Free Mini-Course on Making Funny Speeches

(or at least making your speech a little more fun!)

Class #1: Planned Spontaneity

(How to appear witty and brilliant; even if you aren’t.)

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Outline:

1. Spontaneous or Impromptu humor is ALWAYS better than humor that seems prepared.

2. You can predict many “surprises” that will occur. (Cell phone ringing, people coughing, sombody leaving, etc.)

3. You can plan jokes or “lines” for those predictable events, and use them “as needed,” and appear spontaneous, witty… and brilliant!

Next Mini-Course Topic?
How to get over fear of Bombing. (What to do if your humor fails, and why it won’t hurt (Continue Reading…)

5 Tips For Making Humor A Hit At Your Next Event

By Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

“We need something to liven up our conference. Like a humorist. Whom would you suggest?” It’s wonderful when the phone rings with a potential client who is looking for some humor. But before making your final decision, do a little humor homework. Here are five tips to make your next choice a home run.

What’s the audience’s humor style? Some prefer intellectual humor. Others like visual humor or even slapstick. One of the ways to ascertain this is to ask about whom they’ve used in the past. There are speakers in the industry with the good-clean-humorous, storytelling style like Bill Cosby. There are others with the off-the-wall, zany style of Robin Williams. Some have the clown like abilities of Lucille Ball. Others have an understated style like Bob Newhart or Steven Wright.

What are the group demographics? (Continue Reading…)

Why hire a professional Emcee or Master of Ceremonies??

Why you should hire a professional Master of Ceremonies (MC, Emcee)

By: Brad Montgomery, professional (and funny!) Master of Ceremonies

Do you want your convention or business meeting to rock? Really want a professional and

smooth program? Want to make sure that even the most important (and sometimes very dry) information has everybody’s full attention? Then hire a professional Emcee!

An often overlooked aspect of any convention is the potential role of a professional master of ceremonies. In addition the obvious benefits of time management and organization, an emcee can liven up any series of presentations with enlightening introductions and witty, on the spot humor. Whether you’re entertaining thousands or presenting tedious and technical reports at a business gathering, an MC is an asset you definitely want to embrace.

Time Management

All too often business meetings and corporate conventions (Continue Reading…)

Funny is better!

Why choose humorous motivational speakers over corporate motivational speakers?

By Brad Montgomery CSP

Your group already knows it: humorous motivational speakers are more fun and more effective than business or corporate motivational speakers. And people learn best when whey are having fun; when they are laughing. If you want your group to thank you… book a humorist motivational speaker!

I am a (hopefully) funny motivator. And I don't mind admitting that I don't teach any new business philosophies. I don't speak on any new corporate secrets or techniques. I'm not gonna tell anybody who moved MY cheese… and I'm not gonna tell ya how to swim with any sharks. But I will get your group feeling good again. Good about themselves, about your meeting, about your business. And most importantly, I'll get them feeling good about their future.

In my opinion business or corporate motivational speakers are wonderful. And often they are (Continue Reading…)

I need WHAT kind of comedian? What is a corporate comedian and why you need one!

By Brad Montgomery CSP

Let's face it. Life today is complicated at best. It's often difficult. And it is sometimes… well… yucky. All we need to do to confirm our stresses is to look over the front page of the newspaper and we know that what we really need is a good laugh.

Companies and associations turn to corporate comedians to provide their employees with a break from the difficulties of the times. Whether they need to give their folks a break from a day of learning important – but often dry – information from industry speakers, or they want to make them feel appreciated and valued, or if they want to kick off or close a convention with a bang, a corporate comedian can be the answer.

Brad Montgomery is (Continue Reading…)

Selecting a Professional Speaker

by Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE

Oh no — you’ve been put in charge of the program for your company’s next out-of-office meeting! Your mind flashes back to the meetings you’ve attended that were a disaster. You remember all too well that monotone speaker who bored everyone to tears, that other speaker who obviously didn’t know the first thing about what your company does, and, worst of all, the speaker who thought the audience would learn a valuable management lesson by standing on their chairs and crowing like roosters!

You know that your boss is counting on you to pull together an interesting and valuable program based on a dynamic speaker. And even though the meeting is still months away, you’re already losing sleep over it. To help ease your anxieties about finding the best speaker possible, consider the following four guidelines. These guidelines are the result of my 11 (Continue Reading…)

How to Bring in Big-Name Speakers on a Low-Dollar Budget

By Laura Stack, MBA, CSP

“The Productivity Pro”
Chair, National Speakers Association (NSA) Meetings Industry Council (MIC)

Money is tight and times are tough. Meeting registration is down, and the budget isn't available for that big-name professional speaker you want to bring to your meeting. If you find a speaker you'd love to invite but can't quite swing the fee, you may want to try negotiation.

From the perspective of the professional speaker or bureau, the speaking fee represents both a paycheck and the value the speaker brings to your group. When approaching speakers for low or no fee arrangements, be sure to recognize them as valued partners critical to the success of your meeting, not a replaceable commodity. Be prepared with your negotiation ideas before calling the speaker, to show that you value their expertise and contribution.

Speakers must be fair to the clients who (Continue Reading…)

Choosing a Comic Speaker

by Brad Montgomery

Synopsis: If you're looking for an entertaining speaker to perform at your event, your first thoughts might be to look for professional comedians or humorous speakers. In this article Brad Montgomery, a corporate humorist and motivational speaker, explains why it's a good idea to pick a corporate comedian to make sure the presentation stays clean.

Comedy is a great way to entertain and motivate the attendees at your conference or event. There's a lot of variety out there, though, and I know it's really possible to hire a comedian and expect one thing only to find another. One big difference exists, and that's the gap between the world of stand-up comedians and that of corporate speakers.

Corporate comedians and stand-up comics have very different practices when it comes to language and the cleanliness of their humor. Comedy Clubs, the kinds of locations (Continue Reading…)

Motivational Speakers: Tailor verses Customize?

Why Does Brad Tailor a Speaking Presentation?

Audiences get more out of a program where they are involved and engaged than from a program that bores them to tears. Duh. We all know this to be true…. If people are into it…they’ll learn and leave with value.

There are several ways to engage an audience. I use two huge techniques: Humor and Audience Participation. I know through experience from thousands of presentations that when groups are laughing, and laughing hard… they will sit and listen. And when they – and their friends and workmates – are directly involved in the presentation, they are on the edge of their seats.

Read more about this motivational speaker who customizes.

But the last technique I use – as do most pro (Continue Reading…)

Articles for People Who Want to Hire A Motivational Speaker

Book-The-Right-Speaker Course A Free Four Day Course sent to you in Seconds We think this might be the coolest thing on the website… a free and valuable 4-day course that will help assure that you select the right speaker.

Tailored verses Customized Presentations What you need to know about the difference, and why you should care. Do you even want your speaker or corporate comedian to bother?

Selecting a Professional Speaker Tips and ideas about selecting the right professional speaker for your event, convention, or meeeting.

How to Choose a Comic Speaker    Not sure how to choose a comic speaker?  This article will give you some excellent tips.

What is a corporate comedian? Definition of corporate comedians, and how that will help you select the right one.

Why choose Humorous Motivational Speakers over Corporate Motivational Speakers? Is there a difference (Continue Reading…)