matter online if you’re concerned.

Remember, that most of the energy and power you use comes from the fossil fuels, which are limited.

Overuse might make them extinct, and you might just plunge back into the dark ages!

You should not only think of yourself, but as responsible citizens and parents, you need to think ahead about your children and their children, and so on.

You want a safer and comfortable world for them – don’t you?

What you and I need is more energy production using the non-conventional energy resources like solar energy, wind energy, water energy, and others.

More so, it is the governments that should be doing all the needful, and they’ll prioritize this exercise only if we pressurize them.

Earth Hour – A Signal to Change Lifestyle for A Cause

Earth Hour is merely symbolic. It is an initiative to encourage people to take up the responsibility of the damage that is done to the Earth’s environment.

Earth Hour is celebrated since 2007 in the month of March.

It is not only about and limited to switching off lights and not using the power for one hour, it is more about changing your lifestyle, and taking it beyond just one hour.

I would say that Earth Hour should be practiced as much as possible and not just limited to an hour on a particular day. However, let’s try to use this day to begin creating awareness – isn’t it?

There are some who don’t believe that such events would’ve any significant effect to change the lifestyle that is a norm and has been followed for more than a century.

Few regard the concept of Earth Hour as “anti-technology” and take it as an insult to human progress and scientific development.

I don’t think Earth Hour suggests not using technology, or demeans it in anyway.

Instead, it conveys to not be entirely dependent on conventional sources of energy and to develop a lifestyle to minimize its use.

And, I believe if one person can make a difference, then there’s no doubt that we all together can surely bring about the change that is required, if we just make up our minds, right?

Check out this video and see what people are doing all over the world.

Earth Hour 2014 Official Video ~ YouTube Video

If you all close lights for one hour,
it can save enough energy to light up the homes of many around the globe for months.

What To Do and Not to Do During Earth Hour

In the one hour of blackout, you must be wondering what in the world will you do!

You’re so dependent on light and power that you can’t even think of living without it – isn’t it?

“How can I survive without electricity for one full hour? That’s insane!” some would say. See, how much dependent we’ve become on electricity. 

I know such thoughts creep in as change is difficult. And, it is not easy to break our habits, or move out of our comfort zones.

C’mon, take it as a challenge or an adventure. Be a sport and come up with an innovative idea to be a part of this global revolution.

Okay, so maybe you plan to have a candle light dinner to celebrate that one hour of darkness. Well, that’s kind of being innovative but still you’d be emitting green house gas!

How can using candles cause more harm? It is because candles are made from paraffin, which are in fact derived from crude oil or a fossil fuel.

So, the more candles you use, the more you contribute to carbon dioxide emissions! You should better use some eco-friendly candles, if you want to use them at all.

Alternatively, try using some cooking oil in a small dish, make a cotton wick by rolling some cotton into a thick string, and soak it in the oil. Light up one end of the cotton.

Even going for a ride in your vehicle will not be a good idea as you burn more fuel and cause traffic jams that add to the trouble.

Let’s stick to our base, home or elsewhere, and try not to use electricity in any way in that one hour.

You may not use your: TV, computer, Internet, any electrical or electronic device, including lights, fans, air conditioner, heaters, and so on. All of them or some of them, if possible.

Even if you use things like mobile and battery inventors, you’ll spend more energy charging them later. So, try to avoid them.

That is so difficult, isn’t it? It is almost like living in the medieval dark ages! I agree. 

But look on the brighter side. This one hour give you the time to:

1. Be with Yourself – Meditate, or sit quietly at some place. Observe life.

2. Relax – You don’t do anything, but relax. You can even pray, if you feel you never had the time to do that earlier.

3. Talk – You can talk to your spouse, your parents, and spend time with your children. I’m sure technology has made your life so busy and hectic that you hardly find time for these essential activities.

4. Engage – Reach out to your neighbors, and socialize with them. Have a gathering in a common area out in the open and just chill out!

5. Skywatch – When did you last look up the sky?

Just sit or lie down from where you can access the view to the sky, and simply gaze up. You might spot Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn if you know where to look!

