A High-Energy Answer to the Panel Discussion

Yes, panel discussions work. Yes they can be well-received.

But let’s face it; they aren’t always high-energy laugh-fests. The info is good; the energy can be lacking. And when the energy lags, so does the learning and the retention.

Solution: Brad Montgomery’s Punched-Up Panel Palooza

It’s a high-energy, creative and entertaining way to share best practices from your top achievers (or leadership) with the rest of your team. Brad facilitates and hosts a panel discussion of your top achievers.

Teaching + Learning + Fun = A Successful Meeting

(Translation: People learn best when they are laughing.)

A Comedian Interviewing Your Most Successful Folks!

Fun panel discussions are successful panel discussions.

It’s funny. It’s content rich. It’s an awesome way to teach and learn. It’s Valuable. It’s Brad!

People trust their own data — and that of their peers — more than anything that “the experts say.” In this segment (or full program) Brad takes advantage of this adult learning concept to make sure that we effectively transfer knowledge from those that know to those who want to know. And we do it with laughter, fast pacing and humor. Which helps with stickiness and retention.

Brad comes prepared ahead of time to make sure he knows what skills and mindsets need to be taught. You help write the questions. You help develop the direction. Brad will rely on his decades of experience as a comedian and speaker to keep the conversation lively, fun, upbeat, and energetic.

And your Top Achievers will look and feel like geniuses; but better yet, they’ll effectively teach through this peppy panel. It’s fun. It’s content rich. Your attendees will leave with a smile on their faces, a spring in their steps, and with knowledge and answers they’ll implement immediately.

Looking for a killer master of ceremonies for your Panel Discussion? Want to ramp up your panel into a Panel Palooza? Contact me here.

Related:

Motivational speaker home
Networking Speaker:  Caffeinated Networking on Steroids

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Caffeinated Networking On Steroids

We’ve found:
1. Your attendees come to your meetings in large part for the networking.
2. Many hate networking.
3. They don’t know how to network, so it makes them uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. (Let’s admit it; it stresses some of them out.)

Their return on investment for your meeting hinges partly on their ability to network. Yet they’ve never been taught the skills.

Lucky you, we have the answer: Brad Montgomery’s Caffeinated Networking On Steroids! It’s like one of those tiny energy drinks in that it will give your organization the quick shot of energy to get the networking started. (Only it isn’t bad for you and doesn’t come in a can.)

Brad is a Networking Speaker?

Of course. He’s an expert in energizing meetings, and one of the things he offers is an amazing networking segment. It’s funny — like everything Brad does. But it’s killer information that your folks crave — how to easily network and make it fun.

What is Caffeinated Networking On Steroids?

It is either a stand-alone segment that you can insert anywhere in your meeting or conference — though it makes the most sense to put it near the very beginning. Or Brad can work it into one of his other programs. Heck, some clients ask Brad to put it IN his keynote speech, and that works well too.

There are three parts:

1. Brad teaches the basic concept of networking: it doesn’t have to be you facing a room full of people you don’t know then be forced to go meet them. It can be much more fun — and effective if you know the right mental approach. Brad takes the stress out of the networking equation by helping your audience see that if they approach networking with the right attitude, it becomes much easier, way more successful, and ten times more fun. And he does it with laughs!

2. Brad teaches some really simple, repeatable techniques that your audience will love. When Brad asks, “Would you like it if I gave you the Silver Bullet Question that will help you easily start a conversation anywhere anytime with anybody?” you can imagine the response. They love it. So Brad gives them some easy conversation starters that they will be using — and laughing about — during the entire conference. You can count on the notion that while they are laughing, they WILL be taking notes because these nuggets are solid gold. (Ok, not really gold, but you know what we mean.)

3. Brad has them actually get out of their seats and practice what they’ve just learned. This instant audience interaction creates two outcomes. First, they will have practiced what they learned, which helps with retention. Second, it means that by the end of Brad’s session — before the first coffee break even — your people will leave with the confidence and the skills to network starting NOW. They’ve already met some people they can have lunch with, talk over coffee with, or meet in the bar. (Hey, it happens.)

