Life is not about being great, it’s about getting better

Performing on stage is often compared with the fear of dying. And yes, it is a big challenge, you're going down or you survive. Most people are freezing, worrying about their lines, afraid for a blackout, are too much in their heads and are really ‘working’ on stage, with the consequence that they aren’t themselves at all and having barely contact with the audience. Result: a feeling of failure and an even bigger fear for the stage.

I think this can be a lot easier and much more enjoyable.


Most of the presentation courses I have seen are telling you only what you are not supposed to do: Don't move, don't show emotions and don't be too personal of vulnerable. But that's is not what the audience likes. They like personality and humor.

Four ways to decrease your fear of the stage

1. There’s nothing wrong with you! 

I believe in the capacities you dó have. Not in the one you don’t have. I give you self confidence and look at what you need to grow into your talent. I saw in the thousand students I’ve had a lot of different talents passing by and also discovered a lot of different ways to switch this talent ‘on’. I don’t teach you tricks, but work on command and increase the talent that is appearing and give advice for the long term. 


2. Don’t let people think you are crazy, but also certainly not normal. 
The more authentic you are, the more interesting. To develop your personality or persona on stage is only possible by digging into your authenticity. Give yourself permission to be ‘different’.


3. The naughty person in you isn’t afraid.

Your inner child is the one who is asking questions. Is curious and has an investigating attitude. I develop your playfulness, your humor and your pleasure and that’s making your entrance on stage totally different.


4. Make a sport of getting the audience involved.

You’ll learn to seduce the audience by making your goal, mission, purpose, calling or message more important than your performance.

Why is this different from other humor courses?

I thrive to combine humor with your purpose, your mission, your calling because then you can do both: touching people and making them laugh.

Humor as a language

Humor is often seen as a gift, as a talent. You have it or you don’t have it. While it is certainly a skill you can develop and learn. Can practise. Like a language. You can influence your environment with it. By giving a good example. By creating a positive atmosphere. To show people you have self depreciation humor, by taking yourself less seriously and inspire others to do so too. With as result more people who feel safe, more connection and more people become willing to learn and be more open minded. Good for the organisation, for the team, but also for everyone personally.


And humor is always needed. In times of crisis people need humor to practice their resilience and in better times humor is needed to develop your creativity and self-reflection. Humor makes you look at things differently. You play with reality and with that you develop resilience.


Do you think you are not funny?

  • Do you think that being funny is only for people with talent?
  • Are you looking for a way to seem less serious or rational?
  • Do you enjoy it when you can make people laugh?
  • Do you want to test your creativity?
  • Are you hungry to be yourself and to become more authentic and honest?
  • Do you want to stand on stage more relaxed?

So, I would like everyone to take humor more seriously, because it

  • Is an icebreaker in uncomfortable situations.
  • Creates a feeling of unity.
  • Is self-reflecting and mirroring.
  • It downplays and gives comfort.
  • Makes you creative.

Testimonials

Super Grateful

Marianne van Dijk - Relation Therapist

Thanks to Malinca making jokes for me is much more approachable. Before this course I only made jokes with friends and people I knew, but now I also do it with total strangers. Besides that it was really a pleasure to do her exercises and I felt really comfortable with her guidance so I could also make jokes about the uncomfortable and the more vulnerable topics. I am super grateful for the outcome!

Until you break through

Henk van Huisstede - Comedian

As a comic I am very interested in questions like: What is humor exactly? Why do people laugh? Which mechanism goes behind and under ‘comic stuff’. Malinca gives answers to these questions ánd other questions, so you recognise more easily the funny (read: painful) situations. Because humor and laughing - so we learn from Malinca - have everything to do with awkwardness, tension (and relaxation), shame, misunderstandings, unfulfilled desires and not redeemed expectations, and until you have this break through you suddenly see the humor all around you.

It was possible to turn my more serious and heaviness attitude into something lighthearted and humoristic

Ilse Coolen - Teacher Care

Malinca does an appeal to your inner child that is open and curious for new experiences. The exercises are challenging in a nice way. Her way of looking and thinking is inspiring. She honours everybody's authenticity with no exception and gives advice on command, so you get the best out of yourself. I didn’t think (but secretly hoped) that it was possible to turn my more serious and heaviness attitude into something lighthearted and humoristic but that is exactly what happened. My compliments for how she works are endless for me.

Incredible strong trainer

Martijn Derksen - Creative / Educational Professional at Fontys University of Applied Sciences

In terms of content an incredible strong trainer. She knows exactly where she is talking about and is able to address this and point this out. She has got a clear vision about stagework and stories which I like very much and inspires me.

Back to something about yourself you‘ll actually instinctively always knew

Ruben Stelli - Art-Director/Creative thinker

This is about a lót more then humor, this is a personality training. This is about creativity, resilience, self reflection, and about following your curiosity, but also back to something about yourself you actually instinctively always knew.

Balanced didactical talent

Mirjam van der Veer - Pedagogical Assistant

If you are looking for a way to develop your stage presence on a rooted way than you have to go to Malinca! She knows where she is talking about and is a balanced didactical talent. I got the learning experience and playfulness I was looking for! Surprisingly fresh!

