2. Will my group or organization feel like he “gets” us? Or is he just presenting the same old crap to my audience he delivered last month at the Rotary Club?

3. And finally, I would want to make sure he can provide a LONG list of recent and very happy clients. Seriously…they gotta be recent, they have to be real, and they need to rave.

And frankly, it’s kinda cool — though not a deal breaker — if your potential motivational speaker has spoken groups you’ve actually heard of.

Well…lucky me, because here is a video taken of the Boeing meeting planner in St. Louis Missouri where I recently presented a keynote. (It was 2 hours….so it was sort of a keynote speech on steroids.) It went well, the group was fabulous, and here’s VK with her words right after the speech.

Do you need a motivational speaker? Whether or not you create Space Shuttles, Space Stations or fighter jets, I’d love to help your team get to be where they need to be, and to energize your meeting. Contact me here.

Thanks!
Brad Montgomery
Missouri Motivational Speaker, Humor in the Workplace Expert, Fan of Boeing

For you readers, here’s a transcription of the video:
He far exceeded our expectations. It was funny and he was able to give us tips that we can use every day and we would definitely like to have him back.

He talked with me about our day to day job and what we do and he was able to use that and be relevant within his presentation and really talk about things that related with the audience and what they would need for their jobs and things they can relate to. And compared to other presenters, he did an awesome job at bringing humor in and really keeping it relevant. People enjoyed it but they did walk away with some really great information and tips that they can use.

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Here’s what he said.

I’m Ken McCardle and I’m the Vice President Information Technology for Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance.  And we’re right here in beautiful Savannah Georgia at the Hyatt.  And we just got done hearing Brad Montgomery speak.  And Brad, you are a great investment for our people here.  The economy on the downturn and the way it is, it helped uplift the spirits of our people with a tailored presentation.  It picked us a little bit and some of the challenges we have in the workplace.  But it helped us take these challenges and we’ve taken back with people who better uplifted spirits now.  And can meet the challenges of the workplace with a better attitude.  That reflects in productivity.

Well, one of the missions of this particular conference is for our people to have a chance to socialize with each other, to get to know their peers from the other states that they don’t get a chance to see everyday but they talk with them.  And so it was a great opportunity for them to laugh with their peers to build that rapport.

We’re an insurance company too, much like AIG.  And with the issues of AIG you know we’re looking for productivity.  And productivity is a lot better when you have people who are smiling, has a ‘can do’ attitude.

Yes, you might be shopping multiple people but we had a referencing from our sales organization to use Brad Montgomery.  And of course sales people are very outgoing people.  So when we look at people like IT, accounting, human resources, and lawyers, you really need someone who can pick up the spirits of these people.

Aw Shucks Kenneth.  It was my total pleasure.

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

Brad Montgomery
Insurance Speaker, Georgia Speaker, Fan of Farm Bureau!

Humor is relative. (No, I don’t mean your relative is funny. I mean that what is funny to some people in some circumstances isn’t funny to others, and that’s OK.)

I recently spoke in Colorado for the Kaiser Permanente Palliative Care department. We had nurses, doctors, administrators, chaplains, and hospice partners… the whole team gathered for a day of celebration and a much needed dose of perspective—through humor.

This is hard-working team of health care professional who are constantly dealing with a difficult heavy job. And, judging by the laughter and volume from this particular group they really needed a break.

So we laughed. We joked about everything from what was served for lunch, to the party going on upstairs, to the fact that they had an off-site on a Saturday. But we also joked about the difficult and serious parts of their jobs. We even joked about death, hospice, and used a bit of black humor. (Maybe not black, but certainly very dark brown.)

In my job as a comedian motivational speaker, I’ve found that the groups with the most grizzly occupations are the quickest ones to joke about stuff that makes most of us blanch. Cops, firemen, ER nurses, — and hospice and palliative care folks not only joke about stuff that many people would find “crosses the line” of good taste, they HAVE to joke about it. It helps keep them healthy.