Equally important, they’ll leave with skills they can implement immediately to make sure your conference is a huge success for them from a networking perspective.

What’s better than a networking speaker?

A funny networking speaker who is already at your conference to do the motivational keynote speech. Looking to get more bang for your buck? Talk to Brad about Caffeinated Networking On Steroids.

Looking for a networking speaker for your event? Contact me here.

Related:

How Else Can Brad Energize Your Meeting?

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Testimonials  — What do his clients say about his Keynotes?

Note from Brad:   We are still waiting to get a polished testimonial video out with these testimonials.  In the meantime, here’s something to get you started.  Rough, I admit.  But it gets the point across.

Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.

For the rest of you readers, here is a transcript:

Next Speaker:    So I’ve seen Brad perform at ISTE technology training ( for educators and education) in Texas.  And then he came all the way out to California for us to do a presentation at a motivational session for all of our staff, approximately 200 staff.  And it has been fantastic both times.  Brad brought energy, he brought little common sense and wisdom for us to use.  What I told Brad earlier is he inspired me to do things a little bit differently in the region that I manage and just try to keep things light and have a good time and inspire others to do the same.  My name is Brad Shevesta and I’m the supervisor of the after school program in the San Juan Unified School District.

Next Speaker:    I am so glad that we invited Brad out to speak to our group.  I had the opportunity to see Brad at a conference Texas and I knew when I saw him that I wanted to bring that energy and that laughter back to our team here in the after school program and Brad did just what I expected.  So I am thrilled that we invested the money with a different kind of a training than we usually do.  We usually do our training most cost effectively as possible so it was something different for us to invest this kind of money into a speaker and I have to tell you that it was worth every cent of it and I would do it again in a minute.  So I really appreciate it.  He was able to relate to our entire team and really sent them off for the year with a positive attitude, understanding the importance of their role and how to have fun at work.  So I would tell that person that probably the most important thing about what Brad did is he was able to make it relevant for our team.  He was able to make it fit for after school and make every single person, no matter what their role was here feel like his message was for them.  He customized it to after school programs and I’m sure he would do the same with any industry.

Next Speaker:    Had I not seen Brad, this would have been scary to invite him to come here to have a motivational speaker, someone who is billed as a comedian and a magician to come and do a motivational training for our team.  And knowing that he was good at what he does, having seen him, knowing that he normally is funny and pretty good at magic but he really knows how to drive home the message of having a positive life, having a positive attitude and bringing spunk into whatever you do; life and work.

Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.

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What are the details?

Having trouble meeting Brad Montgomery’s speaking fee?  No sweat…. bring in a sponsor.  They’ll help with the fee, and they’ll beg to do it again next year.  Because Brad has a Black Belt at making sure your sponsors get a huge bang for your buck.

Best of all…. your audience will love you..

Audiences crave top caliber speaks.  But they will NOT put up with a commercial.   If your speaker doesn’t know how to properly help communicate the sponsor’s message without offending the audience, you’ve failed.   But lucky you, Brad’s great at this balance and knows how to make everybody happy.

The secret is twofold.

First, Brad gets to know your sponsors.  REALLY gets to know your sponsors.  He’ll work with them offline to make sure he fully understands their product and/or service.  He’ll know why it’s so fabulous.  Or cutting edge.  Or a great deal.

And best of all, he’ll know the exact talking points or individual messages your sponsors want to communicate to your audience.  And he’ll make sure these points make it into his program.

How does he do this without making it a commercial?  He uses humor.  But custom creating humor about your sponsor and their talking points, he’ll get your audience laughing.  They WILL know the info your sponsor wants them to know.  And they’ll love it when Brad gets the audience laughing while he talks about them.  And the audience will appreciate the sponsor for bringing in Brad (or a portion of Brad…. which sounds gross, but we think you know what we mean).  Best of all, they’ll love that the commercial message will be buried in humor.   Everybody wins.

Sponsors fear that their dollars will buy ONLY a tiny mention in the program, a placard in the hallway, and a mention from the introducer.  Yeah, those things are nice — and we should do them all — but sponsors want more.  And we can easily give it to them while maintaining the integrity of the meeting.  They want more attention and time in front of your audience.    Brad uses humor to make this happen.  He increases their ROI tenfold.   Trust me, they’ll love YOU for introducing them to Brad.