6. Walk – Do you go for your morning or evening walks? It yes, then change your timings to match the Earth Hour timing for a day. If you don’t walk, this might be a good reason to start.

7. CFL – Use this spare time to change all conventional bulbs in your house to CFL bulbs. They use less power.

Hey! It’s amazing that by changing your lifestyle and banishing electrical power for one hour you get to do so many things you never found time for before!

You make up so much of family time, time for your spouse, and for yourself.

Earth Hour not only saves you money but buys you happiness for free! Don’t you agree?

Don’t you think you should’ve such events often giving you the opportunity to relax and rewind. 

Let me know more ideas in the comments regarding what all you can do during the Earth Hour and at other times when you want to save the carbon energy resources of our Earth.

Earth Hour Action

If possible switch off the power/lights of your house or wherever you’re, or switch off as much or as many things you can on Saturday, March 23, 2013 March 29, 2014 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. your local time.

Don’t miss it – it is your commitment and duty as the citizen of the world.

There’s a movement called “I will if you will.” Let’s use its power.

I will do it, will you?

Let’s spread it across and reach millions worldwide. Tweet about it. Share with your Face Book fans and friends in other social networks.

“It’s not just an hour of darkness. It’s about a brighter future.” ~ Earth Hour

Are you ready?

Over to You –

Do you believe in global warming and climate change? Do you think Earth Hour is helpful in anyway? Would you participate in this global movement? How do you plan to change your lifestyle for Earth’s better future? Share your views below and help spread the awareness.

SOURCE

13:30:00 - By Vincent 0

How Taking Baby Steps Made a Big Difference in My Life

Smart way to systematically achieve goals for health and happiness in life

By  - Jim Turk 

Have you ever been in a situation where you know there is a way to solve a problem and there are countless books and advice columns telling you what to do, but you just don’t know where to begin?

Countless.

Maybe THAT’S the problem. Everyone has an opinion about what you need to, but nobody tells you how to get there.

This situation became very personal to me when I was diagnosed with a progressive disease in 2008.

I had two choices, the way I saw it – figure out how to turn big, unrealistic goals into smaller, more manageable ones, or be overwhelmed and give up altogether.

I chose the former.

The questions I needed to answer were “how can I slow this thing down?” and “how can I improve my life despite my loss in abilities?”

Faced with such seemingly insurmountable goals was daunting, I admit.  What was I thinking?

I’ll tell you what I was thinking – Panic.  Concession.

It felt a little like that falling feeling you get when you first fall asleep.

But the stakes were high.  Much higher than I’ve had to deal with before.

Not only did my future depend on it but so did my legacy.  How my kids would remember me!

I HAD to figure out how to make some progress.

Still, when you get down to it, it’s just solving a problem.  The method I used wasn’t rocket science – it just takes discipline and patients.

Not a given when you are in a high-stress situation!

This isn’t unique to me, either – you could use the same method to make improvements in your life.

I won’t claim to know about other issues, but I bet you could, at least, make some progress.

Do you suffer from depression?

Have weight issues?

Looking for more balance?

I’ve even used this method to accomplish other goals, from changing my diet to writing this blog post.

“Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.” ~ Henry Ford

Take the Goal and Break it Down

So how did I do it? What was my objective?  I needed a defined goal. My objective is and was not to get worse quite so fast.  Not very objective – more like subjective! To a point, but accomplishing a goal that you set for yourself is determined by you, anyway, isn’t it?

What I needed to do was to ask myself the right questions to help me break things down.

In other words, I needed things to be specific.

What are the major offenders that people talk about? ‘

I could find those on forums, blogs, support groups (in my case – but this could be things like networking or Church groups as well).

What does the research say?

No sense in reinventing the wheel, right?

If someone has socked money into researching it, there’s probably data out there, and it would certainly be a legitimate place to look.

What does intuition tell me?

We are all experts at what we do, so isn’t it reasonable to assume that we have a good idea what we need to do and why we need to do it?

Don’t sell yourself short! If you think it’s right, it probably is, and that’s a good place to start.