Humor helps with stress. And folks super stressful jobs will often turn to gallows humor to help them stay sane.

So, after agreeing that the jokes would “stay in the room,” we went for it. And the laughter followed.

Often people complain about humor that is “in bad taste” without understanding that often that humor is “in good health.” I once worked for a bunch of intensive care nurses who finally put up a plaque outside of the ICU that said something like, ‘If you see us laughing please know that this is not evidence that we are taking the care of your loved ones less seriously. It’s our way of dealing with the stress that is inherent with this job. And in the end, our laughter helps us provide the care that your family deserves.” Brilliant. Beautiful.

Back to Kaiser: I was impressed with how quickly this group was to laugh. But as I lead them through some exercises to help them connect humor and levity to increasing their ability to provide care and to serve their folks — and how keeping themselves sane in the end serves their patients, I was amazed at how quickly they got to the point.

In other words, this audience didn’t just run through the humor in the workplace exercises and try to move on. They lingered. They enjoyed. And they went deep. I think I might have learned as much as they did. Scratch that…. I definitely learned from them.

Thanks Kaiser Palliative Care. It was my absolute pleasure.

Are you looking for a health care motivational speaker, or palliative care / hospice speaker? I’d love to be your speaker. Go to the contact page now.

Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Palliative Care Speaker, Hospice Speaker, and Fan if Kaiser Palliative Health

Related:
Hospice video on YouTube
Kaiser Health Care Speaker video on Youtube
Sex, Beer and Death : A blog being a speaker for another Hospice organization
Funny Health Care Speaker home on my main website.

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Diabetes Speaker

I was flattered to speak at a diabetes forum in Canon City, Colorado recently.  I love my job as a speaker.  And I love being a Colorado Speaker because I live here.  (Yay, no airplanes today!)

But this one was personal:  my daughter has Type 1 Diabetes.  This is a big deal, requires constant vigilance, and is a huge part of our family’s life.  I don’t have diabetes myself, but because of my daughter our family has become experts in the management and lifestyle that is diabetes.

So speaking to a bunch of diabetics was very cool — and very personal.  I spend some time researching every audience.  But when it is as part of my life as diabetes, it’s easy to share my passion.

But what was fun for me was that I have almost no wisdom when it comes to staying upbeat in spite of the disease.  Or, more accurately, all of the wisdom I do have comes from my 12 year old diabetic.  I’m fabulously proud of her and her ability to adapt to this disease.  She is a rock star.  Sure, she is well aware that she has a health issue that makes her unique from her friends.  But here ability to shrug it off and just deal with it — without complaining….. much — is astounding to her mom and I.

When I asked her what I should tell this group of people dealing with diabetes, and what she would recommend they do to stay upbeat in spite of it all she blew me away.  She said, “Tell them that you pretty much have diabetes whether or not you like it.  And the only thing you CAN do about it is to take care of yourself.”   Such simplicity.  Such wisdom.  It ticked me off that she could be so articulate at 1/4 my age.

I was to speak to a bunch of folks are facing major life style changes.  They are going to have to give up (or severely limit) some of their favorite foods and find a way to like foods they’ve never met.  They are going to have to change the way they live — and I was tasked with helping them to make this transition with humor and grace.

So I took my daughter’s message… along with my own funny stories and humor … to this forum sponsored by St. Thomas Moore Hospital. And it went well.   The message was right on.  I only wish I could take credit for it.

Thanks Canon City!  And thanks Claire.  It was a blast.

Are you looking for a health care speaker for your organization?   Whether or not you need a diabetes speaker, I’d love to be your guy.  Go to the Contact Page now.

Brad Montgomery
Proud Father of a Diabetic, Diabetes Speaker, New Fan of St. Thomas Moore

Related:

Info about how this Health Care Speaker can help your group
See a video of Brad as a health care speaker here (from YouTube)
An article about being a diabetes speaker with my daughter
Another diabetes  article

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(Check out the bribe below!)

