Laugh-O-Nomics | Humor in the Workplace from Motivational Speaker & Humorist Brad MontgomeryTips | Laugh-O-Nomics | Humor in the Workplace from Motivational Speaker & Humorist Brad Montgomery

How To Be A Motivational Speaker (Part 8) Be Authentic

Brad Montgomery — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:46:17 +0000

How To be A Motivational Speaker | Find your Niche Can Make You Rich

A How-To video series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this very informal video in which Brad Montgomery — a funny motivational speaker — Brad asks fellow motivational speaker and Colorado speaker Elaine Dumler for a killer tip for folks on their way to being a paid professional speaker. She offers up some excellent advice about being yourself on the platform — something that is very hard to do, but is crucial for your success as a speaker.

Check out the video:

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

Related:
Blog Posts:
How to Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 1) | Get a Mentor
How To Be A Motivational Speaker (2) Choose the Right Topic
How To Be Speaker (3) Format of a Keynote. A Template!
Adding Humor (1) The Act Out
Adding Humor (2): Give the Audience a Voice
Adding Humor (3) What to Do When Your Humor Bombs
Part 7: How to Be a Motivational Speaker — Find A Niche to Make you Rich
Part 8: Be a Professional Speaker — Be Authentic On the Platform

On YouTube
Part 1. Find a Speaker Mentor
Part 2. Choose a Correct Motivational Topic (on YouTube)
How to be a Motivational Speaker (3) on YouTube
Adding Humor (1) The Act Out (On YouTube)
Adding Humor (2): Give the Audience a Voice (on YouTube)
Adding Humor (3) What to Do When Your Humor Bombs (YouTube)
Part 7: How To be a Speaker — Find a Niche
Part 8: How to be a Motivational Speaker — Be Authentic on the Platform

More interested in reading than going to YouTube? We’ve got your back! Check out this transcription….

How to be a Motivational Speaker – Part 8 (Elaine Dumler on Authenticity)

Brad Montgomery:         Hi, this is Brad Montgomery from bradmontgomery.com with the continuing series on how to be a motivational speaker. As I said before, I don’t know – I don’t have all the expertise, but I know people who do and we’re looking at ****my pal, Elaine Dumler. Elaine Dumler is a college speaker who speaks nationally to everybody, but specializes in military audiences and today she’s going to tell us at least one tip about how to be a motivational speaker. Go Elaine!

Elaine Dumler:         I think the best thing that you have to always remember to do when you’re speaking, especially if you’re working to motivate other people, is you’ve got to be real. I think a lot of times we see speakers on the platform who are not the same person as they are maybe off having a beer, a cup of coffee or something. You have to be who you are. You want that type of connection and rapport that comes from just being your true self on the platform and letting you come out in everything that you do. I think that’s what makes you someone that someone wants to listen to. And if you’re going to add humor, and kind of make it funny, or you know, work kind of natural humor into it, it has to come from who you are. And if it doesn’t come from your heart, then I don’t know where it’s coming from.

Brad Montgomery:         I think – thank you, Elaine – being you is important. That’s why when I’m a motivational speaker, I always strive to be Elaine Dumler. All right. More tips on how to be a motivational speaker. Stay tuned. Thanks, Elaine.

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How to Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 5) Add Humor

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 03:59:56 +0000

How To be A Motivational Speaker | Humor Tips — Give the Audience a Voice

A How-To video series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this very informal video in which Brad Montgomery — a funny motivational speaker — Brad explains the simple technique of Giving the Audience a Voice. It’s a guaranteed humor technique that’s easy to implement.

For those of you checking out hot comedians, Jim Gaffigan is awesome. Check out this funny guy. One of the many techniques he uses is to give the audience a voice. In fact, he opens his album BEYOND THE PALE with a high voice with which he simply gives the audience a voice. He talks about what they must think of his skin, his clothes, etc. Funny opening, and all he does is to say what (he imagines) the audience is thinking. What a crack up. Check him out. Not sure what I’m talking about…..Check out the tips how-to video:

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

For Those of you more interested in reading that looking at the speaker video, here is the transcription about how to be a motivational speaker:

Give the Audience a Voice

One of the techniques that you can use in humor is to take advantage of this rule. If you say what the audience is thinking, they will laugh. So, watch how we set up this joke about parking and then see how I follow up by giving the audience a voice. Now, the one thing you need to know to understand these jokes is just that parking at the Mayo Clinic comes at a premium and pretty much, you got to have a lot of seniority to get a parking place. All right. So, watch what we do after the joke.

I love the parking. So, how many of you had to park like 80 miles away today? Raise your hand if you have parking privileges. Okay, now everyone else, if you had your hand up, notice how everyone else is glaring at you. I hate them. I hate them. Man, if you think you can get a job here today, you got to park in Iowa. Some of you are going, I live in Iowa. Shut up. Shut up. Stop with the Iowa thing.

Did you see how he did that? Did you see how I gave a voice to the audience? If you can voice what the audience is thinking, you will get the laugh. So, how did I do that? The first time I did that was we imagined what the people who don’t have parking spaces think about the people who do have parking spaces. And I just said it. You know, I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. And I even did a little act-out where I had that glowering thing. All right. So, that was just giving them a voice and I got credit for knowing what they were thinking. Then I did it again later on when I talked about the people who drive in from Iowa. I just, you know, I said the joke and then I voiced what they were thinking, which is, shut up, I’m from Iowa, shut up.

You can use this technique, too. Imagine or find out what your audience is thinking and then give them a voice, either literally by making up a funny voice and saying it as though you were them, just like I did, or a little safer way to do it would be to back up a little bit and just say, you know, I can imagine what you’re thinking. What you’re probably thinking is. You know what? There’s a video with two Brads, with two pictures of Brad. What, is that crazy? See what I did? I just gave you a voice. Give the audience a voice. Let them understand that you know what they’re thinking and you will get the laugh.

How To Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 4) Adding Humor

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:34:28 +0000

Be A Motivational Speaker!

How to be funny on the platform: a specific technique

Here is Part 6 of the continuing series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this video, Brad Montgomery discusses adding humor to your presentation. (And if you want to be a paid professional speaker, you’ll need to be funny — if you want to get hired.)

No, you don’t HAVE to be funny or to use humor if you want to be a motivational speaker. But boring speakers never get hired back. You MUST have some sort of humor, lightheartedness, or levity in your program. You don’t have to be a stand-up comedian, but you definitely want to invest some time and energy in learning how to work the crowd their happy place.

But adding humor isn’t easy. Yet there ARE some specific ideas that are easy to learn and easy to implement.

This video covers the specific topic of the Act Out. Check out the video:

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

Related:

Blog Posts:

How to Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 1) | Get a Mentor

How To Be A Motivational Speaker (2) Choose the Right Topic

How To Be Speaker (3) Format of a Keynote. A Template!

Adding Humor (1) The Act Out

Adding Humor (2): Give the Audience a Voice

Adding Humor (3) What to Do When Your Humor Bombs

For Those Of You Who Prefer to Read, here is the transcription:

What To Do When Your Humor Bombs

All right. I want you to watch these series of jokes that bombed for me at the Mayo Clinic. But then watch what I do about it. So, check it out.

It’s just cool to be at the world-famous Mayo Clinic and its sister organization, the Mustard Infirmary. I’m staying at the Relish Inn. So, I have a condiment theme here in Rochester. I bank at the First Bank of Ketchup. Okay, condiment humor, not big in Rochester. We can see that. Did you see what the building next door, right next to the main Mayo building, the little deli? They’re going to call it Mayo on the Side. Free condiment jokes. Yeah! I mean, how cool is it you guys work for the Mayo Clinic? It was so much fun for me when, you know, where you going this time, Brad? I’m going to the Mayo Clinic. Oh, I’m sorry. No, I’m healthy! I’m healthy! We’re going to laugh. A little mayo on the side. Four condiment jokes.

I didn’t totally bomb those jokes, but clearly they didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I used a couple of techniques that you can use as well. First, whether you’re telling stories or relating an anecdote or telling jokes, when things aren’t going as well as you hoped or horrible, let the audience know that you’ve noticed. Acknowledge it. There’s nothing weirder than watching a speaker that acts like everything’s going great when it’s clear to the audience that things aren’t going great. So, don’t do that. It’s too weird. But the second part is equally important which is that it’s your responsibility to take care of the audience. It’s your responsibility to let them know that you’re fine. So, when things don’t go well, they start to worry about us and they start to fret for us and get stressed and you got to let them know that you’re fine. So, you notice, I did just that. First, I acknowledged the condiment jokes failed, or at least weren’t doing that great. I even started counting the goofy, failed condiment jokes. But, more important than that, with my body language and with my words, I let them know, hey, don’t worry about me, I’m having a good time still. You’re going to have a good time still. We’ve got lots of program left and things are great. So, the audience will admire you and love you for trying humor, even if it doesn’t go as well as you had hoped.

Just remember the two rules. One, acknowledge it, let them know. And second, take responsibility to bring them with you and let them know that you’re totally fine.

Technorati Tags: How to be a professional speaker, how to be a motivational speaker, be a motivational speaker, speaker tips, how to be funny, how to be a comedian Del.icio.us Tags: How to be a professional speaker, how to be a motivational speaker, be a motivational speaker, speaker tips, how to be funny, how to be a comedian

How To Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 3) Speech Template

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:05:05 +0000

How To be A Motivational Speaker | Template for a Keynote Speech

A How-To video series about how to be a motivational speaker. In this very informal video in which Brad Montgomery — a funny motivational speaker — Brad explains the simple format (or template) for creating a motivational keynote speech. Interested in exactly how you can create your own speech? No sweat…here are the details.

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

For those of you who prefer to read the text of the video, here it is:

Template for keynote motivational speech.

How to Be a Speaker: FORMAT OF A KEYNOTE
This is Brad Montgomery from Brad Montgomery.com with a continuing series in how to be a motivational speaker and how to be a paid professional speaker. All right so one of the things we never talked about is exactly what is a motivational speech? I know, you got some ideas about what you’re going to do and what you’re going to talk about and I know you have some ideas about your message for when you become a motivational speaker but you’re still struggling with how does it work, what’s the form, what’s the format, how do you put together a motivational speech. Well good news – I’m about to tell you.

All right so it’s really not as hard as you think because there’s a formula. Now you’ll notice that almost every good motivational speaker follows the formula and deviates from it but at least let me give you the formula because you’ll be shocked how easy it is. First, you’ve got to have an opening so the opening’s going to be: My name is. Here’s what we’re going to talk about. Here’s my background is and here’s what you are going to get out today’s program. So you’re just going to tell them what to expect. So I’m a funny motivational speaker and I talk to businesses about lightening up so I start, as you might guess, with some jokes and I tell them today we’re going to talk about lightening it up and how that’s going to be related to your business. Get it? That’s the intro – that’s it. That’s all the intro is. Now the intro can be very short or you know like even a minute or two or it can be as long as you know five or ten sometimes fifteen minutes. Because I’m funny I use a lot of humor but I think if you’re a high content motivational speaker you’re going to cut right to it. So for example you might say, I’ve had an incredible car accident and I learned a lot from it and in today’s program we’re going to go through my story and how the lessons I learned relate to you. All right so there’s the introduction.

Then you’re basically going to have three points – three points and each point is going to be supported by at least one story. So let’s say for example your motivational speech is to be in you know you want to inspire people somehow. All right so then I’m assuming that you have three techniques to inspire people. So let’s say your techniques are to you know have good relationships and lead others in inspiration and to always nurture yourself – take care of yourself. All right so those are the three points. Write them down; bam, bam, bam.

So the first one is, my first point of the day is blah, blah, blah, blah. Get it? You tell them what your point is but they don’t care what your point is unless you have a story. So if your first point is nurturing relationships that’s where you’re going to want to launch into one of your stories about how you nurture relationships or how you learned from this or how something happened to you that is relevant to them. The main part of the story is to hold their interest, to teach the lesson and then really to let them learn from it. How can we learn from your experience without having to go through the pain and trouble that you’ve done. So for example let’s say you’ve climbed Mt. Everest and you want to talk about you know all the fabulous thing you learned about Mt. Everest. What I really want out of that as an audience member is how can I learn all the things you know without having to climb Mt. Everest. So you’re telling us the story of Mt. Everest and then you’re giving us the first point. Got it? So, now we’ve got the introduction, first point and the story to support that point. Then you lead right into the second point and the transition can be as simple as that brings us to our second point. The second point is you need to nurture relationships – I can’t remember what the three points are – but you know the second point is you’ve got to eat a lot of pineapple. You see it doesn’t really matter what the point is and then you’ve got to support that. So, how are you going to support that? With another story so that’s when you need to launch in to another personal story, something that really happened to you and then relate what you learned out of that story and how we can apply those lessons to our lives. Do you get the running theme? Because if you’re a motivational speaker it really isn’t about you and how fabulous you are and how fabulous your stories are or how funny you are; what really is important is how you can get some information and inspiration into us as the audience.