If your sponsor has a booth, we can step up the value to them even more.

Imagine GUARANTEEING them that 90% of all audience attendees go to their booth?   Yeah, that’d be cool.  And the sponsors LOVE it.

There are a couple of ways for this to happen.  Brad can do a book signing in their booth after the event.   People will come for the books and to meet Brad, and they’ll be available to the sponsors during that time.

Second, Brad often teaches how to play at work with toys, gags, and knick-knacks. (Is that a real word?)  After the audience sees Brad teach them in a very funny way how to use these toys at work they want one.  They WANT one.    Usually Brad sells them after the program.

But we can easily get them for the sponsors….and offer them free of charge to your audience….just drop by the sponsor’s booth for one of the gags.

They will come.  Trust us….they WILL come.   Sure, the sponsors can give away the same old pens, candy and stress balls that the rest of the exhibit hall is giving away.  Or they can give away these toys that Brad has turned into a MUST OWN item.

They’ll come.  Trust us….they’ll come.

Bottom Line

But the bottom line is that we can work with you and your sponsor to find the missing dollars by offering a unique and valuable way for the sponsor to reach your audience.  And we can do this in a way that your audience will thank you for.

Want the details?   Give us a call and we’ll strategize the best way to make it happen for you.

Here are a few more ideas about how we can help your sponsor get a fabulous ROI:

• Mention and thank the sponsor in the program
• Acknowledge the sponsor on your Web site
• Allow sponsor to introduce the speaker and give a “live commercial”
• The speaker gives numerous mentions of the sponsor from the main stage
• If appropriate, the speaker can wear the sponsor’s logo shirt during the talk
• The speaker can sign books in the sponsor’s booth after the program
• The speaker can do a special talk for them just before the conference starts
• The speaker can send a personal letter of invitation to the event to the sponsor’s mailing list
• Hang a banner ad behind the stage while speaker presents
• Hand out individual fliers on each participant’s chair
• Include the sponsor’s name and logo on the pages of the speaker’s handouts

Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.

1.   After dinner, Brad Montgomery presents a laugh-out-loud funny motivational speech.   Not really a speech…more of an event.   It will be motivational…and very VERY funny.   We would want to fine tune the message to meet your specific goals for the banquet, but generally speaking, we’d want to offer a message of appreciation as well as a reminder that they should take themselves less seriously…while still taking what they DO seriously. Because this event is a celebration, the entertainment component would be crucial.  My background is in comedy and magic… and we’d draw upon those skills to make sure that people are sitting on the edges of their seats.   But it seems like a waste for it to be JUST entertainment.   So we’d drop in a message that is relevant to them and what their are trying to do.  In life.  At home.  But especially at work.
• Customized humor
• Customized relevant message
• Audience Participation
• Laugh-Out-Loud Funny

2. We recommend you keep Brad around to Emcee the entire Awards Banquet. Details here.   The bottom line here is that having a professional emcee work the event guarantees that the event will flow and be as fun as possible.  In addition, it tends to make sure your top leaders come off really well.  (We can involve them without having to rely on them to carry the entire evening.)

Awards banquets are important and crucial…they are designed to honor people who deserved to be recognized.  At the same time, the pace often lags and the energy drops.  After doing hundreds of these events, I’m experienced at keeping the pace on high, the energy on “Wow,” and the humor going all the way through.   We never want to belittle or make fun of the honorees… but joking our way through the banquet is an outstanding way to make people WANT to come to next year’s banquet.
•  Maintains a lively pace
• Insurance against something going wrong
• Keeps even the slower parts of award banquets fun
• It’s funny!

3.  Customized Snippets to honor the big winners, keep the energy up, and convey your customized messages.   We have a whole catalog of cool ideas to make sure the evening is memorable and successful.  They can last anywhere from 2 minutes each to 10 minutes

Game Show for Big & Small Audiences

each, they make your top winners — or top management — look great.  And they keep the energy going fast.   We call them “Name that Lie,”  “On the Hot Seat” and “I Had the Worst Job.”      They are terrific ways to incorporate audience participation, customized messaging, customized humor, and YOUR people into the program.
• Totally customized messages
• Fits within even tight schedules
• Excellent way to honor award winners
• Outstanding method to make your leadership come off as “One Of The Guys.”