It was a a hoot….check out a 1 minute sample:

Here’s my bribe: Hey First Bank Richmond folks!!!   What are you going to DO differently at work (and/or at home) based on our time together on Veterans Day?

I’d love to hear how you plan to “create stories” for your customers.  Sure, you probably can’t create an awesome customer service story for EVERY person who walks into your bank, but certainly you could create one awesome experience per day?

Personally, I think creating one story per day is a bit lame.   Can you do two?  Three?  Five?

And most importantly, how are you going to make the creation of these customer service stories fun for YOU?  (Remember, if it’s fun you’ll do it.  If it isn’t, you probably won’t.)  What systems or processes or rewards can you put in place so that these stories become part of your First Bank Richmond culture?

Use the comment form below to share your ideas and I’ll send you a gift.  No, not a pony, but still fun.

Thanks kids!

Do you need an outside speaker to help get your bank — or other organization — to where it needs to be? Go to the contact page now.

Brad Montgomery
Banking Speaker, Motivational Speaker, Fan of First Bank Richmond

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My awesome meeting planner, Cindy, just wrote the kindest note.  Check it out:

I wanted to thank the National Speakers Bureau for suggesting Brad Montgomery for the 2009 STARBASE Professional Development Conference and let you know what a fantastic performance he gave.

Brad arrived mid-morning for his afternoon performance and spent some time visiting with myself and the attendees during lunch and breaks.  We had no idea that he would be able to incorporate the information he gathered so quickly into his afternoon performance.  Nor did I anticipate just how “on target” he would be with his comedy and message.

His ideals on attitude were in complete alignment with the conference goals which included increasing the teachers’ awareness of attitude and relationships toward the good of the STARBASE program.  The information and skills he shared during the conference provided the participants with the skills to make real changes in both their professional and personal lives.

Again, I express our thanks.  Brad’s presentation was greatly appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed by all.  It was a great way to end the conference with a positive attitude. He truly knocked this one out of the park!

Sincerely,
Cyndy M.
Alexandria, Virginia

Aw Shucks.   That’s so cool.  Thanks Cindy.

Are you looking for an education speaker to fire up your educators and teachers?  Go to the contact page now.

Cheers!

Brad

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To my not-so-sure-they-can-be-funny speaking colleagues:

Hire Brad. He’s a little nuts, and that’s what some of us “straights” need to loosen up. It absolutely amazes me that he can watch my damn-good-already keynote once, and just throw out a half dozen goofy ideas that will make it a solid 15% better the next time I deliver it.

And then, I can build in his input and send it to him for a peek, thinking he might put me on his calendar for a thorough brush-up in a week or so. But, an hour later he shoots it back. He’s added wacky ideas that are totally fun and I can see myself doing. Plus, he gives me great staging tips.

It doesn’t take him long, and he doesn’t say much. Because he has this uncanny ability to know just the right word to be funny. When he shot back further suggestions to improve my talk, he even suggested “one single word” that will get a great laugh. “Braces.” That’s all, just adding that one word to one of the already very funny bits he had already inspired me to put in. I can’t wait to use it.

I think that’s a big part of what Brad does. He makes you, the speaker, feel like it’s going to be such fun to say “braces” at just the right moment. And since you feel good, the audience gets that and they want to feel good with you.

Remember that story about the guy who charges a hundred bucks to fix someone’s car and he just taps it once and the customer can’t understand how it could cost so much for just a tap? The mechanic says the tap costs a buck but the “knowing where to tap” costs 99 bucks. Brad knows where to tap.

My advice is to try to wangle a deal where you can pay him by the word. Because he’s not going to give you paragraphs of funny stories; he’s going to give you just a word here and there on top of a funny idea, and you’ll have the audience thinking you’re brilliant.

I was inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame way back in 1989, and I ain’t found a funnier resource than Brad ever since. Or before.