Now, I had read a lot about nutrition and its impact on a whole host of health problems. I also had a secret obsession with it since my college days. That was an easy one.

Next, it was clear that exercise had a positive and well-documented impact on countless illnesses and tendency to increase the lifespan in healthy individuals. That one also seemed like a no-brainer.

Outlook seemed to influence many things.

There was a lot of evidence tying it to the immune system, and multiple studies showing that a positive attitude made people recover from surgery and illness faster, students less likely to get sick, and vaccines work better.

That, and it just seems to make you feel better. I can live with that!

Sleep is a big one. Even the CDC says we don’t get enough sleep.  We have this “full steam ahead,” multi-tasking lifestyle that makes it easy for things like sleep to take a back seat.

People that get enough high-quality sleep are less likely to have weight problems, are more attentive, and recover more quickly. I guess I’d better look at improving my sleep patterns, too.

Oh, and there’s stress reduction. There is a strong link between being stressed and being more likely to die of a heart attack. There are a number of measurable factors that are tied to it as well.

Factors like higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and slower wound healing in stressed out individuals.

That goes on the list, too.

Make your Mini-goals, Specific

The key, here, is that I broke the problem into smaller parts, which I could then address one at a time.

By working on small problems individually, measuring the results was pretty straightforward.

It would’ve been easy to become overwhelmed if I had addressed them all at once and there would have been no way to accomplish the goal “as a whole.”

Where would you start? What would your endpoint be?

So I took them on one at a time and made sure to have a final objective in mind. It needed to be something measurable.

For example, I couldn’t say, “I’ll ride my stationary bike more often.” That is pretty vague, and I’m not likely to follow through with it.

If I said, on the other hand, that “I will ride my bike three times a week for at least 15 minutes,” that’s easier to keep track of. If I can ride for a little longer – great! If I’m feeling extra strong and can bump up the resistance – terrific!

I’ve accomplished my goal, though, because I’ve blocked the time out on my calendar.

The results I’m seeking aren’t setting me up for failure since they’re not performance-based.  I’ve made that commitment and can use the time as productively as my body will allow.

Have I Created Attainable Goals

This is what breaking things down does.  It makes them achievable.

If I had stuck with that first, big goal, which was really just an emotional response to my diagnosis, I’d either be spinning my wheels or wasting away at an assisted living facility somewhere.

That wasn’t an option.

By breaking the problem down into smaller pieces, they were easier to address and much more likely to produce success.

For example – I knew that regular meditation had created promising results and had been shown in numerous research articles to improve one’s health, no matter what their situation.

It’s a little like rebooting your hard-drive or hitting the reset button.

But there is little chance that I would have successfully made that a part of my routine if I didn’t know the proper technique and tried to address dietary issues at the same time.

I was worried about finding time for it since my sleep schedule was all over the board, and I hadn’t figured out my routine for exercise.

One thing at a time.I took it on by itself enabling me to break that down into even more manageable pieces.

Projects are always bigger than we first imagine, right?

With meditation, I figured out the technique to use, what the proper environment should be, what time of day, and… voila!  (well, after a few days of trial and error)

Then, once that was established and part of my routine, I could move to something else. In my case, sleep patterns.

All of these things were part of that same goal I had originally made – just in smaller chunks.

That seemed to be the key to success – make the goals small enough and take them on one at a time so that achieving them is more likely.

“I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.” ~ Walt Disney

Am I Being Realistic About the Goals I’ve Set for Myself

How likely was I to achieve the goals I had set for myself?  That answer seemed to be rooted in the question as well.

If I had committed to running a marathon in two years – that wouldn’t have been realistic.

I was quickly losing strength in my legs and would be lucky to run across the street, let alone 26.2 miles.  That would be certainly an unachievable “goal.”

My objective, again, was not to move backward quite so fast. It wasn’t to live in denial and set myself up for failure!

Like a puzzle, I had to analyze the individual pieces and put them in the right places to create the bigger picture that I was going for – the ultimate goal.

Everything that I committed to, needed to be realistic.

If I promised myself, I’d do it, that’s half of the battle, but I needed to commit to things that I could actually do. That were possible.

