I love being a motivational speaker, but one thing that I don’t love is that it is often a singular lonely job. Yes, we get to know our audiences. And yes, we often become close with the meeting planners.

But we rarely get to work with other speakers — people who KNOW what it’s like to be on stage regularly. People who know the joys and pains of earning a living “performing.”

I recently was shared the platform — just for a few minutes — with fellow Colorado speaker Steve Spangler. He was doing his boot camp for teachers and invited me to come on stage to do a bit of comedy with squeakers. I taught how to use a tiny squeaker hidden in your hand to get some laughs at work and generally boost your fun-o-meter.****

I was only on the platform for a short time, but it was really fun because Steve and I got to vamp off each other. I teased him. He teased me. Together we worked through the squeakers. The audience was very kind, and that was nice. But having a chance to be on stage with somebody I like and trust — and somebody who is very funny as well was a treat.

My point? I’m not sure I have one. But darn! It’s fun working with other funny speakers. Thanks Steve!

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

Brad Montgomery

Colorado Speaker, Fan of Steve and Earl (read on), Secretly Eager to Be in a Comedy Team.

**** Both Steve and I learned about the squeakers from the master, Dr. Earl Reum who I’m pretty sure is the first one to figure out that these squeakers can be VERY funny. Earl is a hero to all Colorado speakers and magicians, all of the in-the-know Colorado speakers and to student council, educational and corporate groups across the country. Thanks Earl for sharing your secrets!

Technorati Tags: Colorado speaker, Colorado speakers, Steve Spangler Del.icio.us Tags: Colorado speaker, Colorado speakers, Steve Spangler

Ok. That’s not funny. Yes it is. Well… it depends.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks Kaiser Palliative Care. It was my absolute pleasure.

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

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

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

Technorati Tags: Hospice speaker, palliative care speaker, palliative, funny, motivational speaker, Kaiser, Kaiser Permanente, Colorado Speaker Del.icio.us Tags: Hospice speaker, palliative care speaker, palliative, funny, motivational speaker, Kaiser, Kaiser Permanente, Colorado Speaker

My kids and wife wanted to go skiing. I didn’t.  I’ve been on the road traveling as a motivational speaker to Florida and Pennsylvania, I wanted to sit home, eat Cheetos, watch the Olympics and veg out.   But I’m glad I went skiing…my family was right.  Doing ANYTHING beats doing nothing nearly all of the time.

(Besides, there was powder.  Lots of powder. : )

Check out my video message from ski slopes at Copper Mountain, Colorado:

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

Mobile Post: Posted on-the-go by Brad Montgomery from his iPhone.

For those of you who prefer to read, here is the transcription:

Hey, this is Brad Montgomery from bradmontgomery.com.

I got a message for you related to skiing. So, I’m in Colorado. I’m at Copper
Mountain. We’re at 12,000 feet. I just skied down that cliff. Check that out.
Okay, I didn’t ski down it well, but I did ski down the cliff and I had a good time.

Here’s my point. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to come today at all. If it
was my choice after being on the road in Florida and Pennsylvania, as a
motivational speaker, I was pooped and I really would have preferred to stay home
and watch the Olympics, drink hot chocolate, and, you know, read a cheap novel or
something. But because of my wife and because of my kids, we came up skiing
and Iím so glad I did.

So, here comes the message. I tell my audiences all the time this. What are you
going to do to create joy and happiness in your life starting today? What are you
going to do? And my choice was to do nothing and that was a mistake. I got here
and I had a good time and it’s awesome.

So, what are you going to do? Are you sitting around reading a book? Are you
watching the Olympics right now? Are you doing something that could be more
productive, that could be more fun? I’m pretty sure the answer’s probably yes. If
youíre like me, get going.

So, have fun. Make life fun. That means you got to actually do something to get
involved. If you like skiing, go for it. If you donít like skiing, find what you want
to do, have fun.

Looking for a motivational speaker?I’d  love to be your guy. Right now, I’m
going down there. Take care.

Technorati Tags: Colorado Speaker, Colorado Motivational Speaker, Copper Mountain, Funny, skiing, skis, ski resort Del.icio.us Tags: Colorado Speaker, Colorado Motivational Speaker, Copper Mountain, Funny, skiing, skis, ski resort

Just ask her pop.     (Be patient;  I’ll tell you about my daughter in a second.)

A while back I saw my old friend and fellow Colorado speaker Steve Spangler tear up a group of 100 teachers.  And by tear up I mean he was terrific… the audience loved him.

Steve and I have been friends since high school — which is fun partly because I’ve seen him grow from just a talented guy to a famous talented guy.