Call me if you want to know more about the brilliance you’ll be hiring by asking Brad for his help.

George Walther (never wore braces)

Thanks George. Ok, now I’ll buy that beer I promised.

If you’re looking for a funny motivational speaker for your organization, I’d LOVE to be your guy. Go to the contact page

And if you’re a pro speaker looking for coaching on how to be funnier (or a business speaker preparing for a big presentation) I’d love to help you too! Go to the contact page

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The Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis was as happy with the arrangement as the Air Force was.   I was thrilled.

Check out this video here:

Thanks Renaissance. I’m flattered. We had fun, didn’t we?

Does YOUR organization need a motivational keynote speaker? Go to the contact page.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Loves help With Speakers Fees!

Related:

See the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDipR4RjtSo
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I recently was in Kansas working for a group of oncology nurses (or is it a pride of nurses? A gaggle?) and had an absolute blast.

What set’s nurses apart from other audiences? Even health care audiences? Besides the scrubs, quite a bit. They are over worked and underpaid. (Ok, so that doesn’t make them unique.) And their hard work with sick and critically ill patients makes them quick to laugh and ready for a dose of levity.

They are in desperate need of a break from their lives, and are eager and ready to learn any tips and tricks you have to share about how to deal with the constant stresses and change associated with healthcare. So being a speaker is always fun. But being a healthcare speaker for nurses is double cool.

One of my favorite parts of this particular speech was that I followed a doctor who had a fairly serious program about the business of healthcare. Then, just as I started he left. So…. we…. er… I…. talked about him. I gently poked fun at doctors in general (which all nurses love!) and him in particular. I didn’t cross the line. But I may have visited it.

The audience went wild. As a motivational health care speaker, I find it fun to incorporate the audiences specifics into my program. But this doctor presenting just before my program was a gift from the Comedy Gods. It was a hoot.

Check out this video filmed RIGHT after the program:

Looking for a healthcare speaker? Feel like your healthcare audiences deserves both motivation and a deep belly laugh? Go to the contact page now!

Brad Montgomery
Funny Healthcare Speaker, Fan of Kansas, Fan of Nurses!

Technorati Tags: Health care speaker, healthcare speaker, kansas speaker, motivational speaker, oncology, nurses, wichita

I commonly take groups for a 1/2 of training and motivation.  But I was lucky to get this group for a fully day.  (From a guy who used to do 20-minute magic shows, this is a big change.)  But with a full day, we’re really able to create some lasting change.

It was an absolute hoot for a dozen reasons.  But top on that list was that this group of folks were ready to commit.  They were ready to give what I had a try.  And the result was awesome.

Not all groups are so willing.  With most of my seminar and training clients it takes me a while to get the group to trust me and to be comfortable.  Sometimes that takes a ton of time and energy.  Don’t get me wrong;  I love a challenge, so wary and skeptical groups bring their own rewards.

But this group from Colorado Mountain College was gung ho (whatever that means, but I’m pretty sure it means they were up for anything that seemed fun and valuable) from the start.  Heck, they were laughing while I was being introduced.  (It’s disturbingly hard to take credit for that…. but I’ll find a way.)    They were kind enough to write a very cool leter.  Check it out:

Hi Brad,

I had several people tell me that our retreat was the best ever. One woman told me she had been to 18 of them and this was the best ever. Everyone had such a great, fun and valuable time. I owe most of that to you. Thanks – you’re great.

While we had only two people in the whole room that sit on the “president’s staff” I thought it was hilarious that you managed to pick them both – our CFO within the first few minutes and then our head of HR, Kelly, who will now forever be known as Ruth.

Today was our president’s time to present to the group. He asked our VP of Academic Affairs, Brad Bankhead, to assist. This guy was not invited to attend the retreat -(there is a “student services retreat” that is geared to those who work more on the academic side.)