Looking for a awards banquet motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.

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If you want funny motivational speaker Brad Montgomery to speak free for one of your charity organizations it’s easy—  just book Brad at full fee for your organization,  then Brad will work with one of your favorite charitable or pet organizations for free.    Maybe your kid goes to school that needs Brad’s special blend of motivation and comedy?  Or maybe you’re affiliated with a survivors group?  The local food bank?  Or a  home for special needs kids? A support group?  Or your church, synagogue or mosque?   No sweat.. Brad will work with that organization for free.

Here’s how it works. Brad will speak for your organization as usual.  Then, during that same trip, Brad will speak to your charitable organization. If  you’re looking for a top notch funny motivational speaker for your Rotary event, the staff at your local school, or any special group or organization  that deserves something special but doesn’t have the budget for it, here’s your chance to make a splash.

It’s Brad — two for one!   Book Brad now at regular price and get another Brad for free.

As you might guess, some restrictions apply.   All we ask is that you help fit the bonus program within Brad’s travel, and schedule the bonus program in tightly with the regularly scheduled event.     Second, the bonus program or speech must be for a charitable organization;   this deal does not mean Brad will speak twice for your group at one fee.  The free bonus motivational speech has to be for charity.   (Non-profit organizations are great…. but they are not always charitable organizations.)

The bottom line is that Brad loves to work and share his message of humor and motivation with groups of all types, but he has a special place in his heart for charitable groups.   This “Two For One” concept is is a way for Brad to help fulfill his goal of spreading his word to people who need it.

But best of all, it’s good for you.  It’s YOUR chance  at a cool brand of philanthropy.  You’ll be responsible for getting Brad into your special organization,  your pet charity your favorite charity for free!

As you might guess, each event is wildly different.   So to figure out how we can make this work for you and your charitable organization, just call our office and will work to find a way to make this great deal to work for you.

Brad will speak for free?!  You bet. Call us today and let’s get started making this special deal work for you!

Contact Brad Now.  Or just pick up the phone:  303.691.0726

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Check out the very kind words they put down on video about the motivational seminar connecting humor and levity at work to maximum productivity:

Looking for a motivational speaker for your event? Contact me here.

Learn more about the funny seminar I delivered here.
Related:
Details about the Laugh-O-Nomics humor-in-the-workplace seminar mentioned in the video.
See the video about Humor in the Workplace on YouTube

Interested in reading — or maybe you just hate YouTube? Here’s the transcription of the video:

Male Speaker: By far, one of the best, if not the best, training that I’ve ever had at my career at this High Tech company.

Female Speaker: Now, more than ever, what we need in this tough economy is we need to energize people and bring energy to their work, their lives, etc. and they’re more productive as a result, I’m very confident.

Male Speaker: And I’m on a team out in the field with M and I just attended Brad Montgomery’s training on Laugh-A-Nomics, and I have to tell you that, as we get together every quarter or every half a year we typically always have some type of four-hour training. A lot of times that’s death by Power Point or the speaker doesn’t really understand what our job is and if I can express to you that, you know, Brad took this training and it was completely different. It was a very positive experience, lots of positive energy –

Female Speaker: So, Brad is much more than a motivational speaker. He actually brings humor and energy in. We were actually thinking about, you know, is this the right investment, you know, budgets are tight, you know, maybe we should just bring in a trainer. But actually the truth is what we learned is that bringing humor in and teaching people how to just to kind of make the most out of their day, the most out of their life, enjoy work, it actually really does inspire people and –

Male Speaker: It’s kind of interesting because we spent four hours. First of all it didn’t feel like four hours and, even though it started off for a comedy type of session, it really turned into a learning situation, and at the end of the four hours I have a desk full of post-it notes because I was deemed one of the leaders so I was taking diligent notes, but literally I have about 12 post-it notes full of ideas. And I sit here and go, I didn’t feel like I was just in a four-hour training. Very interactive, very energetic, very positive !
Female Speaker: The energy in this room is unlike energy I’ve seen in this team for a very long time. So I’m super excited about that and so glad we chose Brad.

