Dharmesh Shah
HubSpot co-founder and CTO known for testing his public speaking with data.
Where Dharmesh Shah comes up1 episode or test
- 1Split staff into groups100 employees, 10 groups of 10
- 2Give the same speechTen times, once per group
- 3Count laughsZoom plugin tallies audience laughs
- 4Aim for the targetOne laugh every 90 seconds
- 5Rewrite the linesElements of Eloquence improves phrasing
From Dharmesh Shah's speech test
What was said about Dharmesh Shah
Dharmesh Shah tested a speech on staff and counted laughs. He split 100 employees into groups of 10 and gave the same speech 10 times. A Zoom plugin counted audience laughs, and he aimed for one every 90 seconds.
He then used the book Elements of Eloquence to improve the phrasing of his lines.
Shah used rhetorical devices from Elements of Eloquence to make phrases memorable. Sam Parr read the book on Shah's advice, since Shah used it to write more memorable phrases. Examples include antithesis ('not because it's easy but because it's hard'), repeating a word with two meanings ('forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass') and merism ('in health or in sickness').
Shah answers meeting requests with an article on why he takes no meetings. Rather than decline each request one by one, he sends a written explanation of his no-meetings policy.
Inside the Mind of a Newsletter Mogul (Sam Parr Interview)
Shah split 100 employees into groups of 10 and gave one speech 10 times, using a Zoom plugin to count laughs, aiming for one every 90 seconds. He answers meeting requests with an article on why he takes no meetings.
Dharmesh Shah tested a speech on staff and counted laughs. He split 100 employees into groups of 10 and gave the same speech 10 times. A Zoom plugin counted audience laughs, and he aimed for one every 90 seconds.
He then used the book Elements of Eloquence to improve the phrasing of his lines.
Shah used rhetorical devices from Elements of Eloquence to make phrases memorable. Sam Parr read the book on Shah's advice, since Shah used it to write more memorable phrases. Examples include antithesis ('not because it's easy but because it's hard'), repeating a word with two meanings ('forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass') and merism ('in health or in sickness').
Shah answers meeting requests with an article on why he takes no meetings. Rather than decline each request one by one, he sends a written explanation of his no-meetings policy.
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