Comedian Dan Nainan’s dad is from India and his mom is from Japan. Once Nainan introduces his ethnic background, he launches into one joke after another as well as impersonations of politicians and athletes. He usually brings down the house. Nainan has performed at Inaugural events in Washington, D.C and to thousands of people around the world. Nainan markets himself as a “100% clean” comic. There isn’t one road to comedy stardom but Nainan’s journey is a bit more unusual than the standard comedy career. Until 2007 Nainan was working as a senior engineer at Intel. He ran demonstrations on stage for some of Intel’s top executives, including tech legend, Andy Grove.
I recently had a conversation with Nainan about comedy and public speaking. During his corporate career Nainan was “terrified” of public speaking. “It couldn’t have been that bad. After all, you carry one hour sets,” I suggested. “It took a lot of work to get here,” he said. Although Nainan was able to perform his role at Intel very well, the days and weeks before a performance were, well, hell. Anyone who has been nervous about giving a presentation knows the feeling. “I have a naturally low heart rate but during a demonstration I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest,” said Nainan.
Nainan credits comedy for giving him confidence on stage. But after talking to Nainan at length about how he overcame his fear, I realized that the road to comedy success applies to anyone who wants to conquer the fear of public speaking.
Take small steps. Comics don’t start out performing one or two hour routines for thousands of people. Nainan started by taking a comedy class. When he began performing at clubs, Nainan, like most comics, would perform a 3-minute set. The sets gradually got longer (5-10 minutes, 10-15 minutes, etc) until he started headlining. Nainan’s confidence would grow with every set and he did it frequently (Nainan performs 80 to 100 times a year). Now think about your last presentation. Were you nervous? Unless you’re giving the same presentation several times a week, it’s natural to be nervous. You haven’t had that much practice and, unlike the route most comics take, you’re expected to carry a 30-minute presentation or longer right out of the gate. Of course you’re nervous! Find a way to take a small part of the sales presentation instead of carrying the entire load. Take every opportunity to present or speak in front of a group, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
Stay positive. Nainan says positive thinking and self-affirmations really do work. “I’ve looked in the mirror and said, ‘I’m not going to let you fail.’ I’ve actually done it.” Nainan said. Think about the awful things many of us say to ourselves before a presentation: I hate giving a presentation. I’m nervous. I stink. I’ve heard these comments before, even from top executives. You must change your inner conversation if you hope to change what the audience sees. The famous pastor, Joel Osteen, speaks to 40,000 a week at Houston’s Lakewood Church and up to 7 million on television. Yet when he took over the ministry upon his dad’s death, he thought he was too shy to speak publicly. In his new bestseller, Everyday a Friday, Osteen writes, “Believe you can go places you’ve never been before. Stretch into a new way of thinking. Stretch into a greater vision for the possibilities in your life.” Positive thinking made a difference for Osteen and Nainan. It will work for you.
Don’t ever give up. On Nainan’s first day of comedy class everyone laughed at his jokes. On the second day, no one laughed. Nainan felt humiliated and nearly quit. “If I had quit after my second class, life would have been so different than it is today. It’s amazing to think about. Thank goodness I decided to keep going.” Nainan has learned there are many factors that determine whether an audience is going to laugh or not. It’s not always the comic. It’s easy to get down when you don’t get the reaction you expect but it’s not always your fault. I meet a lot of people who get so defeated, so beaten, they don’t want to pick themselves up after a presentation that didn’t go smoothly. If you’re not satisfied with a presentation, do it again as soon as possible, preferably for a fresh audience.
Everyone gets nervous about speaking in public. I know some corporate leaders worth hundreds of millions of dollars who have told me privately they hate giving presentations. Some get over it faster or learn techniques to manage their fear. But regardless of your position, I think Nainan’s three-step journey makes a lot of sense: Start small, think positive, and don’t quit.