All right and then the third point repeat as needed. That leads us to our third point or our third point is to be a leader of inspiration and you know being a leader of inspiration is important because blah, blah, blah, blah and here comes the story to support that point. Got it? So now you’ve just told the introduction, you’ve had three points each one supported by at least one story – by the way if you know you want to do two short stories, go for it; three really short stories, go for it; whatever it doesn’t matter – and then finally is the conclusion and the conclusion really needs to be a summary of what you’ve just done but then most importantly you really need to make sure the audience understands that it’s about them. So even though all the stories are about you and your own life experience the message is about them. So in the conclusion you need to really make sure that they walk out of there knowing that I want to be like that speaker I just heard or at least I want to apply the lessons that that speaker taught because it makes sense to me because after hearing those stories and hearing all the reasons behind it and hearing the original thought there’s no way in the world I can’t you know, I can’t leave as a better person after hearing that speaker. Got it?

So the main format is introduction, point supported by a story, second point supported by a story, third point supported by a story, and then a conclusion which all along you’re going to be talking about your audience but especially at the conclusion you’re going to make sure that the speech is not about you it’s about them.

All right so becoming a motivational speaker is a blast of it’s fun and it’s not as hard as you think. My name’s Brad Montgomery from Brad Montgomery.com; really happy to be part of it. If you like this video click over here or okay – I’m not really sure where the links are but there’s a couple of links. I’ve got a couple programs out about how to be a motivational speaker and another program about how to be a funny speaker and trust me being a motivational speaker is cool but being a funny motivational speaker means you get hired. So adding humor is really crucial no matter what your topic is. Thanks for your time. Look for more videos from me soon. Glad to be aboard. Cheers.

Technorati Tags: How To Be A Motivational Speaker, Be a Speaker, Be a Comedian Del.icio.us Tags: How To Be A Motivational Speaker, Be a Speaker, Be a Comedian

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

Related:

Blog Posts:

How to Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 1) | Get a Mentor

How To Be A Motivational Speaker (2) Choose the Right Topic

How To Be Speaker (3) Format of a Keynote. A Template!

Adding Humor (1) The Act Out

Adding Humor (2): Give the Audience a Voice

Adding Humor (3) What to Do When Your Humor Bombs

Part 7: How to Be a Motivational Speaker — Find A Niche to Make you Rich

Part 8: Be a Professional Speaker — Be Authentic On the Platform

On YouTube

Part 1. Find a Speaker Mentor

Part 2. Choose a Correct Motivational Topic (on YouTube)

How to be a Motivational Speaker (3) on YouTube

Adding Humor (1) The Act Out (On YouTube)

Adding Humor (2): Give the Audience a Voice (on YouTube)

Adding Humor (3) What to Do When Your Humor Bombs (YouTube)

Part 7: How To be a Speaker — Find a Niche

Part 8: How to be a Motivational Speaker — Be Authentic on the Platform

How to Be a Motivational Speaker Article

How to Be a Motivational Speaker (Part 2)

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:43:26 +0000

How To Be A Motivational Speaker Tips Choosing a Topic

Here’s another one of my tips on how to be a motivational speaker. Today I talk about how to choose your topic. Questions? Leave them in a comment below and I’ll answer them in a video.

How To Be a Motivational Speaker

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my audio here.

Technorati Tags: How To Be A Motivational Speaker, Be a Speaker, Be a Comedian Del.icio.us Tags: How To Be A Motivational Speaker, Be a Speaker, Be a Comedian

Prefer to read the text?

Hey, this is Brad Montgomery from BradMontgomery.com. Alright, so here’s the continuing saga, “How to Be a Motivational Speaker.” I promised you some tips, here comes another one.

One of the big questions I get all the time is what am I going to talk about, what could I possibly talk about? Well, when you are picking the topic for your keynote, there’s a couple of things I want you to consider.

First, if you’re going to be a professional speaker, not only do you have to be good, but you have to be passionate about something. So what is it that you are passionate about? You’re going to be talking and researching and marketing and everything, make sure it’s a topic that you actually love, which is my way of saying, if you think you want to speak on leadership or change or some whatever, I’m saying that’s fine, unless you don’t have passion for it. So, if you don’t, skip it, right now.

The other thing too is make sure it’s something you’re an expert in. So, as you’re choosing your topic, what are you good at, what are you already an expert in right now? So for example, if you work in a hospital and you’re a genius about what’s going on with healthcare, maybe that’s your niche. Or if you know everything there is about energy or whatever or in my case, if you happen to know everything there is about humor at work, bingo, I’m your guy. See, I have passion about that; I’m an expert in it, that’s why it’s good for me. What are you going to find that’s good for you?

So, to sum it up, when you’re becoming a motivational speaker, if you’re asking yourself how to be a motivational speaker and you’re wondering about your topic, first, find something you have passion in, second, find somewhere where you have some expertise.

Alright, Brad Montgomery, BradMontgomery.com. More tips on how to be a motivational speaker soon. Thanks.

Brad’s Teaching Speakers in Houston Nov. 8th

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:03:49 +0000

I’m psyched to be visiting the fine folks of the National Speakers Association Houston Chapter on Nov. 8th and wanted to invite you all. This event is open to the public, so if you have a hankering to learn more about the world of professional speakers, here’s your chance.

I’ll be covering two topics.

1) How to Be Funny. Every speaker needs to add humor. That old joke is true:

One speaker asks another, “Do you need to be funny as a speaker?”

Answer: “Only if you want to get hired.”

Do you have questions YOU want answered? Leave them as comments and he’ll cover your questions on Thursday.

Check out this video I prepared just for you!

First, at 4 pm, I’ll be teaching my program Got Mirth? Milking Your Program for All The Humor it is Worth. (Catchy, huh!) I’ll give some big-time strategies for becoming funnier. I’ll also give you some tricks and jokes that you can incorporate TOMORROW to get laughs. Yes, they are THAT easy. (Not all of ‘em, but I’ll be giving away some cool, easy, funny stuff.)

Second, I’ll be doing a program about how to stay upbeat in this speaking business (at a time where that is harder than ever.) We all know in our hearts that if we are able to use levity, lightheartedness, and even humor as motivational speakers, we’ll do better — both on the platform and in the business of speaking. And lucky you, I’ll be teaching a few specific techniques that you can incorporate right away. Oh, and by the way, it’ll be funny. If you are looking for that speakers program that your spouse is interested in…this is the one.

I’m coming to Texas, baby! On the 8th I’ll be teaching Texas speakers how to strut their stuff and get to that holy ground: “The next level.” (Nope, I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds good to me. Let’s go there together.)

See ya there!

Brad Montgomery
Texas Motivational Speaker (for a day!), Fan of NSA Houston, Teacher of Funny-ness

PS. Here is the handout. (Think of all the trees we saved by me not sending this to Kinkos!)

PPS. For those of you who asked about coaching, here are the details.

Questions? Leave them in a comment below. Or contact me here.

“And The Winner Is…” – Why Game Shows Are Great For Business

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:12:02 +0000

I came across this photo from 15 L-O-N-G years ago when I presented a session in corporate entertainment to a business group. We used the “Let’s Make A Deal” theme and the crowd loved it! Although I had just a *little* more hair then, my solid applications using humor in the workplace have more than made up for what’s missing (now) on top! That’s a sign of age…and wisdom, right?

Besides, would you rather have someone with more hair? After all, hair is so overrated!

Game shows are a terrific way to reach corporate and business audiences. Got some info you just GOTTA get across? Need to remind your team of the basics but know if you “lecture” them you’ll lose them faster than you can say, “This meeting sucks!” Then ask us about creating a game show just for you.

We’ll customize a program that is interactive, very funny, and tailored to you, your information and your organization. They’ll love it… which helps with retention.

My suggestion is for your next corporate event, to select someone (like me— okay, so I’m biased. If that upsets you get your own blog!) who has lots and lots of experience, proven principles and applications, no hair (again, that would be me) and has the ability to leave your organization with can-do changes. Sound good? Good.

What game shows would you say fit your workgroup? We’ve worked spoofs (that’s a wonderful word my lawyer taught me) of popular games shows from Let’s Make a Deal to Who Want’s to Be a Millionaire to Family Feud. Your organization. Your info. Your success.

Leave your comments, names withheld, of those game shows that you think fit your work group.

Ready to create some lasting change and think a game show is your ticket? Go to the contact page now.

Brad Montgomery

Corporate Game Show Host, Comedian, Serious About Having Fun At Work

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What Are You Reading?

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:31:43 +0000

Note: Dear Readers: Please comment below and tell me what you are reading now!

My pal and fellow Colorado Speaker Jay Arthur and I are in the same mastermind group. After a discussion about reading in one of our meetings, he wrote the following letter, and I thought it was absolutely right on. Check it out:

Years ago, I listened to a tape by motivational speaker Brian Tracy.
He said that if you read an hour a day, that in five years you’ll be a worldwide expert in your field.
I listened and adopted his advice.

In 1976, my friend Dave told me that “Everything you need to know is written in a book somewhere; all you need to do is find an author who speaks to you.” At that time, I was three years out of college and hadn’t read a book since.
I listened and adopted his advice.

And, I rarely buy a book anymore. I check them out of the library.
I found that too many books are “all feathers and no meat.”
Every once in awhile I find a book that’s really meaty and I buy a copy to highlight and review.

I’m going to suggest, that if we aren’t reading in our chosen field and other fields that might have stimulating ideas, that we are becoming obsolete and irrelevant.

Jay

Then I responded:

I’d like to chime in.   I second Jay’s advice. I read all the time. I love novels, but lately have read books about everything from Base Ball Strategy, gourmet cooking, New York chefs (—I was on a roll!), West Point, D-Day, and John Adams. I like them and feel that I’m learning about the world. I think this type of reading is important.

But at the National Speakers Association CSP/ CPAE summit (I have at least one of those) my main take away might seem relevant. And I’ll save you the $1500 it cost me to get it:   become a thought leader.   This means reading in my field and related fields and then be able to think and write uniquely in my field.

Seriously, that was what I got out of the seminar. ALL of the people making big money are big thinkers. Period. Product, speeches, consulting etc follow….they don’t lead.

So I immediately bought six books. Four of them blow, but I’m going VERY slowly and carefully through the remaining two, which are awesome.    (I need to start working the library like Jay).   I’m on a roll and already have several other books cued up.

There are two immediate results from my reading:

1.    I’m learning stuff that is applicable to my writing (blogs/books) and to my keynote. I’m taking organized concrete steps toward increasing my expertise and ability to be a thought leader.

2. I feel damn good about myself because I know this is a good idea. And I’m taking the time to read, take notes, highlight, try to think of it thru’ my eyes as a ‘happiness/humor-at-work guy.”    Seriously, I feel great about doing this. I’m an idiot for not adopting it sooner.

I’m still reading about cool stuff that I love. And I still love novels. But now, as part of my work week I’m reading.

My main goals in my work day include only 4 things:
1. website improvement and maintenance.
2. Work towards being a thought leader.   (Read now, write soon)
3. Work all incoming calls/email leads to death.
4. Build a herd.

Everything else is either secondary or a subset of one of the top 4.

Thanks Jay for starting the conversation.

Brad

So my question to you is: what are YOU reading, and why? Can you learn, as I have, from Jay and others like him? Read now and you’ll be an expert before you know it.

Need an expert on how humor and happiness effect our productivity at work? Go to the contact page now.

Note: Dear Readers: Please comment below and tell me what you are reading now!

Yours,

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Speaker, Reader, and…. Thought Leader!

PS. Sign up for Jay’s ezines at Sign up for Jay’s ezines at www.qimacros.com/freestuff.html and www.qimacros.com/freeknow.html

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Speakers Rates: Saving Money

Brad Montgomery — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:02:03 +0000

I recently blogged about how one of my clients (The Air Force) was able to make up some missing budget by partnering with their convention hotel. Read that article here.