I stopped by to see one of his projects in person:  he invites teachers to come to his Science in the Rockies program where he teaches them science tips and tricks, all backed by curriculum they’ll incorporate in the classroom.  Sounds good to me.

But seeing the smiles on these teachers faces AS they learned was a good reminder of the importance of engaging an audience.  They weren’t sitting taking notes:  they were actively participating, laughing, talking to each other and to Steve.

It was a great reminder that people — even audiences — can multi-task.  You might incorrectly connect a silent audience staring at the presenter with an audience that gives a darn.  They might be deeply engaged…. or they might be quietly going over their shopping list in their heads.

Steve calls it “hands-on science.”  His audiences learn AND have fun.  (And you can bet your bottom dollar that because they are having fun, they retain more.)  But professional speakers of all types — motivational, funny, whatever! — can learn from this Colorado speaker.

Our audiences can and should be engaged.  They should be laughing.  They should be saying to their neighbor, “Hey!  That’s cool!”  And at least some of the time they should be actively playing with some cool toy or thing.  [Provided there is a concrete connection between the activity and the desired outcomes of the meeting planner.]

Why is engagement so important for speakers  — and meeting planners looking to hire a speaker?   Because, my friends, it’s 2009.  Audiences just won’t sit still like they used to.  In these days were distractions are plentiful (iPhones, Blackberries, wireless in convention hotels) and ROI needs to be extremely high, nobody can afford to plop a mediocre speaker in front of an audience who just barely cares enough to sit there.

Meeting planners demand results;  results demand engagement.

My point? If you need a speaker ask this question:  What specific activities will you do to physically engage my audience, and how to you plan to connect that engagement to what I’m trying to accomplish at the meeting.

Steve makes it work at his teacher boot camps;   good speakers make it work in the corporate and association world.

Now… my daughter. I brought my 12 year old along to see my friend in front of an audience.  Steve brought her up on stage to demonstrate to the teachers how they might teach a kid.  (Lucky Steve, I basically brought along a prop.)   The teachers had fun.  But my daughter had a BLAST!     (And best of all, Steve sent her home with an armload of goodies.)

She may not be the best scientist in Colorado… but by my eyes she’s the cutest.   (Even when Steve startled her with some electric current.)

Need an engaging funny motivational speaker?  Go to the contact page now.

Thanks Steve.  It was a great day.  [Note to readers:   don't go to Steve's store.  You'll end up spending way too much time looking at all the cool stuff and you'll end up buying stuff.   Seriously.  Don't do it.]

Brad Montgomery
Father of a Scientist, Colorado Speaker, Fan of Steve Spangler

Technorati Tags: Colorado speaker, Colorado speakers, Steve Spangler Del.icio.us Tags: Colorado speaker, Colorado speakers, Steve Spangler

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

Technorati Tags: mastermind, mastermind group, Jay Arthur, Colorado Speaker Del.icio.us Tags: mastermind, mastermind group, Jay Arthur, Colorado Speaker

What’s cooler than being a motivational speaker? Being a customer of the very same people that you motivated.

I had the excellent fortune of speaking to the Colorado Dude and Guest Ranch Association a few months ago. It was a fun gig: we were in the Ritz Carlton in the Colorado Rockies. A great group of people shared motivational laughter and fun.

One thing I love about my job is I get to learn bits and pieces of many industries. In prepping for the Association keynote, I was coached on how ranches work, what the loves and stresses are, and where the industry is headed.

Normally this would be the end of a good story: I love my job and love speaking. But the story is just getting started…

My family and I recently returned from a stay with one of the member dude ranches of the Colorado association. We went to North Folk Ranch, in Shawnee, Colorado. It’s known for fishing and horse riding. And for full-on gourmet food. It was a TOTAL blast being able to see and experience the very same industry I spoke to. I think I would have enjoyed any ranch. But the North Fork in particular was total first-class, top-shelf joy.

Let me qualify the following story by saying that I had an outstanding time. The staff, the food, the views, the facilities, and Karen and Dean May (the owners) absolutely rocked. I recommend that all of you pick up your phone now and make a reservation at the North Fork Ranch.

I’d only offer one piece of advice for you, dear readers. Don’t get on a horse. Seriously. Don’t do it. They hurt.

They put me on a horse that was apparently large. (From my perspective, they are all flippin’ huge. I’m a city boy and I’m afraid of big dogs.) I had to get on some ladder thingy to mount my horse. (This is only slightly embarrassing…. none of the real horse people seem to need a boost.)