He was asked to be there at 10am. He arrived to hear everyone raving about the great day we had with you, the great dinner, the belly dance lessons, the magic, the hot tub parties, card games and the great breakfast this morning (more than the cheesy thing). He got up on stage and started pouting saying “thanks for inviting me to your retreat and be here at 10 after the great dinner, belly dancers” ….etc….. “I had to get up really early and drive 3 hours to get here by 10 . . . . .” and simultaneously our group yelled out “lame!!!”

After looking a bit startled he continued and said, “yeah, you all had this great breakfast and I get here for my choice of soda or water……” and our group simultaneously shouted “how cool is that?”

Again he looked pretty baffled and everyone laughed hysterically.  Brad continued on with his PowerPoint presentation with several somewhat boring slides of statistics and the audience of 1/2 hung over people were fidgeting in their seats and then one slide came up with one sentence that said “the success of our college is measured by the success of our students” and our group simultaneously shouted “How cool is that?”

You made a lasting impact.

Thank you.

Mollie

[Note:  I have learning-sections in my training titled "Cool or Lame?" and another called, "How Cool is That?!"   She was referring to those segments in the seminar.]

Aw Shucks.  I’m absolutely thrilled it went so well.  And to hear those words, “You made a lasting impact” is like winning the Olympics (except without the medals, endorsements or Wheaties box.)

Thanks for taking the time to let me know, Kids.  How cool are you?

Do you need some teamwork and fun for your group or organization.  Are YOU reading for a lasting impact that will energize and motivate your team?   Give me a call!  Go to the contact page.

Cheers!

Brad Montgomery
Keynote Speaker, Colorado Mountain College Fan, Proud That it Went Well!

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It was a humbling and exciting program.   It’s cool to be a motivational speaker, but it’s especially cool to speak to groups that clearly need motivation.

Can you imagine a more needy audience than a group recently rocked right out of their jobs?  Can you imagine a more jaded audience?  Each one of them beamed at me the attitude:   “Ok, Pal.  What have you got for me?“    Tough crowd.

But it was a blast.  Check out this flattering letter from my meeting planner.

May 8, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

Brad Montgomery just rocked our audience at our first-ever Job Search Conference held on Friday, April 24, 2009.  I suggest you let him do the same for you.

As a government agency, we have some strict requirements.  And at this particular event, we asked Brad to speak to over 220 job seekers that required special sensitivity while being motivated.  They also needed to laugh.   In one single session, we got both from Brad.

What impressed us most was not the humor — though I saw people nearly falling out of their chairs and wiping the tears out of their eyes.  What impressed us most was how he was able to relate a relevant message that applied to our audience into such a fun experience.

To say that morale has been a problem for this group is an understatement.  They were stressed, emotionally sensitive, and absolutely in need of a positive and USEFUL upbeat message.  With Brad, we were able to give them both.

Brad gave us specific ideas about how to stay positive… and reminded us how staying upbeat is directly related to achieving with our jobs.  (And our families!)

Not only was Brad great on the platform, he was totally accessible and helpful during the whole planning process.

If you are considering using a speaker for any group, you definitely should hire Brad.  If you are a county or state government agency, you ABSOLUTELY need Brad.

It wasn’t two thumbs up. It was 500 thumbs up!

Sincerely,

Dena Jardine
Associate Director
Larimer County Workforce Center

Looking for motivational speakers and think I might be a good fit for your meeting, convention, or association?  Me too.   Employed or not, I’d love to be your guy.  Go to the Contact Page.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Humor-in-the-Workplace Expert, Lucky to Have a Job

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Happily, it went well. Really well. It was a terrific group.

The best part of the motivational speech for me was watching these men and women change during our time together. Predictably, they started out pretty wary. “What?! A funny motivational speaker at a military conference?” But after the first few minutes they began to relax and get into it — and to laugh.

It was clear to me — even as an outsider — that this group NEEDED to laugh.