Things like:

• Ride my stationary bike for at least 15 minutes, 4 times/week
• Do resistance training every 4-5 days
• Get to bed by 9:30 every night and get up by 6:00
• Eliminate refined carbohydrates from my diet
• Eat at least 4 servings of fruits and vegetables/day
• Meditate for at least 10 minutes/day

These were all defined and realistic.  I could confidently commit to doing those things.

But some things were not so easy to measure.

Even so, by committing to them, I was more self-aware. Not doing them or forgetting to do them wasn’t a failure – it just made me more cognizant of it the next time.

It really was another learning opportunity.

• Always look at the bright side when someone complains
• Always be positive when someone asks how I’m doing
• Don’t read into a perceived aggressive attitudes
• Always carry myself in a self-confident manner

These were all things that I knew would grow – like a puppy.

I may not see a change overnight, but I guarantee that the difference over the course of six months or a year would be profound.

One of my big goals, early on, was to improve my ability to speak.

Mine was going south in a hurry, and I would have gladly given up a lot of other things to be able to communicate effectively. Talk about motivation!

It turns out that this is one of those bigger, multi-faceted goals that I needed to address in parts.

Based on research and my experiences – how I felt – what did I know about it?  How would I address each area?

Stress is a huge factor. I could feel its effects almost instantly, and I knew it was a target.  But how would I deal with it?

Meditation, positivity, and going with the flow were all important factors, here.

Sleep certainly seemed to be an issue.  The more tired I was, the harder it was to speak clearly.

Then there’s confidence.

It was important that I increase my self-confidence.  This almost seemed to be self-perpetuating – it made things better or worse in a hurry.

So by breaking down the bigger picture, even when it seemed too vague, into smaller components, the overall goal was not as daunting.

I found that when I had them figured out and moved passed them, those small victories kept me motivated and worked towards the bigger goal.

More parts mean more victories!

Make Sure your Goals are Time-sensitive

If you don’t create milestones or a deadline, what’s the point?

Completion for me meant that I was doing it, or I wasn’t. That’s pretty easy to measure, isn’t it?

Because of the nature of my overall goal, I was really just looking to be doing the things that I hadn’t been or that I had at least been inconsistent about.

I have applied this method to other things, too – writing, for example.

Rather than simply saying that I should get a post in next Tuesday, I can tell myself that I need to complete 1,000 words (as Harleena talks about here) per day with the overall goal of having a draft together in three days.

That’s a manageable piece, and it’s time-sensitive, so it moves me towards my ultimate goal of having a rough draft ready in three days.

I can set the next set of goals (leading to a final draft ready for submission) when I complete the first.

Achievement of those smaller goals keeps me motivated and gives me a better idea of what’s realistic for the next set.  This is a learning process, after all.  Right?

Are there steps I can take to get to the end points that I’ve decided on? One thing’s for sure – there wouldn’t have been if my goal had simply been to “try and get better.”

Keeping the goals realistic helps you to make them time-sensitive. These all build on one another.

You can’t measure your progress on a goal unless it’s specific. You wouldn’t know where to start!

You can’t take action on something that’s impossible to achieve – that’s not realistic. Doing any of those things is pointless if you don’t give yourself a deadline!

You have to hold yourself to a cutoff date if you intend to get anything done.

That doesn’t mean pushing yourself so hard that you stress out about it – be realistic. Just make sure you have a deadline, so you follow through.

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.” ~ Jim Rohn

Set your goals high but break them down into small pieces and give yourself time-frames.

Time frames that are short enough that you don’t lose interest and long enough that you aren’t overcome with anxiety.  That will make you not want to do it again.

Wrapping It Up

You need to set yourself up for success!

Just follow these rules – these “SMART” rules for success – and you can complete them.

SMART stands for –

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Realistic
• Time Sensitive

I can honestly say that my life is a lot different because of SMART rules for success.

Over to you –

I would love to hear your stories and what you’ve done to achieve your goals and make a difference in your life!