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!

See the video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDipR4RjtSo
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Fees: Saving Money On A Speaker

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:07:47 +0000

On a recent trip to St. Louis were I spoke to the Air Force, my client came up with a brilliant idea. It was so good I’d love to claim credit, but he reads my blog and he’d rat me out.

[See video from the hotel job here .]

My speakers fees were greater than the budget for this particular military event. What to do? My client got creative, thought outside of the Budget Box and teamed up with his host hotel. He had hundreds of Airmen staying at the Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri. Between the meeting rooms, the hotel rooms, and all of the related expenses (room service, restaurant and coffee shop purchases, etc) he was a BIG client for the hotel.

He suggested to his hotel client that they partner with him, and have me speak to the hotel staff on the same day that I spoke to his military group. I was speaking to the Air Force after lunch. My meeting planner knew that I’d fly into Missouri the night before… and would be free in the morning.

So he suggested that I speak to the hotel staff in the morning, and then work for him after lunch.

Bottom line: it worked perfectly. The hotel had an All-Manager meeting. They brought in all of the top folks from all of their departments from the Starbucks kiosk in the lobby to housekeeping to front desk to maintenance to the kitchens.

I worked ahead of time with some of their people so that, (as I do with all my clients,) I could come in prepared to speak to THIS particular audience.

[It was a special event; the hotel industry has been hammered, and this hotel, like so many others, recently went though some deep layoffs. The staff was in shock, scared, and nervous. The CEO gave them a sort of "State of the Business" speech which was both totally cool, and a bit scary. The news wasn't great. And then I was tasked with putting that bad news back into perspective and help them figure a way to work their morale (and fun quotient) back up to healthy and productive levels.]

The hotel was thrilled because they got access to a speaker they might not otherwise be able to afford. And they felt that helping such a huge client was good for them as well. And the Air Force was thrilled because they were able to get the speaker —that’s me! — they wanted and meet still meet their budget.

And I was thrilled because I got to work with two awesome groups, enjoy St. Louis, and work with with a fun and creative meeting planner who had an awesome idea.

What’s my point? Are you short of money? Looking to hire a Top Shelf speaker but are suffering with a reduced budget? Consider partnering with your hotel. If the Air Force was smart enough to figure it out, the rest of us ought to be smart enough to “borrow” their concept.

(Hey Bruce… I know you’re reading this. Thanks for the killer idea, and for making it happen.)

Are you looking for a motivational speaker? Go to the contact page now! (And we can talk about partnering with your hotel if you like.)

Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Missouri Motivational Speaker, Military Speaker, Hotel Speaker (All in One!)

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Our Dept. of Defense Needs to Laugh. Now!

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:06:56 +0000

I recently worked for the DAU — Defense Acquisition University — in Huntsville, Alabama. This is a hardworking group of military and civilians who need to understand the very complex acquisition process. It’s a tough and tedious job. And it’s important. (Just ask the men and women who need parts and supplies overseas.)

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.

Care To Barter for a Motivational Speech?

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:07:38 +0000

Recently I worked for the Denver Broncos. They brought in everybody in the football organization except for the coaches and players… a surprisingly huge group.

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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Back to College! (To Be Funny)

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:49:50 +0000

Wondering how to be a comedian?
Do you want to know how to be a funny motivational speaker? Here is your answer.

I am so proud of this project. Humor College was a series where I interviewed some of the top speakers and comedians around and asked them: How can we be funny like you? It was one of those astounding projects where I learned at least as much as I taught.

Thanks to all of you who already have taken part in the College. And for the rest of you, if you are interested in learning how to be a motivational speaker, or how to be a comedian…or you just are looking to punch up the humor in as one of the tools in your presentation skills tool box, I invite you to consider the college.

Click here for the (admittedly heavy handed) sales page. : )

Hype aside, I’m proud of the project, I’m proud of the result, and I’m proud to be part of it. If you’re looking to ramp up the funny in your presentation skills, if you want to learn how to be a comedian, if you are NOT funny at all and want to learn how to safely and EASILY use humor in your programs, then you’ll want to check these CDs out.

Thanks again to all of the Humor College graduates. Congrats!

Brad Montgomery
Dean of the Humor College, Comedian, Humorist, Teacher

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You Can’t Afford NOT to Hire a Motivational Speaker

Brad Montgomery — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 04:31:35 +0000

Motivational Speakers as an Investment

The meeting industry is being scrutinized more than ever before. And that means YOUR meeting is being scrutinized more than a Presidential nominee…. How can we possibly consider any investment in motivational speakers worth while?

What?! Your organization has suffered through lay-offs and you’re considering bringing in a funny motivational speaker? He’ll make us laugh and somehow that’s good for business? You’re kidding, right?

Nope. Not kidding. In this bad economy THIS is the time to invest in your employees. They need help; they need motivation. And if you can do it with laughter, all the better.

Why? Because the right* motivational speaker will increase your bottom line.

How? Glad you asked. Let’s face it, your people already know what to do and how to do it. But they aren’t working fast enough or well enough. They aren’t producing to their potential. They aren’t working at their top capacity.***

The difference between what they are doing and what they are capable of doing is motivation. Your team is not fully motivated to work as hard, as fast, as creatively, and with out as much oversight as they could if they were highly motivated.

Good motivational speakers are black belts at getting your people back to a higher speed and level of production.

What’s the value of a speaker to you? Do The Math.

Okay skeptics, this section is for you. Let’s be conservative and imagine that the right speaker could increase the quality and quantity of your work product by just 2% for one week. Add up the total value of your current work product. Now calculate the value of a 2% increase for 7 days. What is the monetary value of that net change?

But let’s admit it, a 2% increase is pretty lame. Do you think a great dose of motivation could push your group up 5%? 10%? Sure. And could that motivation last longer than a week? Do you think we could make the message “stick” for 10 days? A fortnight? A month? Six months? A year? Heck yeah. How do these numbers change your math? Look down: your calculator is shouting: You can’t afford NOT to invest in a motivational speaker.****

Motivation and Lasting Change.

Let’s take it one step further to insure that your speaker investment pays: what plans do you have to follow up on the message your speaker delivers? My clients ask me to deliver a proven system of follow-up with their organizations to assure that the message lasts. I use everything from return visits to tele-seminars to customized videos to audio magazine subscriptions to reaffirm and reinforce the message to make sure that what we do has some “sticking” power.

And, if you go back to your math, you’ll notice the monetary value of creating lasting change. The more “lasting” the change is, the greater value of your investment in your speaker.

Motivational speakers have a (sometimes deserved) bad reputation. We come in and fire up the group, make them feel like a million dollars, and then leave. Then before the month is out that feeling is gone. The net change is zero. Right? Wrong. I have a great answer to this objection. (Ok, I have three.)

1. Motivation is like a shower. Just because you’ve had a shower doesn’t mean you’ll never need another. Showers are worth it. And so are motivational speakers.

2. For organizations serious about creating lasting change, I have a system for follow up to make sure the motivation lasts. (Sorry, you’ll still need to continue showering.)

3. Because we can compute the value of even tiny and short-lived increases in personal motivation – and because even those small changes can result in HUGE financial gains, even poor motivation is a decent investment. And excellent motivational speakers are an outstanding investment.

Yes, I know your budget is cut. Yes, I understand that you need to justify your investments more than ever. Yes, I understand that making your people laugh isn’t important when everybody is focused on your bottom line. But people are your greatest asset. Your factories work. Your machines are running. Better office supplies won’t make a dent. The best place to find increased profits and economic stability is in your people – and they need motivation. And because lately they’ve been feeling the stress too, they need to laugh.

Motivation + Laughter + A Plan For Lasting Change = Greater Productivity.

I’d love to be the one to help you make a difference. Let’s talk about how to invest in your people today. Go to the contact page.

–

* Yup, when I say “The right motivational speaker” I mean me.
** No, I haven’t been spying on you. I’ve just read the studies.
*** No, your webcam isn’t on. Don’t worry. I can’t see you or your calculator (or your jammies.)

Do me a favor? If you liked this article, Digg it for me right here:

Digg it!

–

Brad Montgomery is a very funny motivational speaker who believes that people who enjoy a great quality of (work) life produce a better quality of work-product. And he shares this message in a laugh-out-loud funny way to organizations across the country and across the world.

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Is Your Motivational Speaker Guaranteed?

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:07:32 +0000

I realized that I would NEVER accept a fee from a client who was less than delighted with what I had to offer them. So if that is my informal policy, why not make it formal?

I just wrote up the formal policy here: Guaranteed Motivational Speaker

(By the way, one of my favorite things about working for myself is that I get to make up my own policies. One of the many perks to being your own boss is that you get to make up the rules. (Another rule I have is: “Brad gets coffee whenever he wants.” See, it’s fun!)

Here’s a quick excerpt:

If you are not satisfied with what I offer, I’ll give you your money back.

To be honest, knowing that I could re-coup a lousy speaker’s fee would be the least of my worries. (Let’s face it, if you’re planning even a small meeting you have some huge investments OTHER than the speaker to make.) If I were you, I’d be more worried about whether my speaker can deliver. I’m just saying that I’ll do both.

Looking for a motivational speaker and want a guarantee? I’d love to be your guy. Contact me here.

Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Guaranteed Motivational Speaker, Money-Back Fan, And Chief Policy Maker
[digg=http://www.bradlaughs.com/2009/01/28/is-your-motivational-speaker-guaranteed/]
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Your PowerPoint Presentation Sucks

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:49:10 +0000

Powerpoint has to be one of the most overused and abused tool ever invented. Lousy, uncreative and lazy presenters mistake good slides for a good speech or presentation. My point? Even though you have a “professional” Powerpoint presentation, you still are a mediocre (at best!) speaker.

Ok, maybe not you. But everybody else reading this blog.

Remember this speaking tip: every moment your audience is looking at your slides they are not looking at you. That’s fine if you’re selling your slides. But professional speakers need to sell themselves and their messages, so this PowerPoint-as-the-Center-Of-A-Program phenomenon is a disaster.

Here’s the moment you know your speaking career is going down the drain: somebody asks you for a copy of your slides. If your slides can stand on their own without you to make sense out of them, you’ve designed your slides and your presentation wrong.

And here’s another hint: if you feel the need to both project your slides and print them out as a handout, then you have truly hit a new low. Printed Powerpoint presentations do not equal “valuable handout.”

Advice: hire a pro. (Hey, here’s a better idea: hire me!*)

Contact me here.

Yours,

Brad Montgomery
Professional Keynote Speaker, Excellent User of LIMITED Powerpoint

* I know, I know. You saw that shameless self-promotion coming, right? Hey, what can I say. The kids need new shoes.)

Check out this hilarious video about lousy Power Point. This guy is right on.

Meeting Planner Sabotages Keynote Speaker

Brad Montgomery — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:57:37 +0000

Ok, not totally. But wait until you read this true story:

I was recently at a huge event in Florida — 450 professionals brought in from around the country – to be their closing motivational keynote speaker. Nice. They asked me to include all expenses in my contract to make it easier for them. Fine. No sweat. (Can you tell that I’m leaving even the industry off to make sure I don’t step on any client toes?

My spot as the closing speaker was immediately following a boxed lunch. After the morning session, the attendees grabbed a box lunch, went to their seats, ate… and waited for – well – me.

I got my gear set, was all-systems-go with the audio visual team, and had chatted with the big boss (who by the way had hired me two times in the past.) So far, everything is easy and fun.

But here is where it gets hinky. I was about to grab a box lunch… I was starving and was needed calories before I spoke for an hour and a half … when I casually asked the meeting planner if I could have a sandwich. I asked her knowing it was a formality. Of course she would feed her speaker. I nearly didn’t ask.

I was wrong. She said, “Oh no, those are for the participants.” I thought she was joking. “You’re kidding, right?” I honestly thought she was joking about not feeding me.

“No, we have accounted for all of the lunches, and they are for the registered attendees only.” I was dumbfounded. I wanted to say, “Well then I’d like to register.” But all I could come up with was a clumsy, “But I’m your closing speaker.”

“Sorry,” she said. I was amazed. With 450 people there, there just HAD to be ONE extra turkey sandwich. And did she realize what it meant to me and her meeting to turn me down?

So I just said, “Ok, I’ll need to go get some food.” I left her and 4 tables piled high with ready-made lunches and left in search of a quick sandwich. There were two restarurants in the hotel, but after talking to their hostesses it was clear that I wouldn’t have time to order there. I eventually ended up at sandwich place next to the hotel and bought myself a — you guessed it — turkey sandwich. (Ironic, no?)

