Comedian Jeff Birk, presented an entertaining talk to motivate educators and learners about the art of public speaking at the 2015 National Registry Summit in Washington, D.C. Birk’s presentation entitled, “Train Like a Rock Star: Speaking Tips from a Stand-Up Comedian,” emphasized the most critical things you can do in your presentation to engage and educate your audience.

The speaker and trainer for many top name companies, taught those in attendance that there is a balance with having your trainings being humorous as well as educational. “I want to talk today about how to be more poignant and how to be more impactful in your trainings,” said Birk. He went on to talk about the things he has learned over the years that were successful for him as a comedian, a facilitator and a trainer. With the first point being to nail the first three minutes of your presentation.

Birk went on to provide tips on how to grab an audience’s attention and especially with the power of simple jokes.


Throughout his presentation, Birk continued to give pointers on how to keep audiences engaged, emphasizing the need to practice over and over in an effort to get the timing and content down. He also suggested telling stories and incorporating “something unexpected” along the way to keep the audience attentive.

Birk, who has opened for comedians like Jay Leno, Bill Cosby, Martin Short, Kevin James and Wanda Sykes among others, brought real knowledge to the audience that will help them be become better presenters going forward.

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