SOURCE

17:35:00 - By Vincent 0

5 Lessons Standup Comedians Can Teach You About Public Speaking

 by Steven Handel

If you want to improve your public speaking, there is no better place to look than the world of standup comedy.

A good comedian is a master of public speaking. Not only do they have to be confident and comfortable on stage, but they are expected to be humorous and entertaining as well. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “No one is more judged in civilized society than a standup comedian. Every 12 seconds you’re rated.”

Standup comedy is one of the most difficult professions to be successful at. They have to face tremendous amounts of failure and embarrassment before they can get to where they are. And there is nothing more humiliating than “bombing” in front of an audience, where every joke lands flat and everyone is left staring at you blankly as you try to squeeze out a few laughs.

In the new book Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker, David Nihill enters the world of standup comedy and discovers key lessons that anyone can use to improve their public speaking.

Whether you’re giving a public presentation to a business, school, or government organization, there is a lot you can learn from standup comedy. And learning these skills can really take your speaking ability to the next level.

Unlike a comedian, most public speakers aren’t expected to be very funny or entertaining. But even adding just a little bit of humor to your presentation will make you stand out from the crowd and become more memorable.

Here are a few key lessons we can learn from standup comedians on how to improve our public speaking abilities.

Master the art of story-telling

People rarely remember information unless it is presented in the form of a story.

You can list all of the facts, statistics, and bits of wisdom you’d like, but it’s probably going to go in one ear and out the other. People crave narratives to make sense of their world. We don’t just want information given to us in clear bullet-points, we want that information to convey a story with a beginning, middle, and end.

While there are comedians who specialize in one-liners and witticisms (Bo Burnham, Anthony Jeselnik), often the best comedians are story-tellers (Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, Doug Stanhope). They begin their jokes by describing a situation. Then they reveal a conflict with the protagonist (often themselves). And they end by presenting a resolution or final twist.

Story-telling is important in any domain where you want to grab an audience’s attention. A teacher may have a bunch of facts that they want their students to remember, but by adding a story to their presentation they can make their material much more sticky and memorable (see How to Plant Powerful Ideas in People’s Minds That Actually Take Root for more on this).

While you may not think of yourself as a natural story-teller, this is something that can definitely be learned with practice. David Nihill gives great tips in his book on how he became a better story-teller, and I’ll be sharing some of those with you right now.

Draw from your own personal experiences

When trying to create a story, you don’t need to start from scratch or recreate an entire universe. Start with what you know best – your own personal experiences.

Most of our memories are already structured in the form of a narrative. There’s a setting, a protagonist (you!), a conflict, and an ending.

One great piece of advice is to start a document on your computer and make a list of memorable stories. These could be centered around a specific presentation you want to give (stories of breakups or stories of failing at a goal), or just stories you think will be interesting or entertaining to share with your audience.

Start by making a list with the general idea behind each story (“That one time a girl threw her drink at me”). Then you can go back to this list and elaborate more on each memory when you have the time (“I was at college at this local bar…all my friends had hooked up with a girl and I was the odd man out…I saw this gorgeous girl dancing and decided to approach her…”).

Having a “story collection” can be very helpful if you are a public speaker. If you don’t already have one, you should start one now. You might have a lot of awesome stories that you don’t know how to integrate into your presentation, but by starting your collection now you will have a wealth of stories on the back-burner, ready for use when you need them.

The best part about focusing on your own personal experiences is that you know your stories will be unique. Also, no one will know your stories better than you so they are typically way easier to remember and share than if you were to try and create an entertaining story out of thin air.

It’s often said that to be a great story-teller, you need to have lived a little. If you’re having trouble thinking of any interesting memories from your past, it may be time to do some adventure-seeking and start creating new stories in your life.

Try new things, go to new places, and meet new people – often the stories will start writing themselves. These are great ways to start building a better “story collection” in your life.

In Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker, David Nihill enters the comedy world for a whole year to help overcome his fear of public speaking. The book shares his experiences as “Irish Dave” and the various lessons he picked up from standup comedians. Each chapter includes practical advice and exercises to help you improve your own skills in communication, presentation, and public speaking.

