David Nihill is the Founder of FunnyBizz, a community and conference series where business meets humor to abolish boring content. He is also the author of the best-selling book “Do You Talk Funny?” He has been featured in Inc., Lifehacker, The Huffington Post, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, and Forbes. We chat about why introverts make great comics, how to find humor in the serious, and how to incorporate humor into presentations for greater impact.

Complete Show Notes: http://theintrovertentrepreneur.com/2015/10/14/ep92-david-nihill-teaches-us-about-the-power-of-humor/

Stand up in front of a group. No script. No prep. No rules. This is improv in a way. Its not quite as scary as that, even though that set-up is likely to send many an introvert running in the opposite direction. And in fact, what looks like a completely spontaneous improv situation actually DOES have rules, and there are ways to prepare yourself. Sure, theres no script, but life doesnt have a script, so who needs one?

Ive spoken several times over the years about the power of improv and how it can be a transformative tool for introverts. In this episode, I talk to one of the first people to put the principles of improv together with the world of business.

Bob Kulhan is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration for The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University as well as an Adjunct Professor of Business for Columbia Business School, Columbia University. He also is the CEO of Business Improvisations. BI is a world-class leader in developing experiential learning programs for businesses.

Website: BusinessImprov.com
Facebook: facebook.com/businessimprov
Twitter: twitter.com/bizimprov

If there's one thing many introverts have in common, it's this: they don’t talk unless they have something to say. They’d rather listen, observe, process and wait until they have something meaningful to share. While I personally think that’s a strength, because we’re not wearing ourselves and others out with lots of talking, it’s not a style that the typical work environment values. The other thing almost every introvert has in common is that they’ve been told at some point in their lives, “you need to speak up more.” This might come from a boss, parent, spouse or friend. So what can we do? How can we balance our preference for internal processing with their request for us to talk more?

To answer those questions, I decide to call on one of my expert colleagues, Nancy Ancowitz. Nancy is a business communication coach specializing in career advancement and presentation skills. She’s the author of Self-Promotion for Introverts®: The Quiet Guide to Getting Ahead, a Publishers Weekly “best book” selection. The book offers a gentle but results oriented approach to helping those who talk less to get heard more.

Additional Links to Nancy+Beth Conversations:

An Introvert's Secrets to Setting Up Shop | Psychology Today

Improv for Introverts | Psychology Today

Crossing the Digital Divide: Tips & Tricks for Webcam Confidence from Nancy Ancowitz

Self-Promotion for Introverts® with Nancy Ancowitz