The Costa Cup Principle
There’s a piece of advice I was given early in my exploration of stand up comedy.
Don’t drink alcohol before a performance.
James - my tutor - said that the times that comedy goes wrong are not because the jokes aren’t funny, it’s because the comics are drunk.
They think their jokes are a lot funnier than they are.
They miss the subtle changes in the audience that you need to make your jokes work.
And they often blame the audience for them not laughing.
(Which is never cool)
Drinking to calm your nerves is a shit strategy.
And it makes you less present.
As a speaker if you are performing rather than delivering, the chances are that you are also not being present.
When you perform you are executing a series of perfectly planned steps.
Being perfectly rehearsed means that it doesn’t matter if you are in Bognor or Birmingham, the performance is exactly the same.
Perfect pauses.
Timed transitions.
Same humour.
It’s so tightly rehearsed that it doesn’t actually matter if the audience are there or not.
When you deliver something, it’s totally different.
You bring your prepared material - your stories, your framework, your message - but you deliver it to this audience, in this room at this moment.
You are totally present with what’s happening in the room and you’ve probably got to the event early to find out about your audience so you can include them.
You are speaking with them, not at them.
I recently went to a Costa to grab a coffee ahead of a gig.
(Don’t judge me, I was desperate for a wee and it was the easiest place to stop).
I ordered a coffee to take out and on the top of the takeaway lid one of the baristas had written a joke.
It was a proper dad joke, but that handwritten thing was bound to connect to the person who reads it.
You can go to any Costa in the UK, order the same drink and you know it is going to be the same as everywhere else.
But that one piece of sharpie art personalised the whole experience.
That’s what being present in your delivery does in a speech.
The framework stays the same, but what you create with that audience in that moment is unique.
And that moment never happens again.
Heraclitus said you can never step in the same river twice.
The river has changed. And so have you.
What he didn’t mention is that it’s always best to wear wellies.
Presence as a speaker is essential because it connects you with your audience in the most gorgeous way.
Here in 2026 people want so much of that human connection thing and as a speakers we have an amazing opportunity to provide that.
But we can only do this when we are present.
Presence is a learnt skill.
A bit like meditation, when you practice noticing when your attention has wandered and bringing it back to the moment.
You work on being present.
And also noticing what stops you from being present.
As a speaker there will be plenty that pulls you away - worrying about remembering your words, things happening in the room, that audience member on the sixth row that yawned when you looked at her.
(Yeah, that happened to me once - feel free to ask)
The practice is being able to work with all of that, and come back to the moment.
My understanding of presence comes from a few places.
From healthcare - working in a A&E and being totally present with the patient, noticing changes in their condition before the machines go beep.
From the study, practice and teaching of mindfulness and meditation.
From comedy and clowning, where presence and failure are everything.
(Not to mention the numerous chances to speak and practice what I do)
All of these things take time and practice, but are totally worth it.
When you speak are you performing for your audience?
Or are you being present with them?
The difference is everything.
If you want to have a chat about how this could look in your speaking, then drop me a DM.