Test your material with friends and family

Every comedian knows that their jokes are rarely “finished” when they are telling them for the first time.

Instead, like most polished stories, it often requires a few new drafts and editing before we settle on the best way to share our material.

This is why comedians like Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld, and Aziz Ansari spend a lot of time sharing their new material in small clubs or at open mic nights before they present the material to a larger audience.

Sometimes they will enter a small club with just a vague idea of what they want to talk about. And once they begin “riffing” (or improvising) on that topic, they begin to find what lines get laughs and what lines they are better off getting rid of.

We can practice our own material in a similar way – even if it’s just sharing a story with friends or family. By testing your material in front of a small audience, you’ll soon discover what parts of your story connect with your audience and what parts don’t seem to work.

Like all experiments, this is going to require you becoming more comfortable with failure. You might think you have a great story on your mind, but you end up delivering it in a bad way and no one seems to care. That’s okay! Just try to take what you learned and use that to improve your story the next time you’re telling it.

Over time your stories will become more polished and refined. Eventually you reach a point where you become more comfortable telling the story because you know exactly what lines are going to kill it with your audience.

For extra credit, try filming your presentations whenever possible. This makes it much easier to reevaluate your material when you’re finished and pick apart what works and what doesn’t work.

Practice your material in small and safe ways and try to encourage honest feedback when you can. You’ll soon be ready to take your material to the big stage!

Pay attention to your delivery

You can hear the same exact joke told by two different people and have a completely different reaction to it.

Why? Because delivery matters. If someone says all the right words but doesn’t say it with the right tone or the right timing, a good joke can often turn into a bad joke.

Norm MacDonald is a master at this. Often his jokes are completely dry and sometimes even described as “anti-jokes” because they rarely follow a typical joke format. But the way he delivers his material is something that is solely unique to him and he makes it work for his personality (check out a video of his moth joke if you want to get a feel for his style of comedy).

The proper delivery is going to depend on how you present yourself, your material, and your individual personality, but it’s important to remember that your delivery will make a big difference in how well your material comes off to others.

With practice, you’ll discover the best way to deliver your stories. For example, once you know that a particular line is a strong one, you can heighten that line by taking an extra pause before you deliver it (to add suspense and tension before the final release).

You never want to take the punchlines of your story and breeze through them as if they are just another detail. By emphasizing those lines, you not only make them stronger but you also give a cue to your audience that this is the line where you expect a reaction. And they will be more likely to respond to it.

Of course it’s often difficult to monitor your delivery while you’re performing. This again is why it’s important to encourage feedback from others or to record your presentation so you can pay more attention to these subtle details later on.

Start strong and finish even stronger

Now that you have a bunch of good material to share, the next big question is how to organize it.

While Do You Talk Funny? has countless tips and advice on how to fine-tune your public speaking, one of the key pieces I want to focus on is to “start strong and finish even stronger.”

Psychology research shows that people are often programmed to remember the beginning and end of their experiences. The middle parts often become more of a blur.

For example, when psychologists ask individuals to remember a long list of words, they discover that participants are most likely to remember the words at the beginning and end of the list vs. words listed in the middle.

This is just one example of how our memories are biased toward the beginning and end of an experience.

With this in mind, a good public speaker wants to start their presentation strong to make a positive first impression and grip their audience’s attention. But they also want to end their presentation even stronger to leave a lasting impact and give their audience a positive note to remember them afterwards.

In the case of a comedian, David Nihill recommends that you use your second best joke at the very beginning and your best joke at the very end. By structuring your material this way, you are more likely to leave a stronger impression.

Once you’ve created your material and tested it, you should have a good idea of what are the strongest parts of your presentation, and that’ll give you a better idea of the order you should structure it.

Conclusion

I have a lot of respect for standup comedians – it’s something I would love to dabble in to improve my own communication and presentation skills.

When I came across the book Do You Talk Funny? 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker, I knew it would be right up my alley and I had to check it out. David Nihill does a really great job taking lessons from the world of standup comedy and showing you how to apply them to any type of public speaking. I highly recommend it!

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22:00:00 - By Vincent 0