By the time I found this place, ordered, waited, wolfed down the sandwich, and made my way back to the convention area the meeting planner was in a panic. “Where were you?” Again, I was dumbstruck. I didn’t have anything graceful to say, so I just came out with a, “I had to go find some food.”

She looked surprised. Apparently her other speakers never need fuel before they speak. We walked back towards the meeting room and passed what was now a single table piled high with turkey sandwich box lunches. She saw me look at them: “I guess there were some left after all.”

I was silent. But inside I was somewhere between laughing and crying.

What’s the point? I can tell you it isn’t the $8.67 I spent on my sandwich. My point is that this woman was responsible for an event that cost a gazillion dollars and she threw her keynote speaker off-balance because of a turkey sandwich. I didn’t care about the money, I cared that because she was counting her pennies I was inconvenienced, and because of that I wasn’t fully in the game. Instead of eating with the attendees, getting the latest scoop on the convention, and having a chance to go over my program notes I was rushing around trying to find calories that were within reach the whole time. Maddening.

Normally I eat with my audience because that’s where I get the last-minute scuttlebutt. That’s where I hear about the most recent stresses, the talk of the meeting or convention, and that’s where I often write some of my best jokes. Not this time.

Instead of getting myself psyched up for doing a good job for her, I was trying to make it back to the hotel on time.

More irony: The meeting planner was off balance, nervous and upset because her speaker had vanished. Both of us — and the entire audience — would have been better served if I was given a sandwich.

[Hey, don't worry. The keynote was fun and well-received — if I do say so myself. It was a great audience and I've done this keynote thing a bunch. It went great. But why in the world did this planner make it so hard?]

Message to meeting planners: if you are hiring a speaker, do your best to set them at ease. You don’t have to pamper us, (though we love that more than you’ll guess) but it is a good investment to remove as many headaches for us as you can. You want us to be 100% when we hit your platform. So make it easy for us to rock. Oh, and by the way, buy us that sandwich.

Are you looking to HIRE a keynote speaker? Contact me here. (I’ll even bring my own sandwich…just give me warning.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Lover of Meeting Planners, Fan of Turkey Sandwiches

PS. I asked my client — not the meeting planner but the client — if I could tell this story from the stage. I gave him a brief summary, told him why I thought it was funny and how I thought that there was a lesson in this story for his specific group. He declined and admitted that it made sense but the meeting planner was “highly strung” and he didn’t think she could take it. Oh… telling that story from the stage would have been funny!

PPS. Ever had a similar experience? Would you be so kind as to leave it in a comment?

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Insecure Comedians?

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:24:30 +0000

This cartoon cracked me up — and makes a legitimate point about comedians.

Sure, to be a great comedian or comedian speaker you have to have:

• Great Material
• Great Timing
• Appropriate Topis for Any Given Audience.

But most of all, you have to have confidence. Audiences know right away when we are psyched-out and insecure. It makes them feel uncomfortable, and really brings down our performance and ratings.

The hard part is that this confidence is nearly impossible to teach. In my opinion, it just comes after years of experience and thousands — yes, thousands — of performances.

New to comedy? Just keep it up!

Looking for a comedian speaker for your meeting or convention? Consider me.*

Brad Montgomery
Comedian, Business Speaker, and Hyena-fobe (“Hey mom, I made up a word again!”)

* Unless your audience is comprised of hyenas. In which case I’ll pass.

Top Motivational Speakers Are Fishy?

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:30:20 +0000

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 chefs and General Managers before my keynote speech.

Better yet, I ate in one of their restaurants 3 days before my keynote speech. I met the executive chef and the general manager. They let me tour the kitchen and take photos. (And they treated me and my pals great…yum!)

[ Actually, there is a cool story there too. I was there with a few pals who happen to be professional speakers themselves...so some of the funniest ideas came from my humorist pals. Colorado speaker and humor pal Steve Spangler took the photos. It was a fun night.) ]

But best of all, I got to hear THE founders ( Mr. McCormicK and Mr. Schmick — yeah, I know, who knew they even existed!) address the audience for about an hour before I went on.

It was like a gift. A perfect storm of great info from the right people. Now, I have to admit it; sometimes the info I get from my clients doesn’t lead anywhere. Sometimes it isn’t funny. And occasionally it is hard for me to really tailor what I do for their group. But in this case it was the total opposite. It was as though everything I said made it’s way into the presentation.Even the little details.

For example, when I was in the restaurant I ordered salmon that was cooked on a plank of Cedar wood. It was delicious. (The fish, not the plank.) But when I retold the story, and showed (via PowerPoint) a photo of me trying to eat that silly plank, we got the audience rolling. Then I followed with jokes about the creativity about adding secret ingredients to their dishes…. like wood. Again… more humor.

I showed photos of me stealing their stuff…and of me doing their dishes (from my visit to the restaurant that week.) Trust me… it was funny. Best of all…it was humor all for and about them.

What’s my point? I have two.

First: if you are looking for motivational speakers, have some long and hard conversations about tailoring and customizing. Your group — especially in this day of instant everything ‚ will be turned off if the speaker doesn’t “Get” them. Make sure your speaker does. Professional speakers who tailor or customize the message for your audience will make that crucial “connection” in a meaningful and solid way.

Second: From my perspective as a humorist and speaker,

the tailoring is one of the absolute joys of my job. If I HAD to give the same cookie-cutter presentation every time I might shoot myself. The real fun is in making sure it is “just for them.” Thanks McCormick & Schmick’s! I loved it. Learn more about my keynote speaking here.

Do you have an event where you need to motivate and fire up your troops?

Think a funny motivational speaker who can translate humor into business wisdom makes sense? Me too. Contact me here for info about bringing me to your event.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Humorist, Fan of Las Vegas, and Lover of Fish!

PS. Here is a bootleg video of me as speaking for them in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out the customized jokes…they might not make sense to you, but to THEM they were fun. (And I had a blast.)

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The Worst Comedian? Me at Age 20

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:08:10 +0000

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 little. Ok, not much.

5. I’m still learning.

See, my first full-time performing gig involved the Colorado Renaissance Festival. I was fresh-faced, on-stage, making people laugh and getting PAID! I made a whopping $30 bucks a day, plus tips, which mostly totaled to about $35/day. (OK, I didn’t say I was good, just that I got paid). Although I didn’t get rich, it was an awesome learning experience. Although working at the Renaissance Festival was often hard on my self confidence, (I considered quitting about 5 times a day) but with hindsight it was a killer experience every speaker or entertainer should have. (Though for your sake I hope you don’t have to wear the vest.)

The festival attracted people from all over Colorado, of course, but also from places all over the country. Being on stage and in front of audiences at a young age allowed me to really, really hone my craft in those early years, and it has paid off. A lot of times, when we’re young we don’t realize that what we do then can affect us 10 to 20 years down the line. I was performing and doing what I LOVE(D) to do and making money at it. (Barely…. can you say, “Brad lived with his parents!“) And doesn’t it look like I’m having a great time?

It was a tough job — 6 shows a day in 95 degree heat for the TOUGHEST audience Colorado had to offer. I was horrible, but luckily, despite all the evidence to the contrary, I didn’t understand how truly horrible I was. I can tell you this: there are techniques I use in my current comedy and humor that I KNOW were influenced by those early years working outside.

The best part of this job was that it provided instant feedback: the amount of tip money in our hat was evidence enough of our success — or in my case, failure. I knew the instant I looked in my hat after my comedy and magic show and saw 59¢ and a piece of gum that I wasn’t getting the big tips that good performers earned. I new I sucked. I knew that I had to improve fast. (Because that gum just wasn’t that filling.) Again, I knew I was weaker than the other performers, but luckily I just thought I needed to get a bit better. I don’t think my ego could have taken the real truth that I was absolutely horrible. But I did know I was bad. And that (limited) self knowledge and a desire to get better created a pretty steep learning curve.

I see WAY too many speakers, comedians and magicians who would never last in an environment like that because they have no idea about how weak their product is; they don’t know how much they suck. One show at the Renaissance Festival where 1/2 of your audience leaves and the other 1/2 gives you a 25¢ would give them the slap in the face they deserve.

Let’s admit it: most audiences today are formal enough that it feels awkward getting up as a group and leaving shouting, “You stink.” They stay in the audience whether or not the speaker is mediocre. Even in a comedy club, the audience will put up with some pretty poor comedy. That’s why that Renaissance Festival job was so great for me; it was great precisely because it was so hard and because it created that instant and negative feedback.

After performing and speaking for twenty years some of what I do feels pretty easy and natural. I’d love to tell you that my current ease with audiences is a natural extension of my “gifts.” Ha! It isn’t. It’s the product of a gazillion shows, a shocking number of were horrible failures, hundreds of embarrassing on stage disasters, and well… twenty years of getting it right.

My point: If you want to be a motivational speaker, remember to give yourself time to develop, and find a place where you can develop your material safely. And if you are looking to hire a motivational speaker, make sure your speaker has years and years and years of experience under his … er … vest.

What was your first job? Has it helped you in the profession you’re in today? Do you have an ugly vest in your closet too? Share your stories!

Are you looking for a comedian speaker for your event? Pick somebody with years of experience. Pick me. Contact my office here.

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Microsoft Speaker Hassled for Using Mac Laptop

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:39:30 +0000

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.”

A different meeting planner instructed me NOT to bring my Mac when they hired me to speak in Dallas.

But this planner is mellow and fun, so I was good to go. I joked about the Mac a couple of times, and the audience loved hassling me about it. I also use music in my keynotes, and I use what is basically a tricked-out iPod for the music. I had a small goof with that and just grumbled, “Freaking Apple.”

I was speaking about using humor at work, and I knew they “got it” partly because they decorated my Mac by sticking a hand-written “DELL COMPUTER” sign over the obvious Apple logo.

They laughed. I howled. The only thing wrong with this killer idea is that I didn’t think of it first.

I’ve said it before: my favorite clients are the ones that teach me something. I learned plenty from the folks at Microsoft Finance North America. Thanks Kids!

Brad Montgomery
Washington Motivational Speaker, Humorist, Microsoft Fan

PS. Hey Microsoft! I’m typing this blog post on my new Dell with Vista! Really. No promise! Really!

PPS. Big shout out to Alan for the Dell sign, the Sparky joke, and the laughs!

How To Be A Motivational Speaker

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:22:05 +0000

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 figured out the answer. So what’s the answer? This recording of all of my best ideas, tips and the benefit of 20 years experience of a motivational speaker all in one product.

In this recording (professional CD delivered to your door) you’ll get the best of my experience in how to get started. This isn’t fluff. This isn’t just another “You can get rich if you take my speaker course.” Nope…it’s just the straight stuff from a guy who as done it.

You’ll Learn:

• What a keynote speech really is? What is the template you can use to “plug” your information into to get started quickly.

• How to pick (and fine tune) your topic? And how to make sure your topic is marketable and will serve you in the long term.

• How to get practice in front of real audiences quickly. This may seem like a small point, but it isn’t. You need LOTS of time speaking in front of real people to ramp up your speaking skills. I spend a bunch of time on the recording on this topic, and you’ll get the real stuff. Details. Specific workable ideas. Exacting techniques. Getting yourself “stagetime” is easier than you think… but there are some secrets that can save hours / weeks / years of frustration by just giving you the best stuff free.

• How to break down a speech into easily to manage — and learn — “chunks” that take the fear out of the process.

• How to book 50 speeches in your first year. (Don’t get excited…I’m not saying you’ll get rich… I’m saying that I’ll show you the easy way to get your keynote speech finished, practiced and polished in front of real audiences.

• The skinny on using material from other speakers. (When should you “steal” stories and material from other motivational speakers. And why?)

• How to practice. Sure, you know you SHOULD practice… but in recording I’ll tell you how.

• What you MUST know about memorizing your keynote speech verses using notes. The answer will surprise — and thrill — you!

• Marketing! I will tell you how much time/energy/money to invest in your marketing and when. Again, the answer will surprise and delight you. Seriously, you’re gonna love this section.

• How to get testimonials that will lead to more invitations to present your keynote.

• How to get referrals from other (more established) speakers.

• What organizations you should join and why. Is Toastmasters really worth it? How about the National Speakers Association? I’ll give you my best advice on both.