Male Speaker: So thanks again, appreciate it. I would highly recommend it to anybody who’s looking for some positive energy, some positive reinforcement. Thank you.

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Massachusetts Speaker Brad Montgomery

Note:   Terry was kind enough to record this kind testimonial about me as a motivational speaker.  We haven’t got the video edited, and thought this transcript would be the next best thing.

Terry Pellorin:    Hello everyone.  My name is Terry Pellorin.  I’m the Associate Director of Facilities here at WPI in Worcester, Massachusetts.  I took a chance.  I got on the internet and I found this website of this gentleman, Brad Montgomery.  It seemed like a cool website and he seemed like a cool guy so I took a chance and I invited him today to our **** meeting.  Southern New England Chapter of APA.  Well I must say, he blew us away.  He was the coolest guy you would ever want to meet.  So I highly recommend him and if you don’t hire him you’re really stupid.  Good bye.  All right, I’m back on again because I forgot to tell you, not only did we have a wonderful time here but Brad’s relevance to a business, facilities, any type of work environment is unbelievable.  He ties in humor to the workplace, how to motivate yourself and to work with others in difficult situations.  So if you have difficult people have to deal with on a daily basis, you might like to bring Brad in.  And his humor might help you to deal with them more effectively and with a smile.  Thank you.

Looking for a motivational speaker for your event?   Contact me here.

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Brad’s book, Humor Me, America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter makes a terrific companion to Brad’s program. It reinforces and reiterates the message Brad delivers from the platform about the importance of using levity, lightheartedness and our senses of humor to improve our work product, our productivity and our employee engagement.

Lucky you, you can get 50 copies of Brads book!

How? Just book Brad, and get a signed contract back to our office by April 15th, 2010 and we’ll included 50 copies of this awesome book.

The Humor Me sells for $16.95, and you’ll be getting 50 copies for free.  Free Books:   Valued at $850

Give them to your audience. Raffle them off as door prizes. Give them to your Board as thank you gifts. Sell them to raise money for your organization or favorite charity.

Contact us now to Book Brad and take advantage of this limited time offer. Go to the Contact Page.

Testimonial about Brad Montgomery

Funny Health Care Speaker

Note from Brad:   Tim and Lucy represent Haven Hospice and were kind enough during a recent motivational keynote to record this testimonial into my video camera.  While we’re waiting for the editor to get the film done, here’s the transcription:

Lucy Lurs:    I’m Lucy Lurs and I’m Director of Human Resources for Haven Hospice.  And we just got done our annual employee day together and we had Brad Montgomery as our speaker and he was fabulous.  I can’t tell you enough.  Did research on several speakers and he did his homework.  He weaved in the company, what is happening with the company and he also weaved in what employees don’t like about their jobs and made humor out of it.  And the whole audience really enjoyed everything that Brad spoke about.  They really related and I can’t thank Brad enough for uplifting our employees spirits.  And he just did an excellent job.

Tim ****:    Hey, I’m Tim **** and I’m President of Haven Hospice (Florida) and want to enthusiastically endorse Brad Montgomery in his effort for our employee day away which is our annual retreat.  We had Brad on two days he gave an outstanding presentation.  We do this annually so we’ve had an opportunity to see other speakers.  Brad obviously was superior.  Great message, he was able to incorporate a number of things we do in our business to communicate a very effective message to our staff.  I couldn’t give Brad a higher recommendation.  And if you are like me and you choose him, you will be glad that you did.  Again, thank you for everything that Brad did for us and look forward to seeing him in the future.

Need a health care speaker? More info about my health care speaker offerings here
Contact me: http://www.bradmontgomery.com/contact

Related:
Sex, Beer and Death:  A blog post about a recent client of me as a hospice speaker.
Video testimonial about my work as a hospice speaker and health care speaker for Kaiser Permanente
My work as a Florida Speaker

My Motivational Keynote for One health care client on YouTube

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