Claudia de Breij - Comedian

She gets the best out of someone

The way Malinca gets the best out of someone, as well in directing groups or individuals, has helped me a great deal in overcoming my first fears and shame to go on the stage. Text-writing, performance and discovering your strengths and weaknesses are all essential for learning this profession.

Organizations I worked with

I bring to this program

  • Entertaining, interactive and sparkling exercises which appeal to your creativity.
  • The conviction that you can learn your whole life.
  • Customized advice to increase your talent.
  • Together with you I pull out the story you’ll have to tell, in which you’ll touch the audience, but also make them laugh.
  • I approach humor from emotion not from technique and that’s why it is accessible and practically useful in daily life. 
  • I love the inevitability of the stage. There's no escape.
  • Humor is also for your private life empowering and builds resilience and shows how you can convert a victim role into action.
  • Practically: I stimulate you to make a leap by asking you to pick a date for after the course where you are going to do your talk in your own environment.
  • Honesty.

Instructor

Comedy director & Speaker coach Malinca Verwiel

Malinca Verwiel is founder of the School for Humor & Authenticity. She has directed many comedians in her career, including Claudia de Breij, as well as c-levels managers, financials, marketers, engineers and everyone in between. She once started at Loesje and graduated as a theater and clay art teacher, where she earned a Cum Laude for her thesis, "How do you make a comedy tragic and how do you make a tragedy comic? She created and performed shows, energizers and workshops for organizations for 18 years with her own company Humor in Business. She is a cabaret director and speaker coach for comedians, comedians, pitches, Ted talks, seminars and book launches. She has been trained as a comedian in the UK by Jill Edwards, Judy Carter, Jeremy Nicholas, Steve Kaplan and Keith Palmer (Comedy School Bristol/London). She has also been trained by Challenge Day on personal development. Malinca studied High Impact Leadership at the University of Cambridge and she considers anyone who takes the stage to be a leader. Her school won the Best Educator 2020 award with an average rating of 9.4. Her first book, “Making Impact with Humor, or How to Drive the Audience Crazy,” became an instant bestseller.

This is for you if

  • You want to tell a story.
  • If you want to overcome your fear of the stage.
  • If you want to develop your humor muscle.
  • When you think of yourself that you are too serious or too rational and you want to find a way to make your message or story more lighthearted and more playful.
  • If you want to tell something in both ways: touch people and make them laugh.
  • If you want to become a better leader by professionalizing your story. 
  • When you are hungry to become more real, more authentic and more playful.

Course curriculum

    1. What is my why?

    1. Eleven reasons why you are probably not funny

    2. In every joke has to be a bit of pain. When there is too much pain it isn't funny ... But when there is less pain, it's not funny either!

    3. Happiness and grief

    4. What is the difference between drama and dullness?

    5. In this section you'll want to disappear into a hole in the ground because of shame

    6. Personality and humor in your talk, 10 exciting tricks

    1. You're almost done!

About this course

  • €395,00
  • 8 lessen
  • 0 uur aan video-inhoud

Testimonials

Incredible strong trainer

Martijn Derksen - Creative / Educational Professional at Fontys University of Applied Sciences

In terms of content an incredible strong trainer. She knows exactly where she is talking about and is able to address this and point this out. She has got a clear vision about stagework and stories which I like very much and inspires me.

Back to something about yourself you‘ll actually instinctively always knew

Ruben Stelli - Art-Director/Creative thinker

This is about a lót more then humor, this is a personality training. This is about creativity, resilience, self reflection, and about following your curiosity, but also back to something about yourself you actually instinctively always knew.

Balanced didactical talent

Mirjam van der Veer - Pedagogical Assistant

If you are looking for a way to develop your stage presence on a rooted way than you have to go to Malinca! She knows where she is talking about and is a balanced didactical talent. I got the learning experience and playfulness I was looking for! Surprisingly fresh!

Until you break through

Henk van Huisstede - Comedian

As a comic I am very interested in questions like: What is humor exactly? Why do people laugh? Which mechanism goes behind and under ‘comic stuff’. Malinca gives answers to these questions ánd other questions, so you recognise more easily the funny (read: painful) situations. Because humor and laughing - so we learn from Malinca - have everything to do with awkwardness, tension (and relaxation), shame, misunderstandings, unfulfilled desires and not redeemed expectations, and until you have this break through you suddenly see the humor all around you.

It was possible to turn my more serious and heaviness attitude into something lighthearted and humoristic

Ilse Coolen - Teacher Care

Malinca does an appeal to your inner child that is open and curious for new experiences. The exercises are challenging in a nice way. Her way of looking and thinking is inspiring. She honours everybody's authenticity with no exception and gives advice on command, so you get the best out of yourself. I didn’t think (but secretly hoped) that it was possible to turn my more serious and heaviness attitude into something lighthearted and humoristic but that is exactly what happened. My compliments for how she works are endless for me.

Super Grateful

Marianne van Dijk - Relation Therapist

Thanks to Malinca making jokes for me is much more approachable. Before this course I only made jokes with friends and people I knew, but now I also do it with total strangers. Besides that it was really a pleasure to do her exercises and I felt really comfortable with her guidance so I could also make jokes about the uncomfortable and the more vulnerable topics. I am super grateful for the outcome!