If You Read One Thing, Read This: I earn my living by being a motivational speaker. Not by selling these type of products. Sure, I’d love to make you a happy customer. But I’m a speaker first. Can the other people offering you products on how to “Get Rich Quick” through professional speaking claim the same thing? I doubt it. Just Google me and you’ll find that I’m the real deal.

Click here for the details on this CD: So You Want To Be A Motivational Speaker

Technorati Tags: How to be a motivational speaker, how to be a professional speaker

What to do when your humor fails?

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 07:58:42 +0000

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 for presentation and humor tips, this is a guy to learn from. Looking for more tips? Try BradMart.

How Do You Become a Comedian?

Brad Montgomery — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:32:36 +0000

Note: just changed some settings with this podcast and iTunes. Some listeners may find this a re-broadcast… please accept our apologies. Or Bad!

—

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 or not, he got this job in the newspaper Help Wanted pages: “Wanted: Comedian.” Can you believe it?

What follows is a crazy and true story about the first of David’s 2000+ experiences as a comedian. The short story is that he was the “voice” behind a remote-controlled robot that visited high-end parties in Southern Florida in the 1970s. With a microphone and a headset, he could hear what people would say to this robot, and then with his microphone he could “answer” back. Wanna find out what happens when this budding comedian meats the ultra hot (at the time anyway) rock star, Meatloaf? I won’t give the story away, but suffice it to say that it was funny, and that it earned the comedian a raise.

Listen to the entire podcast. (Scroll down!) Thanks David!

Brad Montgomery
Corporate Comedian, Public Speaker, Fan of David Glickman

Technorati Tags: Comedians, Motivational Speakers, Humor, Comics.

Can You Read This? (Meeting Warm Up)

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:14:52 +0000

I usually hate stuff that is forwarded to me via email. But I thought this was interesting.

Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheear ch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it

So. Can you read it?

What’s My Point? I’m not sure I have any brilliance today, but I can tell you that this cool paragraph would make a fun and funny meeting warm up. Do your meetings lag? Find you team checking their watches a bunch? Feel like you’re not getting the most creativity out of your gang? Then meeting warmups might work for you.

This would be a cool thing to pass out at the beginning of a business meeting. It’s fun and funny, would get people in a creative frame of mind. Have your team — as a team — write out the goals for that meeting in this style. Then go for it…. my guess is that meeting will be way better than if you just launch into it.

As a side note…this “warm up” is a great way to start if you’ve never done anything other than, “Ok, let’s start,” at the start of your session. Don’t try some of the more “risky” games at first. Let your team get used to the concept of you starting with something fun and mind-rattling. Then you can move on. This wacky paragraph is a easy, safe and fun way to get them thinking, “Ok, now I’m ready to work.”

Can you read it?

Do you think this type of warm up would work for your group? Leave a comment with your best meeting warm up. I dare ya! Tell me what you think!

Need a funny motivational speaker who can spark creativity and fun in ANY group — with or without funny paragraphs. How ’bout bringing me in to speak to your entire staff? Go to the contact page.

Why Is This Joke Not Funny Part II

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:53:32 +0000

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:

Have a group who could use a humorist speaker? Ok, ok…. I’ll say it. “Pick me!”

Technorati Tags: how to be a comedian, how to be a speaker, Comedy Technique Del.icio.us Tags: how to be a comedian, how to be a speaker, Comedy Technique window me upgrade
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Why Is This Joke Not Funny? Part I

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:43:41 +0000

1300 finance people heard me tell this joke:

“Hey, great to be here at the Mayo Clinic, where you guys invented Cortizone!

Well…. not you guys.

And then you GAVE it to the world! How cool is that?!

By a show of hands, how many people would like to get that patent back for just a couple of months to pay for some new parking.”

Funny or not?

I was recently hired to be a motivational humorist speaker in Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic. I strongly believe that if I can get the audience laughing at the beginning of the speech, I’ll have their undivided attention when I get to the “wisdom” parts of the presentation. If they are laughing, they are listening. And if they are listening, they are ready to learn.

So… again… I spend a ton of effort on customized humor and comedy for every group… even the groups that want a strong business tie in.

Back to that joke. I told that joke pretty much as it is written when I was there in Minnesota. If you read it, you realize that it isn‘t funny. But I can tell you that the Mayo folks laughed hard. Nobody told THEM it wasn’t funny.

Why? Because that joke is all about them. They did invent Cortizone. They did “give” it away. And the lack of parking is a horrible pain in the sides for most of those folks. (Parking is so bad that most of the Clinic’s people are bussed in.)

So by combining two truths — horrible parking and Mayo inventing and gifting Cortizone — you get a joke. An inside joke. You get customized humor.

What’s my point? If you’re a speaker, you need to make sure you have some tightly targeted humor…. it creates a connection between you and your audience you wouldn’t believe.

If you’re looking to HIRE a motivational keynote speaker, make sure your speaker can speak your language, knows you’re inside information, and — perhaps most important of all — knows how to use your culture to create some very funny humor.

[Oh, and by the way, I'd love to be that guy. ]

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

How to be a Comedian on YouTube

Interested in learning how to use humor in your presentation? Check out Brad’s Got Mirth: Milking Your Presentation for all the Humor It’s Worth.

Learn more about how to be a motivational speaker with my how-to audio here.

Technorati Tags: Comedy Technique, Humor Technique, Jokes, Motivational Speakers, Minnesota Speakers, Del.icio.us Tags: Comedy Technique, Humor Technique, Jokes, Motivational Speakers, Minnesota Speakers,
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Speaking Tip: We’re Bored By Your Intro!

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:41:06 +0000

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? He started slow. Really slow. It took forever for him to get to his material. Once he was introduced he slowly stood from his seat in the audience. Then he greeted the introducer. Then he walked on stage.

Do you get my point? It took forever to even get to his first word. A second here. A could of seconds there. After a while, you’re up to…. er … three seconds. (It’s a joke. But you get it… it took a while and it was boring.)

It gets worse: Once he finally got to the microphone, he looked around, took a deep breath, and finally asked, “How’s everybody doing?”

Geez. That has to be the lamest, most over used line ever. Does anybody really think he cares how we are doing? Isn’t this line a total waste of time and energy? Isn’t he better off just starting with something more meaningful? The answer is “No,” “Yes,” and a big, “Yes!”

It’s a waste of time…. get to it already!

Then he followed with a couple of banal questions… and then finally got to it.

I wasn’t watching the clock, so I have no idea how much time there was between the time they said, “Please welcome comedian ______,” and the time he actually started into his material. And sure, it wasn’t minutes. It was seconds. But it felt like forever.

His act was great. He’s a wonderful comedian speaker. And his material was really funny. But this particular corporate group was difficult. And in spite of his considerable skill and great material, he just never got them rolling. He didn’t fail. He just didn’t kill.

And I’m convinced that part of his problem was that he started so slowly.

What’s my point? If you are making a presentation large or small, think out what you are going to say first. And make sure it isn’t some totally banal such as, “Hey! How’s everybody doing?”

You can do better than that. And so can this comedian speaker I just saw fall flat in Virginia.

Now: “Hey, how’s everybody doing?”
Brad

PS. If you’re looking for a motivational speaker (whether or not you are in Virginia) who has a fast-paced, high-energy opening that gets the audience from moment one, I hope you’ll think of me. (Hey! You can’t say I’m not trying!?”) quark xpress 5.0
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A Banking / Financial Speaker Who Is Actually Funny.

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:56:33 +0000

(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 was really fun.

But one of the most interesting things happened BEFORE I went on. I was to follow a presentation by a pair of “banking speakers.” (His name is Ray VandeWater, and he’s a big cheese at Chase Bank, and he worked with his business partner, Cindy.) Oh great…. I was to follow what was surely to be an incredible boring program.

But I was wrong…they were terrific. Engaging, personal, authentic and entertaining.

They used a humor technique that anybody could use to great effect, and I’ll share it with you (with their permission.)

Before I tell you their technique, let me tell you that there was a senior speaker who was assisted by his partner. It was to be a team presentation. The opener went something like this:

Ray VandeWater: “Well, after looking over the evaluations from the last time we gave this presentation, just let me tell you that apparently many of you are confused as to which one of us is which. Cindy is the short blond woman who defines grace, wits and beauty. I’m the old, tall, bald guy.

“The reason I point this out, is that apparently our last audience got the two of us confused. Here, let me read a couple of comments from the evaluations they filled out after our program:

“It was great to have Cindy around when Ray got a bit fuzzy on the facts.”

“Here’s another: Cindy’s upbeat and engaging personality really helped make the presentation fun”
“And further proof that they got us confused: ‘Chase Bank should consider having Cindy as their sole presenter… she doesn’t need her partner.”‘

“Now you know what I mean when I say that apparently the two of us are easy to confuse.”

What was the result? The audience laughed. And laughed some more. It was the perfect sort of self deprecating humor that made the senior speaker look really good. Instead of coming on reciting his credentials and experience, he made fun of himself.

Now imagine the approach he could have taken. He could have had an overblown intro talking about his advanced degrees, his expertise, and generally how big a deal he is. Then he could have entered with some sort of joke he got from the internet. And then launched into what was — in effect — a sales pitch. The result from that approach would have been totally different. He would not have connected to the audience. He would have been WAY less successful as a speaker.
Heard the old cliche about people buying from people they like? Yup…and guess what? The audience LOVED this banker. And so what follows? You bet. He does a ton of business with his audiences.
Think humor has an important role in business? Me too.

Thanks Ray. It was a pleasure sharing the platform with you.
Learn more about my executive humor coaching & speeches.

Customized Humor? How can you be sure it is funny?

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:01:34 +0000

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 eager to learn how to “foolproof” customized humor. The truth, of course, is that there is no substitute for experience and humor “chops.” But, having said that, there are ways to make sure your humor is funny before you go on stage.

The best shortcut to connecting with any audience are jokes or short stories about them — meaning your audience. Their venue, their industry, their lunch, their hotel, their whatever. If you can make a current, fresh joke about them you win.

When you start with a fresh and topical joke they know cannot have been written in advance, they appreciate the joke — and you — more than any other type of material.

In other words, new, topical and customized humor has a lower bar for success, and greater chance for huge payoffs.

Of course the biggest problem is that you don’t know if it IS funny or not. Good news folks… I’ve got a system for testing these jokes, and you can learn it faster than you can say, “I’m Scared To Try New Humor for $500, Alex!”

Here’s the deal: as the audience files into the room, mingle with them. Test your story, your joke, your quip. Don’t tell them you’re testing it, just do it. For example, if you all had some
chicken dish for lunch and you want to joke about it, now is the time to get a feel for it.

If your first group laughs you know you have a keeper. If not, move to the next group and massage the joke a bit. Take mental notes and move on. If you do it right, you might get to try that material several times.

When you hit the platform with that killer joke about the chicken lunch, you’ve got a joke (or story/bit/line…. whatever) that you’ve tested several times. And now you KNOW it’s good.

And that confidence will help you deliver on stage!

Get it? You can try out (tell) those fresh stories and jokes and bits you just thought of a few minutes ago. And you can audience-test them by using small portions of the audience. And you can do it last minute (for VERY topical stuff.) And in the end, you are brilliantly funny…. even if you aren’t.

Looking for a comedian motivational speaker? I’d love to be your guy. Learn more here.

Technorati Tags: How to test jokes, comedian speakers, minnesota

Raving Fans? FBLA Liked me!

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:11:39 +0000

I just got a great note from my client, FBLA Wyoming. It was great being your motivational speaker. folks. Thanks for the kind words!

(Read about my experience with these high school students and the keynote here.)
What’s my point? If you’re looking to hire motivational speakers or humorists for ANY type of group… from corporate to high school to association to education…. check to make sure your speaker has a LONG list of happy clients with whom you can speak. You have a lot more at stake that the investment of the speakers’ fee; your meeting can get a huge hit from a lousy speaker, and get a huge boost from a great one. You don’t have to “guess” which speakers are good…. check up on them. Make sure the references are recent. (Have they done well in front of their last five audiences?) Make sure there are references from years ago. (In other words, is there a LONG track record?) And mostly, make sure that your speaker has a history of doing well for a group like yours.

Here’s what FBLA Wyoming wrote:

Thanks so much for your positive comments on the conference. It is fun to see what great kids we have in our organization and I very much appreciate your working with us on your fee.