Does your group (military or civilian) need a speaker who can help them with perspective, morale and attitude? Wouldn’t it be cool if this motivational speaker was funny? I think so too. Let’s talk. Go to the contact page.

Learn more about this military speaker
Brad Montgomery
Military Speaker, Funny Motivational Speaker, Fan of the DAU

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More related links:

My most popular magician speaker topic, Ordinary Magic
Comedy Magic: My Funny Magic Show Freshly Brewed
Sample chapter from my book, Humor Me
Mile High Magicians Society
A blog post about a Colorado Magician
My work as a magician speaker for IBM
Video testimonials on YouTube about my work as a magician speaker
Video of Freshly Brewed, A sample of my magician speaker work.
Video of some of my work on YouTube as a magician.

One of the most delightful sentences I heard from them when we talked about my fee was, “Would you be interested in bartering for a portion of your fee?”   Heck yeah, I love that question!

In the end, I did a really fun program for some great, fun-loving hard working people who are under a surprising amount of stress.  (When the team doesn’t win, the entire staff feels it, from the janitors to the receptionists to the grounds keepers.)

And happily, it went really well.   (Check out this video testimonial.)

But the fun didn’t end there. They hooked us up with 5 tickets for a couple of games, and dressed my wife and kids and I in a ton of Bronco’s swag. Jerseys, sweatshirts, hats… the whole thing. It was a blast.

What’s my point? If you’re booking motivational speakers and have something to trade, ask! Perhaps you’re a hotel property, or you make fancy furniture, or…. you’re a professional sports franchise. You might not be able to barter away the entire fee. But, like the Broncos, they got an easy discount and I was thrilled to trade.

Fees for speakers are all over the place. And my fees in particular flex wildly because what I offer my clients flexes wildly depending on what outcomes they are after and how serious they are about lasting change.

But one thing is certain: barter is cool. It’s fun. And if often makes sense for both of us.  Not sure if it is for you?  Just ask. 

Are you looking for motivational keynote speakers? Care to barter? Or not? I’d love to be your guy. Go to the contact page.

Cheers,
Brad Montgomery
Colorado Speaker, Bronco Fan, Lover of Bartering

Related:

Learn more about this Colorado Speaker
Learn More about Professional Speakers Fees & Rates

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Farmington Schools recently hired me to motivate their administrators. We brought them together for one huge team-building, morale-building, humor in the workplace fiesta. Ok, seminar is the proper term, but hey, “fiesta” sounds like better marketing.

We did Laugh-O-Nomics: my session for folks who really wan to create lasting change in their work culture.

It went great: check out the reviews in this very short video:

Are you looking for a motivational speaker for your school district?  Want to inspire and motivate your staff, your classified staff or your administrators?  I’d love to be your guy.

The main take away for me:  I was struck with how important it is to these educators to make their job fun.  They were craving both tools and techniques for bringing levity and lightheartedness to the workplace AND permission to use them.   In other words, one of the biggest things I provided by being there was encouragement and permission to bring the concept “enjoying ourselves at school will help us with our mission as educators” to each of these fine educators.

Many of them new HOW to lighten up;   they just had forgotten how important it was both to them AND to the superintendent.

It was a great day in Colorado.  (Which was weird, because the school district was over the border in New Mexico!)

Learn more about this educators speaker here.

Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Education Speaker, New Mexico Speaker, Fan of Farmington!

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To Whomever It May Concern,

This letter is a strong endorsement of speaker Brad Montgomery.

I talked Brad up big to our people; I was looking for a home run. Brad was even better than we hoped.

Our organization is going through many changes, and our people needed a boost to help them through these changes. And if your organization is anything like mine, you know that creating behavior and attitude change is harder than it sounds.

Brad spoke to a large portion of my group responsible for making millions of dollars worth of loans. I’m glad he did; he made a difference. His program was a total success.

