Earlier this month, the Fishbowl Improv poetry group released the video embedded above: “How to Read Poetry.”

We are sharing the video to make you laugh and to remind you how not to conduct yourself at your next author reading.

If you want to avoid putting your audience to sleep, we recommend following the advice of Literary Brooklyn author Evan Hughes: “Keep it relatively brief and engaging. Keep in mind that reading aloud is a tough way to engage an audience. It can work, but I think it is best to be concise and have a range of people on stage for a few minutes each.”