Filmmaker Kevin Smith argues that every time you are speaking to a group of people of any size, you have an obligation to be entertaining.
I could not agree more. It’s essential.
Whether it’s a staff meeting, a professional development session, a chemistry class, or a sales conference, you have a duty to entertain your audience while conveying the necessary information. This can be done in a multitude of ways:
You can make your audience laugh. Offer highly relevant information. Create suspense and surprise. Do something original. Create a novel dynamic. Utilize captivating images. Tell stories. Express vulnerability. Provide a physical demonstration. Escalate stakes. Leverage nostalgia. Incorporate competition. Offer counterintuitive ideas. Provide immediately applicable and meaningful strategies. Deak out brutal honesty. Utilize hands-on activities.
You could wear a chicken costume. Give away hot dogs. Use a bubble machine.
The list is endless.
I think this rule should also be applied to most other types of communication. Cleverly designed 404 pages that delight readers and amusing road signs are two examples of opportunities to stand out from the crowd and entertain your audience while conveying the necessary information.
Here is another example of a sign that we see all the time, except in this case, it has been brilliantly written to delight its audience.
Entertain, damn it. Keep that thought at the forefront of everything you do. Your audience wants and deserves it.
Or try hard, at least.