In the days following Brad’s appearance, I got surprisingly many positive comments. (They loved him!) But also, I heard anecdotal evidence of Brad’s impact on morale, attitude, and my people’s ability to tackle some of our organizational changes.

In other words, Brad did more than motivate, inspire, and make us laugh. (Though he did all of those things exceptionally well.) He helped get our people back on track, ready to work, and ready to move where we need to go.

If you are looking for a speaker who will be the highlight of the conference AND help your organization with specific ways to improve morale and attitude and increase organizational productivity, Brad Montgomery is a perfect choice.

I recommend him without reservation. Hire him; you’ll be glad you did.

Call me if I can answer specific questions about Brad. (Or if you need a farm loan.)

A. Claeys
Farm Loan Chief – South Dakota

Thanks So Much USDA!  I had a blast in South Dakota!

Are you looking for a speaker for your meeting or convention. Go Here To Contact Me.

Brad Montgomery
South Dakota Speaker, Farm Speaker, Fan of the USDA

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How cool is that!?

Always nice to have others give you an “Attaboy.”  Very cool.  Thanks Kids!  And thanks for the nomination.

Cheers!

Brad Montgomery
Blogger, Award Winner, Speaker

Here’s a very cool letter from my meeting planner

Brad,

You had come highly recommended to us by a member of our Management Team who had seen you at a previous conference.  I am thrilled to report that we were not disappointed with the recommendation.  Everyone was so impressed with your energy, humor and talent.  The most common comments made were that your presentation was the best one yet (How cool is that?) and others were asking when we could bring you back.  You kept us laughing and we believe you missed your calling as a stand-up comedian.  Thanks for the message of making laughter a part of the workplace and more importantly our personal lives.  You helped to make our event a huge success!!

You are a wonderful, caring, funny person and our agency will long remember you!!

Cheryl Fabjancic
Administrative Asst. to the Director
Pueblo County Department of Social Services

Aw Shucks!   I was thrilled and flattered to be part of it. And very happy indeed that it was well received.  

Thanks Pueblo Social Services!

Does YOUR organization need a huge dose of morale, energy, positive attitude and motivation?  Call me. : )  Go to the contact page. 

Brad Montgomery
Colorado Speaker, Motivational Keynote Humorist, Social Services Fan

The only thing weird to me was that 95% of my clients ask me to be a funny motivational speaker.  IBM asked me — for this meeting anyway — to hold off on much of my “message” and just make them laugh.  Of course, the client is always right, so I was happy to oblige.

But if I were making the investment, I would have followed my advice and asked me to make them laugh AND tie it in to a meaningful business message.  Yup, in this case I did a little of that.  But it seems to me they would have had a much greater bang-for-the-buck if they would have allowed me to follow my instincts and tie the laughter into their management goals.

Still, the client was happy, so I guess I am too.  (Still, it seems that, even with these nice comments from the evaluations, we left sooooo much on the table.  I’d love to have the same group for a 1/2 day and REALLY help them incorporate levity and humor into their management skills. 

Here are the comments, right off the evaluations:  

¨     Good meeting. Better than I expected. Comedian was great and had a very timely message.

¨     The comedian was fantastic.

¨     Good comedian. Thanks. Need more gifts to give away though.

¨     The comedian/magician was good, but I think we have more fundamental problems and just looking at our work/life balance problems from a different perspective is not the answer,

¨     All the information was very stimulating and applicable — even the comedian. Best afternoon so far in 2005.

¨     GREAT meeting and extremely good corporate comedian.

¨     the corporate comedian was funny

¨     The corporate comedian should be shared with employees as well as area meetings because those folks could definitely use a laugh as well and try to put some balance back in their daily lives.

¨     While the comedian was funny, I certainly hope that you don’t think simply saying “I feel great!” is going to provide a meaningful change in the corporate climate. I believe that the issues we face with our climate run much deeper than that. I understand that Heather brought up other points as well, but ask any of the managers that attended the key points from the discussion on climate, and I would be willing to wager that the replies would be related to the comedian. The items that Heather mentioned to do are good for improving our climate; however, they do nothing to solve the problem of working people too much (too many hours, for too long). Until that issue can be solved, along with solving the issue of having managers put more focus on helping develop and focus on their teams, I contend that the climate will continue suboptimal.