I received the box of brownies in the mail on Monday and just tried one today. They are wonderful and I really appreciate them. They don’t really fit into my annual post-conference diet, but they are sure a treat with a cup of coffee after the rest of my family leaves in the morning! The box is really cool, too. My younger boys are fighting over who gets that when the brownies are gone.

Thanks again for a great keynote and workshop. Of course, I didn’t get to sit in on the workshop, but the keynote address was extremely entertaining. For me personally, it was just the comic relief I needed at that point. We will definitely keep you in mind for future conferences. I’ve been told by my “boss” at the State Department of Education that, compared to the other students’ organizations in our state, FBLA hires the best conference speakers, hands down. Thanks for helping me uphold our reputation!

K. H. FBLA Wyoming

How Do You Pick a Youth or High School Speaker?

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:27:30 +0000

Check for a ton of legitimate testimonials about the keynote speech or breakout session. Hey! And why you’re at it, check out this cool video from a recent trip I took to Wyoming to speak to the FBLA. Being a motivational speaker is fun…but this group of high school students was awesome!

Check out my impressions about this group in my recent FBLA post.

Thanks Guys! It was a blast being your speaker!

Looking for a speaker for your group? Link

Play Doh Explosion: Creative College Staff Laughs Through It

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:34:42 +0000

I’m just back from Farmington, New Mexico where I spoke to a wonderful group of staff at San Juan College. It was an in-service day, and my job was to motivate this group of hard working staffers, give them a chance to turn into a stronger team, and to facilitate some creative ideas how to improve morale. San Juan has been through some tough times lately, and is dealing with change. My job was to help make work more fun…and in turn help this group be more productive.

It was a total blast. There were many highlights, but let’s go over a few:

This group started of ticked off that there was no coffee service in the morning. Ok, that was a bummer. But it became really funny because I teased them about it. And teased some more. Sure, it was a bummer to miss our coffee, but it was hardly the end of the world. We joked about it. We started laughing. A kind woman from the food service staff got me a cup of coffee. I gave it to Reid, a fun guy from the audience to pass out little “sips” to the people suffering the most from caffeine deficiency. It was a small thing that turned out great. And very, VERY funny.
I often teach people to lighten up their business meetings by putting out toys for the attendees to fiddle and fidget with. San Juan didn’t need me to tell them this…they had pipe cleaners and Play Doh on every table, plus some other toys. Check out some of these photos of some of the coolest creations.

But perhaps the biggest highlight came from the creative people in this San Juan College Audience. They were tasked with coming up with techniques or tactics they would actually implement to make their office life more fun. They were challenged to come up with “to do” lists of what they personally would do differently based on our time together. Check out this awesome list of Humor in the Workplace ideas:

• Give candies to people who make you laugh. ( Keep ‘em in your desk and give them away as reward.)

• Change ring tone on other people’s phone. The folks at San Juan College are able to set their own ring tones on their office phones. Some man snuck to a woman’s phone, and recored his own voice saying, “Are you there? Are you there?” This was her new ring tone!

• Artificial cheese “to go with your whine.” I LOVE this idea. They had some fake cheese they got at a craft shop (what in the heck anybody really needs fake cheese for I’ll never know) and they ceremoniously gave the cheese away to anybody who whines. This is wonderful.

• Create and use nicknames for co-workers. Loving and fun nicknames can make people feel good and push up the joy-quotient.

• Throw stress balls when at people who start to get to negative.

• Hit negative co-workers with a foam sword.

• Give a toy bomb to somebody who is “Da Bomb.”

• Send memos via air mail. (Fold them into paper airplane.)

• Throw marshmellows at co-workers for “no good reason.” I’d love to see the janitorial staff after a day of marshmallow fun!

• Give “mini-sized” box of Frosted Flakes to co-worker with note, “You are Great!”

• Combat grumpy people with love and kindness. (Wow…what a deep and wonderful idea.)

• Make prank phone calls to co-workers.

• Silly String At Work. (I’m tellin’ ya… I’ve done this. Silly String is cheap, cleans up easy, and is absolutely fun. You can NOT be miserable if you are spraying Silly String! Or having it sprayed at you. It’s a no brainer…go buy some now.)

• Change a co-workers screen saver. (How creative can you get? What could you do to make this really funny?)

• Make a contest that whoever whines the most has to buy the monthly lunch your team shares.

• Contest: the most whiny person has to take take the minutes at the next boring meeting.

• Use tape loops to tape your workmate’s telephone receiver to their phone. (So when they try to answer the phone they can’t “pick up.”
• Put a small piece of tape over the laser on the bottom of somebody’s mouse. It will simulate a broken mouse. (I love this idea because it is a totally victimless practical joke or prank.)
• Change the height of a workmate’s desk chair. Do this one time and it’s funny. Do this twelve times over the course of two weeks, it’s hilarious.

Hey San Juan! I dare you… Let Me Know What YOUR Highlight Was! Use the comment field to tell me about your “Ah Ha” for the day. I dare ya!

Thanks so much for having me. You make me feel like the luckiest motivational speaker ever!

Brad

PS. Learn more about the seminars I did for San Juan here.

How Do You Know If Your Speaker is Any Good?

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:14:58 +0000

How would I choose a motivational speaker or humorist speaker? Oh, so many things I’d check!

I’d want to know that, if he uses humor, is he really funny?

I’d like to know if humor is involved, is it business-safe? Is it appropriate? Will it get me fired?

I’d like to know that there is there a meaningful tie-in to my business? Sure, funny is good. But can this speaker help my organization do whatever it is we do better?

But most of all, I’d want to make sure that whichever speaker I ended up going with was a sure thing. A done deal. A guarantee. How could I know that? I’d check with as many past clients as I could.

I’d LOVE to be your speaker. Allow me to start by showing you this collection of video testimonials:

I’d love to be your choice? If you’d like to learn about how we can work together — which I’d LOVE — learn more here.

Clown Nose Ruins Video Web Conference

Brad Montgomery — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:17:10 +0000

I was recently on a coaching call helping a fellow motivational speaker, William Reed beefing up the amount of humor he uses in his keynote speeches. What made it fun is that we did it via video conference.But what made it REALLY fun was that for a moment, the technology glitched and the video just stalled. So we “hung up” and then restarted the video conference he came back on my screen wearing a clown nose.

It was so sudden, so unexpected and so wacky that it just cracked me up. Funny? You betcha! Could you use this humor techniquein a business meeting, on a web cast, on a…you name it? Sure!

That’s my point: it was so easy for him to do, took just a couple of seconds, and got a HUGE reaction from his audience. From me.

Looking for an easy way to “break things up” or add a bit of humor to your workplace (or home?) Find a simple way to use a simple prop like my friend William.

Thanks buddy!

Technorati Tags: motivational speakers, humor, video conferences, clown noses, William Reed Del.icio.us Tags: motivational speakers, humor, video conferences, clown noses, William Reed

Enter Contest. Get Funnier. Save $150.

Brad Montgomery — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:02:18 +0000

If you want to know how to be a funny professional speaker or how to be a comedian, then you’ll want to read on!

We’re nearly ready to launch The Humor College.
It’s going to be AWESOME, but I need your help and
am willing to pay for it.

[This is a new series that will teach humor and
comedy skills. If you want to be funnier in front
of an audience, this program will be right up your alley.

We've assembled some of the top funny folks in both the
professional speakers world and the comedians world to
put together something really special.]

I need a small number of “beta testers” who will go
through the system, check the technology, make
sure all is well, look for mistakes and errors, report
the errors back to us, and then get ready to learn.

You’ll get all of the Humor College goodies… all of
the recordings, transcripts and CDs, and in exchange
for your help, you’ll get them all at half price. (You’ll
save about $150.)

In other words, you’ll get the product (which you’ll
love, trust me), you’ll get it at half price, and all you
have do is to help me make sure the technology
works, the CDs arrive on time, the links are correct,
the instructions are clear, etc.

Who’s up For it?

All you have to do is to post a comment on this blog entry
with the reasons why we should pick you to be
on the money-saving Beta team, and we’ll let
you know very soon.

Write a short paragraph, send a funny photo, tell us
why your qualified, bribe us, make us laugh…. do
anything you think will help us pick you. If we do
pick you, you’ll save about $150. And besides, you’ll
be helping make the world a funny place.

Just comment on this blog, (and make sure we know how to contact you), convince us to pick you,
and you’re on your way to being funnier at a discount.

Cheers! Good Luck! And Thanks!

Brad Montgomery

PS. Want to see what product you’d be helping with?
Go here:
http://www.humorjumpstart.com/humorcollege

PPS. Being funnier pays. And with this contest you’ll
have a chance to prove it immediately!

How To Be a Motivational Speaker Or Comedian? Be Yourself!

Brad Montgomery — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 07:56:06 +0000

How to find your own “voice.”

Those of you who read my American Idol post know read about the crucial importance of finding your own voice. Thanks to a wonderful email from a budding magician and his questions, I have a follow up to that post. His question, in a nut shell, was: “Ok, that’s fine. How do we find our own voice?”

He asked about coaching, studying pros, etc.

Ok, since you asked, here are Brad’s Top Three Tips for Finding Your Own Voice in your pursuit of professional speaking, presenting, or entertaining.

1. TIME. Know that it takes time. Perhaps a lot of time. Maybe even years. I know, this is not what you wanted to read, but it is true. You just gotta do it a bunch. There is no substitute for stage time. Find a place to “practice” your craft, and get started. It could be working on the street as a street performer, working in a lousy theater, doing Career Track — if you want to be a professional public speaker — or whatever. I first started working at the Colorado Renaissance Festival and that experience was invaluable. As was a three month period (that felt much longer) doing 190 shows at a comedy theater in Tennessee. Find a place and get started.

2. WORK. Know that real success is more about YOU than it is about your material. Johnny Carson is a great example of a guy who is just not that funny when you see his stuff written down. But when you saw him live there was no mistaking his likability. He was charming, likable, and very funny. Therefore his stuff became funny.

And it takes time. Lots of time. Before Carson has his own show, he worked hard and paid some dues. Unless you’re a natural genius, you’ll have to do that too.

3. FEEDBACK. Unless you are doing a character (like Charlie Chaplin or Las Vegas Magician Mac King) you should be doing a bigger version of yourself. After years of experience, when I’m on stage before an audience it is just a bigger, louder, more-prepared version of the guy I am the rest of the time. Sure, I’m a bit bigger and louder. And more silly. And funnier. But mostly I’m the same guy. And the day I “got” this point was the day my career really started to take off.

How do you test this skill? Glad you asked. Do your show or presentation and then record it. Get you spouse, kids, neighbors or best pals to look at the tape and to honestly tell you if the YOU they see on tape is the same YOU they live with. If they say anything like, “That laugh is weird,” or “Your voice sounds funny,” or, “your timing and cadence seems different” then you have some work to do.

The best compliment they can offer you is that you are EXACTLY the same on stage as off.

If you have an accent, talk fast or slow, etc. and you DON’T take that characteristic with you on stage you’ll be found out. And the audience will not suffer frauds. Be yourself.

(Sure, top flight actors can change the way they come across, but be honest; are you really a top flight actor? And even if you are, you clients are hiring you… the real you. They want an authentic, real person on their stage, and it is your challenge to give them just that. (Only, as I mentioned above, don’t forget that you can be authentic and very well prepared at the same time.)

So, in answer to that question from that magician’s question: no…. I’m not sure that studying the “character” of famous film actors (or comedians, or magicians, or public professional speakers) really helps. In fact I think it might be confusing. If you study them for character you might accidently adopt some of them in yourself.

(I’m a huge fan of studying comedians, speakers and other entertainers, but just let them soak in. Don’t take their character or it will end up making you bi-polar.)

In the end, this task of finding the REAL US to put on stage is probably the most difficult part of being a top notch presenter. It ain’t easy. In fact, it’s hard. Very hard. A few people come to it naturally, and start their performing career with a natural, likable and genuine version of themselves. (I didn’t …. it took me years of pushing along to even get close.) But for must of us, the answer is lots of stage time, honest feedback, and hard work.

Now…. if you want me to help with that, sure, I do presentation skills coaching all the time and love it. Let me know if you want to go to that level.

But for the rest of you…. be yourself!

Check out what I do for a living — as myself! — at my main site here.

Cheers!

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Humorist Motivational Speaker, Comedian & Magician, Presentation Skills Coach

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Open Letter To Bad Magicians

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:30:58 +0000

An Open Letter to Crappy Magicians

I recently was hired to coach a speaker who also happened to do a bit of magic in her programs. It seems to me that the things that I told him are the same things I tell a bunch of people. Usually I’m nicer than what follows… but since I’m not talking to anybody in particular, perhaps you’ll forgive me.

