You should be having fun. So should the people watching you. Even when the topic is hard — especially then — there's a difference between clinical and engaged, and engagement is what makes someone stay.
The Robin Williams test
Watch the teacher in Dead Poets Society, then watch the economics teacher in Ferris Bueller. Same room, same kids, opposite outcomes. Williams isn't goofy and he isn't yelling. He's simply, visibly invested — and the energy comes off him. The clinical version of the same lecture puts the class to sleep.
What fun is not
Manufactured pump-up — "Who's here to PARTY?!" in a flat tone — is the thing audiences smell instantly. Genuine engagement is its opposite. The constant isn't the energy level; it's the honesty of the engagement. A quiet, considered cadence you actually enjoy will out-perform borrowed hype every time.
The way to bring it in: let your real-time discovery be visible. Think out loud. Follow a tangent that surprises you. Laugh when the thing is genuinely funny to you in that instant. A good leader doesn't pretend to have all the answers — they unpack the question in real time and let you watch.
Take it further
Notice the difference between your clinical voice and your genuinely-engaged voice. The second one is what makes people stay.
The full system — every exercise and the 36-day practice — lives in the book MEAN IT. and the 5 Minute CEO program. Work with Paul →