[Note from Brad:   Think this person has some morale issues?

¨     The HR team and managers did a great job organizing the content, flow and agenda. This was especially true with respect to the comedian/magician. His presentation really highlighted several key messages in an understandable manner.

¨     Kudos!!! The meeting was great and I LOVED the comedian!!

¨     The major benefit was the back to basics of management, supported by the message from the corporate comedian. It will be important to continue to push for strong management actions, and to properly evaluate the management (all levels) for how well we perform in this regard.

¨     I think the meeting was a bit long and dragged on too long. I think the comedian was great!

¨     I especially appreciated the message from the corporate comedian. I’m still looking for things in my day (and usually finding them) that fit the “HOW COOL IS THAT?!!!” criteria. It was a good reminder to keep things in perspective.

Thanks IBM. I was thrilled to be part of it.

Are YOU looking for a comedian speaker? Whether you want to use me like IBM (and mostly make ‘em laugh) or if you want me to tie it into business as I normally do, I’d love to be your guy! Contact me here.

Brad Montgomery
Comedian Speaker (and so much more!), Texas Speaker, Fan of IBM

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Our membership could not have been more delighted with Brad Montgomery. He was, in a word, wonderful. His message of being upbeat and making the most of difficult times was so appropriate for our audience…they are still raving about his performance, personality and how he managed to set the stage for our working weekend.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little anxious when he started…retailers get a little unnerved when people start talking about the challenges of a down economy. However, Brad (the consummate professional) worked right through it and had the audience eating out of his hands by the end of the evening.

As I told Brad, there were folks in the audience dealing with stores closing, personal health issues, family challenges and the like. He managed — in about 45 minutes — to get everyone in an upbeat mood and receptive to solving the opportunities we face.

As a matter of fact, his mantra for the evening (“How cool is that?”) was cited in several thank you notes and has been repeated often amongst those in attendance.

I would highly recommend Brad Montgomery to any group interested in a delightful performance that allows participants to forget their troubles and open their minds to possibilities.

Susan L. Milhoan
President and CEO
Retail Alliance
Norfolk, Virginia 

I’m blushing!  Susan and the gang…thanks so much for the kind words.  If you’re group has 1/2 as much fun as I did we’ll be fine.

Besides, we did this event in a beautiful resort near Norfolk. “Having” to work in such nice digs is a totally great benefit from this crazy job.

Brad Montgomery
Virginia Motivational Speaker, Retail Speaker, Fan of Resorts!

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…leading supplier of business intelligence and revenue cycle software that provides clients with chargemaster management software and products designed to optimize legitimate reimbursements and assist in managing the revenue cycle through better information, workflow, pricing strategy, capture of lost revenue and best practice modeling.

I barely know what this means, and this is after 3 conference calls, some study and spending a day with them. (Ok, so I’m teasing….they sell software solutions to hospitals and medical providers.)

Imagine this for a tough audience:    A group that as been HAMMERED with content and powerpoint for two days.  They know they will be working into the night — if you count the teamwork exercise and the company dinner.      Then imagine that they know there is a speaker at 2 pm  (nap time!) but they haven’t been told that the speaker will be fun, professional, or (gasp!) funny.   All they know is that they have to show up.  

Tough crowd.  But seeing them start at a DEAD stop and then move forward until — at the end of the keynote — that room was buzzing with energy and laughter was worth the trip to Arizona. (Ok, the check was nice too.) But we had a great time in Phoenix, Arizona.

Thanks Craneware.  If you’re looking for a motivational business speaker to pick up your troops at any time of the day…. even nap time…. I’d love to be your guy.

Brad