This letter is to all of the magicians doing sub-par magic. (It seems to me that there are a a bunch of you.) As well as all of the speakers and trainers who dabble in magic and do a tiny bit of it to add to their presentations and public speaking.

(If this letter isn’t for you… then you’ll know it. If it is… you should take notes.)

I think your choice of props can be improved. My favorite magicians use props that look like stuff they bought at TARGET or Home Depot. Not the magic store. Our audiences today are so hip and sophisticated that their eyes glaze over when they see magic wands, velvet (change) bags and silk scarves. They see that stuff and immediately connect us with the dweeby 19 yr old that did our little tykes’ neighbors’ birthday party. If you don’t believe me ask your pals. Seriously… ask your pals. It might mean that you are looking a little dweeby yourself.

So I like your card and rope tricks… no schmaltzy props. They’re a bit tired, but what the heck; I use ‘em too. But … ok, I’ll say it… I hate the “magic scarves.” The box with the fake Chinese characters on it. The silly table that doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen any where but at magic shops. And I hate the change bag. It immediately tips you as an amateur. Not just to me, a guy who loves magic. But to the whole audience. To the whole world.

Here comes the straight talk.

My five year old uses a change bag and gets away with it because he is a cute little boy and people forgive him for doing a stupid trick. You are so smart and charming yet I can’t believe anybody is fooled, nor are they impressed with that little red bag. I think it is almost that simple: you are never gonna be a top-level speaker or entertainer if you are holding the same $25 magic-store prop that Skippy the Magic Clown uses. Trash it… or give it to my kid.
If you ask 10 people to describe a cliché magician they will come up w/ the same words and images. Top hat. Wand. Rope. Velvet bag. Get the point…? I think we, as magicians, need to immediately lose the props that on on the top shelf of the magic store and are done by birthday-party magicians around the globe.

My soap box: as magicians we need to recognize that magic has a deservedly bad rep. There is so much bad magic in the world most people don’t love it and I don’t blame them. If we accept this as true, it makes our path clear: avoid cliché magic. Big time… we just gotta stay clear of mediocre and crappy stuff.

But….I challenge you do learn that trick… or something like it using sleight of hand. Sure, you do the Prof. Nightmare trick with rope. Cool. Now keep going with the sleight of hand.

Let’s face it; audiences are impressed by what they perceive as skills. So if you dazzle them with a trick that they could never do… if you do some sleight of hand without a bag, without a dove pan, without….

Trust me.. they’ll be blown away. You work will be totally worth the effort. If they see you, a terrific person who can dazzle them with skills, personality, and his or her own hands…. Wow!

You can do it. Just make sure you’re doing the right thing.

Cheers.

Brad Montgomery
Magician, Comedian, Fed Up with Horrible Magicians, and Magician Speakers

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Skeptical about Motivational Speakers? You’re Not Alone.

Brad Montgomery — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 02:35:56 +0000

I am just back from Seattle, Washington where I had the good luck to speak to a group of Microsoft folks.

It went well. Really well. But for me one of the coolest things was watching the audience change from the beginning to the end of my program. They ended off great, smiling, laughing, and really appreciative. But to be honest, during my introduction and the first 2 or 3 minutes of my speech, they were skeptical at best. At worst? Some of them hated me.

Why? Why did this group… and so many groups today… hate the thought of a motivational speaker? And what changed their mind? Glad you asked.

Let’s face it, if you poll a group of modern corporate workers today and say, “Hey Everybody! How ’bout a motivational speaker!??!” nearly all of them will roll their eyes and groan. They don’t want to see a motivational speaker. They think they’ve seen it, and been there already.

Yet at the same time, I’m convinced that all of us can benefit from regular doses of motivation; we can benefit from an outsider help us see our lives and jobs from a different perspective.

So…. what does this mean for us? It means that we need to understand that our audiences have a healthy dose of skepticism. They are wary and not easily fooled by crappy speakers. (And let’s face it… there are plenty of crappy speakers.)

What’s the solution? In my case I think success comes with two components. First, humor. If they are laughing their butts off there is a pretty good chance they won’t boo you off the stage. So I work hard to be funny…. really funny.

Second, I work hard to be authentic and genuine. I don’t spend a bunch of time with cliche’s or other typical “motivational speaker” material. I believe deeply in what I’m saying, and that authenticness shows. The audience can see that I’m not trying to fake them out, and they respond. And they laugh even more.

If there is any doubt that folks are not tripping all over themselves to see a speaker, check out this video testimonial. It is a totally back-handed compliment, and I love it.

Thanks So Much, Microsoft.
You rock.

Check out the motivational keynote speech I did for Microsoft here.

Brad Montgomery
Humorist Motivational Speaker, Comedian Speaker, Authentic Comic

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How can you be a comedian? Baby steps!

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 07 May 2007 04:06:44 +0000

A recent article in the National Speakers Association newsletter Speak Up quoted a few of my pals; fellow humorists and motivational speakers as they discussed humor and being funny.

One of the coolest parts of this good article as a list of Funny Action Items. I’ll reprint them in this blog.

If you are interested in learning how to become a motivational speaker or comedian, then this list is for you.

1. Read and watch comedians and speakers. Study their timing and craftsmanship.

2. Don’t expect to by hysterical. There are other ways to engage and entertain and audience if comedy isn’t your natural gift.

3. Focus on segues. Once you have a strong funny story or joke, find a way to smoothly transition into and out of the joke or story.

4. Use quotes from seasoned comics, with attribution, of course.

5. Instead of delivering jokes, use humorous photos, video, props or audience interaction.

6. Build on your strengths. Start simple. Grow your confidence over time.

If you are interested in learning how to become a motivational speaker or comedian, then this list is for you.

Check out my humorous keynotes and motivational speeches here.

Brad Montgomery
Humorist, Motivational Speaker, Student of Comedy Techniques

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Avoid Humor Danger: learn from a politician?

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 07:53:27 +0000

There is an interesting article today in Colorado’s daily paper about humor for presidential candidates. It stresses the importance of humor, as well as the danger of humor. Humor has both won and lost elections for folks.

“Humor is vital. It shows likability and deflects criticism and makes people feel comfortable,” said Liz Carpenter, former speechwriter for Lyndon John son while he was vice president and author of the book “Presidential Humor.”

But, as this article says, humor-gone-wrong had created some real problems for candidates. The good news is that there is a solid piece of advice that will keep you out of trouble AND keep the smiles on your audiences’ faces:

The Denver Post – Politicians work to win with laughs
That’s why when it comes to a politician trying to be funny, Katz – who worked as a humor writer for President Clinton – has three rules:

Be self-deprecating.

Repeat as necessary.

Be self-deprecating on behalf of others.

This is a good advice for presentations from speakers, executives, etc. If you stay away from the zingers — even the ones meant to be funny — the chances of being misunderstood are nearly eliminated.

Check out that article….It’s good.

Brad Montgomery
Humorist, Humor Coach, Teacher of Humor Skills
Technorati Tags: humor techniques, politicians, presidents, Denver Post Del.icio.us Tags: humor techniques, politicians, presidents, Denver Post

How You Can FEEL Rich At Work (w/o it costing your a dime!)

Brad Montgomery — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 23:01:00 +0000

Here’s a killer idea to improve the humor in your workplace courtesy of one of my clients, the Florida Department of Revenue.

They have “Anniversary Day.” It’s a killer idea in a good news / bad news format, … and you should steal it.

Somebody made up a tacky sign that says, “It’s my anniversary” on it. It’s made out of cardboard, has a string, and is meant to be warn around the neck like a necklace on the anniversary of the day that you started work at that office.

That’s the Bad News.

What’s the good news? Everybody else in the office has to give the Anniversary person a dollar on that day. They can use it to treat themselves to a lunch, or to a killer dinner with their spouse… whatever.
Of course, by the end of the year, you haven’t lost anything or gained anything… it’s a wash. But on your anniversary day, you get to FEEL rich. And on everybody else’s anniversary day you get to tease them about the dorky sign.

Result? More humor in the workplace, increased morale, and more fun. Net cost to the office, the managers, and the CEO? Zippo. Nada. Zilch.

All you need is:

1. Find (or elect!) somebody who is willing to make up that sign and you’re ready to rock. (So for those of you whining that your boss won’t enable you to incorporate any of these great ideas, you’re out of excuses here. : ) So stop your whining and get your craft supplies out and get started.
2. Find (or elect!) somebody to create and send a memo and send it to the troops. Get your boss to sign off on it, and you’re good to go. Don’t know how to write a decent memo? Don’t know what it should say? No sweat… I’ve done it for you. Click this link and we’ll GIVE you the memo for free! (Golly… this is easy!)

In pdf format: Anniversary-Memo.Pdf
In Microsoft Word format: anniversary.doc

What are you waiting for! Make this ritual part of your office culture today.

Earn gifts for free and be famous! When your office incorporates this Humor in the Workplace technique here, email me photos and details. I’ll blog you and I’ll send you something for your time. (I’m talking free stuff!)

Check out my seminars, keynotes, and consulting about Humor in the Workplace here.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Humor In the Workplace Consultant, Loves to Feel Rich

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Do Professional Speakers Ever Feel Like Frauds? (Podcast)

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:09:00 +0000

Mark Sharenbroich (based in Minnesota) is one of my favorite professional speakers and motivational humorists. He’s a rock star in the youth and school market, and is making some impressive tracks in the corporate world as well. No wonder… he’s terrific.

Mark is a teacher and friend, and recently we had the chance to talk about the “impostor syndrome” and how we, as presenters, often worry the our audiences will “find us out” to be impostors.

Is there anybody in any job who has NOT had that experience? I doubt it. Which is why it’s fun to hear from extremely accomplished people to hear what THEY think about this concept.

This short free audio, you’ll get a sample of how even the most experience speakers and presenters can get “The Nervies.”

Thanks so much, Mark.

Check out my work as a motivational humorist speaker here.
Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Consultant, fan of Mark Sharenbroich

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What Professional Speakers (and presenters) can learn from American Idol

Brad Montgomery — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:55:11 +0000

What American Idol has to Teach Professional Speakers:
(Or: Everything I Need to Know I Learned from Taylor, Carie, and Fantasia)

Okay, I admit it. I watched it. I ogled each week. I confess: I enjoyed American Idol. There, I said it. It’s not like I have a Clay Aiken action figure… at least not that I’ll admit.
However, if you’ll indulge me for just a bit, I’ll show you how American Idol can teach speakers a thing or two about rising to the top of the crowded and talented world of professional speaking.

Aside from the universally accepted wisdom of The Simpsons, Lessons from the FOX network have just gotta be few and far between, but there is something to be said for what American Idol can teach us as professional speakers. And that lesson is that talent and content are important, but in order to reach the top you need more: you need a unique and engaging personality. Let me explain.

Last season, I watched as the long lines of seventy thousand contestants were slowly trimmed down to the top thirty-two singing contestants; each of them dripping with talent. And then the top thirty two — all of whom I would pay money to see perform (well… I might pay a little…maybe…. ) — were trimmed down to a single winner. With so much talent, how could one winner be singled-out? The answer: State Primaries! Oh, that’s a different contest.

No… to win the American Idol you have to be hugely talented. And you need to pick out the right songs, and you need to be fun to watch. But talent isn’t enough; you also need to have a remarkable and unique individuality. And you’ve got to be able to showcase your original personality right alongside your talent. Your personality has to be visible to the audience.

Wanna be a great magician? Guess what? In order to separate yourself in a marketplace crammed with talented entertainers, you need to learn what those kids learned on prime time TV: rely on just your magic skills, tricks and “lines” and the Simon Cowells in your audience will call you “dreadful.” You’re voted off. You’re fired. You get the home version as a parting gift.

In case you have no idea what American Idol is because all you do is read The Economist and watch PBS — allow me to bring you into modern pop culture: Seventy thousand kids auditioned for a musical talent contest. The winner, the next American Idol, would be America’s next pop sensation. After several eliminations, the field was reduced to thirty-two finalists. Obviously, to get that far among such a huge talent pool means that the top thirty-two were special. They all had amazing voices, natural skill, and huge amounts of talent. They were all darn good.

