How to Evaluate Your Presentation Flow?

The Wit and Wisdom of Phyllis Diller

My friend Brian Palmer is one of the most creative and ethical professionals in our speaking industry.  He is president of the National Speakers Bureau   which was founded by his father, John Palmer.  Back in the day, John was a well-known bandleader and performed with Phyllis Diller.

Brian told me this about his Dad’s work with the legendary comedienne, “Phyllis was constantly working on her craft. My father would be off on the side of the stage, and she would ask him to look at his watch and make a notation every time there was a laugh, and then measure the amount of time between laughs. My dad believed that speakers should have the same understanding of their presentation flow.”

As speakers, we can learn a lot about pacing from the world of comedy. Brian went on to say, “To this day, I look at my watch and measure the average length between emotive responses. Top speakers are around two minutes—and if that stretches to 10 or 15 minutes, the likelihood is that person won’t be as well reviewed. Audiences are looking for a quality shared experience. When someone looks around the room and sees people they know and respect nodding, laughing, and reacting, there’s no more powerful driver of engagement.”

Enjoy these quips from Phyllis Diller!

A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
– Phyllis Diller

Housework can’t kill you, but why take a chance?
– Phyllis Diller

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.
– Phyllis Diller

You know you’re old if they have discontinued your blood type.
– Phyllis Diller

Burt Reynolds once asked me out. I was in his room.
– Phyllis Diller

I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.
– Phyllis Diller

Most children threaten at times to run away from home. This is the only thing that keeps some parents going.
– Phyllis Diller

Any time three New Yorkers get into a cab without an argument, a bank has just been robbed.
– Phyllis Diller

We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.
– Phyllis Diller

What I don’t like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day.
– Phyllis Diller

The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day I accidentally got gin in the steam iron.
– Phyllis Diller

Old age is when the liver spots show through your gloves.
– Phyllis Diller

My photographs don’t do me justice – they just look like me.
– Phyllis Diller

The reason the golf pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can’t see him laughing.
– Phyllis Diller

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Larry Wilde, my friend and a bestselling humor writer and humorist, interviewed many of the old-time famous comedians. Phyllis Diller was one of them. I had his book, Great Comedians Talk About Comedy, republished. Included are interviews with Woody Allen, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Shelley Berman, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Maurice Chevalier, Phyllis Diller, Jimmy Durante, Dick Gregory, Bob Hope, George Jessel, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Danny Thomas, and Ed Wynn. It is available on Fripp.com with a live recording of Larry speaking on his adventures in getting these interviews, where he met these top names in comedy, and what they said. Click here to learn more.

Executive Speech Coach and Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker Patricia Fripp works with individuals and companies who realize that powerful, persuasive presentation skills give them a competitive edge.