A while back I spoke at a huge Las Vegas conference for McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants.
I had a ball…. and let me tell you why.They took the time to coach me about their corporate culture… which helps me a great deal. And then, even better, I had a chance to visit with their executive [...]

Folks, I’ve been speaking and performing for a long time. A very long time. Guess what: I actually:
1. Am not burnt out.
2. Still have family members that talk to me.
3. Still have that vest (I think - - or is that what I saw the kids lining the doghouse with?).
4. Still have my dignity. A [...]

As I blogged earlier this week, I was recently invited to do my motivational humorist speaker thing in Washington for Microsoft.  
After they booked me, I called the meeting planner and explained that, “I have some PowerPoint slides, but they are on a Mac.”   “No sweat, our creative people often use Macs…you’ll be fine.” [...]

Do you want to learn How To Be A Motivational Speaker? I can help.
I have had several hundreds of people call and ask me to “Pick my brain” or “Ask me for some tips on speaking” or … you get the drill. After years of answering the same questions to hundreds of people, I finally [...]

When I coach others about how to be funny, I teach saver lines. Basically, these are jokes that you tell after a joke goes bad to “save” the situation.
Johnny Carson was the king of savers. I just found this video….check out the master.

If you are a comedian or speaker and are looking [...]

Note:  just changed some settings with this podcast and iTunes.   Some listeners may find this a re-broadcast… please accept our apologies.   Or Bad!
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How Do You Become a Comedian? In this podcast we join corporate comedian David Glickman as he tells us about his first paid job as a comedian. Believe it [...]

 

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My last blog post was about the importance of customized humor for professional speakers.
It doesn’t matter if you are a comedian speaker or a trainer or a seminar leader, you’ve got to have a handle on your client’s culture, lingo, and stress points.
Here’s the video so you can see and hear what it feels like:
[...]

I was recently speaking in Virginia with a very well-respected comedian speaker. This guy has some killer credits and some amazing stuff on his resume.
And he was funny. But his opening sucked. And in spite of his terrific skills, he never really one the crowd over.
So, what did he do wrong? [...]

(And a technique you can steal!)
A while back I did my humorist motivational speaker thing for an awesome group of tax preparers in Augusta, Georgia. (Three days later we did the same event in Las Vegas.) My client, TAX SLAYER software was terrific, and the audience was totally responsive. It [...]

Check out this YouTube video footage of me testing my jokes and humor in Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic

In my job as a motivational speaker, I feel strongly that customized humor is an CRUCIAL way to “connect” with the audience.
The following article was written (and posted at Speaker Net News) for speakers who are [...]