But as we saw them compete, it was clear that some of them just didn’t have ” it.” Sure they were good, and a few of them were very good. All of those top thirty-two were outstanding. But most of them still left us wanting more. Why?

So I set out to find the missing piece of the puzzle. I studied them each week… I thought about their performances, and I talked about them with my family. (After all, nobody’s gonna admit they watch the show to people who aren’t family.) I read commentary. I checked the website. And one fact became obvious: I need a hobby.

But seriously, the more I watched, the more I realized I had watched most of the contestants before. Well, not them, but their acts. They were very good imitators of pop stars that have come before, ie. Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Elton John. They danced just right. They shut their eyes at touching moments and clenched their fists during intense lyrics. They were just the right type of cool and hip. They looked at the camera, worked the crowd, and said all the right things. But to me — and apparently the rest of the audience that eventually voted them all off the show — it was mostly just over-planned, over-practiced choreography. It was just shtick they thought made them look like a pro. It wasn’t unique. It wasn’t special. And most importantly it wasn’t real. It was just young people trying hard to act how they thought a pop music star is supposed to act. It reminded me of myself early in my career when I tried to mimic Nate Liepzig’s accent. But I digress.

In the end, a young man named Taylor Hicks was named American Idol 2006. He was as talented as the rest; I thought he was fantastic. But more than his musical skills, his personality was unique and refreshing. He didn’t cover up the real Taylor with some made-up version of a rock star. He did not resemble another contestant or imitate another celebrity. He didn’t have any rehearsed-looking gestures or moves. He was himself. And now he is number one. Sure, he had tons of talent, but so did the rest of those young singers. Sure, he was rehearsed, prepared and coached. But so were the rest of the group. The reason Taylor Hicks won was because he was the singer who was the best at being himself on stage. His distinctive and one-of-a- kind personality — and his ability to show us this personality — set him apart.

Of course the other finalists had personalities, but they didn’t know how to make their individuality available to us. They never let themselves come THROUGH. We never saw them… we only saw the rehearsed and prepared version of a rock star they wanted us to see.

American Idol offers a huge lesson to us as professional presenters. Too often speakers (and even entertainers) cannot make it past the finalist stage. They have the talent. They have the skills. They know how to do the trick, pause just so, and to work a crowd. They might even be able to make you cry or make you laugh. Whatever. But without the ability to showcase a unique and individual personality they never progress beyond that. They have the same clothes, gestures, stories, and expressions as other “stars” who came before them. But they fail to go on to the final round because they have failed to speak with their own words… from their own self.

Think I’m wrong? Name your favorite celebrities in ANY field and you’ll find that they all have totally unique, definable, and likable personalities. For example, in the world of comedy consider Bill Cosby, Jay Leno, Ellen Degeneres, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, and Herbert Finkle. Any of those stand out? Of course! Herbert Finkle…. He just copied other people’s style and material and never made a name for himself. The others didn’t follow anybody else’s road map. They don’t act like anybody else. They are just themselves — and we love them for it. They’ve created their own mold.

So what’s my point? In our pursuit of excellence in the magic and entertainment world, I’m suggesting that you work hard to define your own personality and work hard to make your unique, special and remarkable individualism show through to the audience. Yup. You gotta have skills, talent, and even shtick. But… if you’re gonna be on top… if you are going to avoid an insult from Simon Cowell … you’ve gotta be yourself. Just like Taylor.

Check out my work as a professional speaker and humorist to see if I can get my personality out there by clicking here.

Brad Montgomery
Professional Speaker, Comedian, and Closet Idol Fan

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© Copyright 2007 Brad Montgomery Productions, (Denver, CO_

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Brad Montgomery, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) is a funny speaker and corporate magician. He is also a lousy singer. Using his own blend of hilarious humor as well as his award-winning magic, Brad reminds us that our lives are both fun and very funny. You can reach Brad at www.BradMontgomery.com
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This Meeting Sucks! How can we save it?

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 05:56:57 +0000

(Keep reading and you may earn a free book!)

Ok, so you are having another boring corporate meeting meeting. Nobody wants to be there, and the doughnuts are just not enough to get people in a good mood, much less a creative and success-minded mood.

What do you do? Well, I have a ton of ideas for meeting ice breakers and warm ups, but one of my favorites is to print out an odd or unusual photo from the internet or some magazine, and have a brainstorming session of possible captions for that photo.

Before you give it a try, know that you’ll need to set some ground rules for this ice-breaker.: The rules for the brainstorm session need to be made clear. I use something like this in my creativity seminars:

“Ok let’s see if we can come up with some easy rules before we start. First of all, can we agree that only one person talks at a time?” (Of course they’ll agree.)

“Can we agree that there will be no bad ideas…. all captions are good, because we’re going for volume, not quality…. deal?” (They’ll agree, because nobody will want to feel stupid if they come up with something lame. Sometimes I take this a step further and ask them if they think that anybody who says ANYTHING negative has to put a dollar in the middle of the table for next week’s doughnut upgrade. This is really fun… they’ll love it.)

“Our goal is to just find a bunch of captions… not to be funny. So if you come up with a funny one, that’s great. But don’t feel pressure to be funny… just come up with a caption. Deal?” (If you set the goal to find a “funny” punch-line or joke, many people will seize up and shut down. Just tell them that you want a bunch of captions, and trust me, the funny will happen.”

That’s it! It’s easy. Just have somebody write down the ideas on a dry-erase or even a note pad. See how many you can come up with, and then increase that number at your next meeting. Set a time limit of 3 minutes or so, but if they are cranking them out at minute 5, let ‘em!

You’ll be amazed at the positive creative energy you’ll create with this simple little task.

What’s that? Put my money where my mouth is? Sure, glad you asked.

Earn a Free Book!

Write a caption for this photo…. I’ll send a FREE copy of my e-book Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter to the 3 best submissions. (Just use the comment field below, and be sure to list your URL.)

My entry for the mock caption:

“You should see what the Tin Man got!”

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Speaker, Humor in the Workplace Seminar Leader, Corporate Comedian

PS. Submit your caption to th at lion-and-woman photo and win a free copy of my ebook Humor Me!

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Happiness is Obvious to all But Scientists.

Brad Montgomery — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:06:27 +0000

Happiness and Science Finally Get it Right!

Don’t you just love it when you get something right?

Scientists have finally made a measurable connection between positive thinking and happiness. More than money, family, pets, or security, what makes us most happy is actually going through a process of noticing what makes us happy, and then try to think WHY those happy things occured.

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The result, common sense tells us (and now science too) is that this type of exercise is that through our ENTIRE day we concentrate on the good things that happen. (Because we’ll have to report them later.) And when we focus on the good, the bad becomes less important.

Every night, she was to think of three good things that happened that day and analyze why they occurred. That was supposed to increase her overall happiness.

“I thought it was too simple to be effective,” said Miller, 44, of Bethesda. Md. “I went to Harvard. I’m used to things being complicated.”

I’ve been telling this to my audiences forever. My game is to play “How Cool is That!?” (You can HEAR me describe this game here: http://www.bradmontgomery.com/bonus )

I’m so glad for this news… this will be one of the three things today that made ME happy.

Cheers!

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Humorist Comedian, Happy Guy

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Money Can Buy Happiness— Just $2. (Podcast)

Brad Montgomery — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 05:04:45 +0000

What would it mean to you if, for two dollars, you could buy yourself a little happiness AND make somebody’s day? Would you do it? Is that worth 8 quarters to you?

In this podcast I interview fellow motivational humorist speaker and Colorado pal Scott Friedman. For years Scott has made it part of his life to give away $2 bills whenever possible. As tips in restaurants, for good service in airporats (where, by the way, tipping is not normal) and even for a just-for-fun gift for folks for no good reason.

This humor ritual helps keep Scott motivated. For him it is an important reminder of his brother. But it is also a way for Scott to give people a smile, to give them something unusual that they value, and to generally make their day

The premise is that the percieved value of the $2 bill is WAY more than just $2. Give somebody two singles and they shrug… and depending on where you are, it might be a lousy tip. But give that seame person a $2 bill and they put it in a special pocket where they “save” stuff. They won’t spend that… it’s just too valuable.

I caught up with Scott in Colorado where we recorded this podcast about giving and humor rituals. You’ll love it.

Check out my motivational speakers site.

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Humorist Speaker, Friend of Scott Friedman, Can Be Bought for $2

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How do you become a comedian? Humorist? Speaker?

Brad Montgomery — Sat, 02 Dec 2006 04:03:54 +0000

There are many ways…. but I’m super psyched about a new program I just released called Hilarity By Design.

It’s a humor and comedy technique product that will teach humor skills for speakers, entertainers, trainers, magicians, jugglers… anybody who wants to use more humor in their presentations.

Not a professional speaker but still want to be funnier in your business presentations? Or sales presentations? Are you a sometimes-speaker? You’ll love this course!

I’m proud of it. Check it out here: Hilarity By Design.

Brad Montgomery
Comedian, Funny Motivational Speaker, Teacher!

How Can We Improve Our Sense of Humor? (Podcast)

Brad Montgomery — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 23:40:39 +0000

We’re back with more of our interview with Kansas City, Missouri based corporate comedian and humorist motivational speaker Mark Mayfield.

He talks a bit about how we can see the world through the lens of a comedian. If we can see the world with a sense of humor it helps us keep some of the more difficult times at bay, and helps us to approach our lives with a better sense of perspective and lightness.

How can we improve our sense of humor? Specific ideas or techniques? Mark gave us some:

• Be a kid and play. (Halloween is an excellent opportunity for even serious adults to play! It is the ONE time of year we can — and should — dress up, play, be goofy, and work on our sense of humor. It’s an opportunity to be — and act like— a kid.)
• Hand out with upbeat people. (You’ll find yourself at your funniest when you’re with funny people.)
• Start your day in a good way; start your day with a laugh. (Play with your pet, read the comics, play with your kids… whatever! But start you day with a laugh.)
• Make humor a habit. Do it daily and it becomes more natural and easier with time.

Marks goal, each and every day, is to make his wife laugh. She can tell when he is beat down and tired, and is still always able to make him laugh. And so he works hard to return the favor.

Thanks Mark.

Need a corporate comedian or motivational humorist speaker for your keynote or seminar?

Brad Montgomery
Motivational Keynote Speaker, Corporate Comedian, Fan of Mark Mayfield

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Want to learn how to be a comedian? This site is for you! Or want to learn how to be motivational speaker? You’re in the right place!

Oh For Crying Out Loud! Learn the Punchline, Sen. Kerry!

Brad Montgomery — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:31:35 +0000

People will take the wrong lesson from this humor mis-cue:

Sen. John Kerry apologized for “a botched joke” about President Bush’s
Iraq policies that led Bush and Republicans to accuse him of insulting U.S. troops.

This stupid mis-telling of a joke has landed the Democrat in some hot water, and given the Republicans something to whine about besides their recent troubles.

“Of course I’m sorry about a botched joke. You think I love botched jokes? I mean, you know, it’s pretty stupid.”

I’ll say, Senator Forget-The-Punchline. Kerry told a recent audience of students that they might get “stuck in Iraq” if they don’t make it through the educational system.

Kerry said he messed up the delivery of a joke aimed at Bush — according to aides, the punchline was originally written to say “you end up getting us stuck in a war in Iraq.”

As a comedian and an presentation skills instructor, this messed-up punchline makes me crazy. The lesson that most people will take from this humor-fiasco is that humor is dangerous and is best avoided. That conclusion is understandable, but is wrong.

This play-it-safe strategy is what leads to such boring candidates as Dukakis, Kerry, Gore, Dole, and Forbes. (Boring guys who lost; guys who do their best to squash any personality they might have and present a very cardboard construction of a pubic persona.)

Yet humor is a tool that, if practiced, can tremendously help political candidates (or anybody else looking to excel). Ronald Reagan’s most famous use of humor, where he joked of the “age issue” by promising “not to use his opponent’s youth and inexperience against him,” helped seal his election. In other words: use humor well, and you’ll get what you want. Improved bottom line performance, more sales, or… public office.

Yet I KNOW that what most people will take out of this botched Kerry joke is to not use humor at all. But avoiding humor is a mistake. Listen to Reagan. Listen to me. Humor works.

Just learn the freaking punchline.

Want to learn how to safely use humor to help you get what you want in YOUR job? (Without ticking off your political party?) Learn more about my keynotes and seminars here.

Brad Montgomery
Humorist & Comedian, Presentation Skills Coach, Humor in the Workplace Speaker

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