An hour and a half of bouncy excruciating horsing later, I was convinced that the fine folks at Guantanamo have it wrong: they don’t need water boarding. Just put terrorists on a horse for 90 minutes and bounce them though the Rockies and they will give up their best friend. Seriously, it’s a slow torture.

I couldn’t move. My legs were frozen. My butt hurt more than you can say, “Oh my gosh this saddle is huge.”

The wranglers practically needed a crane to get me off. (Getting off on my own was out of the question: The Abe Lincoln at the Wax Museum could move better than I could at that moment. After I got off I stood very, VERY still. I waited. Some blood came back. In 40 or 50 minutes I was able to walk again. (Ok, maybe not that long. But in Horse Time, it had to be forever.)

The wranglers were kind; they didn’t laugh even a little. (Until I left.) They told me the horse was too big for me. I’m certain they lied to make me feel less like an idiot. (Nobody else seemed to be in agony. Every other guest seemed to jump right off, pat their horse and head in for lemonade. But try as I might, my legs wouldn’t budge.) My kids thought that the fact that I was stiffer than an I-Beam was hilarious.

Still, I had a total ball. Nobody made me go on another ride — though they did take me on a couple of shorter rides on a smaller horse. Yes, it did hurt less. The smaller horse was no longer like being drawn and quartered. It was more like being pulled like a wishbone.

We retreated to fabulous views, gourmet luxury, a wildly unique “Mountain Man,” wonderful company, and even a late night, after-hours-under-the-stars visit to the hot tub.

My wife loved it. My kids loved it. And I loved it. But please, don’t make me go on that big horse again— I’ll say anything. I’ll admit to any crime. I’ll give up any secrets you want. Just don’t make me ride.

Hey North Fork! You guys rock. You made our week. Thanks so much. Keep up the great work. It’s easy to see why you are so successful. Thanks for sharing the love!

Do YOU need a motivational speaker (and promise not to make me ride a horse afterwards?) Contact me now.

Yours,
Brad Montgomery
Colorado Motivational Speaker, Urban Cowboy, Flexibility-Challenged Dude

Technorati Tags: Colorado, Speaker, Dude Ranch, Colorado Motivational Speaker, North Fork Ranch, Guest Ranch Association Del.icio.us Tags: Colorado, Speaker, Dude Ranch, Colorado Motivational Speaker, North Fork Ranch, Guest Ranch Association

I just did my motivational speaker thing for a bunch of social workers in Pueblo, Colorado.   The best part of of the morning for me was watching this group of very tired (we started at 7:30 AM), very quiet group go from silent to rowdy in 90 minutes.   They started thinking, “Oh no, a motivational speaker.  Just kill me know.”   And ended up buzzing.

Here’s a very cool letter from my meeting planner

Brad,

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

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

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

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

Thanks Pueblo Social Services!

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

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

Just ask her dad.

My daughter has Type 1 Diabetes and because of that, our family has become involved with the Colorado chapter of the American Diabetes Association.  And through her involvement with a diabetes summer camp, she was invited to speak for a few minutes at a fund raising event about her experience as a camper at this camp.

Guess what?  She killed!  It wasn’t easy:  the event was super high end, with heavy production.  Fancy spot lights, fancy staging, professional sound people ushering us around the stage… the whole shebang.  After this elaborate video was finished, they turned a spotlight on Claire and me.    Again… a fairly high psych-out value for a 11 year old.  I spoke for about 20 seconds, told a joke and introduced Claire.  She spoke for about about five minutes, (which is roughly the same length of time as the ice age if you are a kid on stage speaking to a bunch of formally dressed adults.)

She rocked the house.  She was awesome.  She was a star.

What’s my point?  I got nothing.  I’m just a proud parent bragging about one of my perfect kids.

Read another article about my take on diabetes and speaking.  

Do you have an event where you need a speaker familiar with diabetes?  My kid is great, but if you need somebody with more experience I’d love to be your guy?  Diabetes Speaker?  Contact me here.

More info about my work as one of  the Colorado Speakers

Brad Montgomery
Diabetes Speaker, Dad of a Diabetic, Proud Papa

Technorati Tags: diabetes speaker, diabetic speaker, colorado speaker Del.icio.us Tags: diabetes speaker, diabetic speaker, colorado speaker Flickr Tags: diabetes speaker, diabetic speaker, colorado speaker

Ok, so I’m guessing that most folks with a small office often use Starbucks as a second office.  I do.  But in this video podcast check out the reason why I HAD to go to this other office.

It turns out that as I was returning calls and answering emails for motivational speaker job here in Colorado, I was totally silenced.  There was some warranty work that had to be done to correct an error on our house.  We were surprised one morning when two huge guys with jackhammers just showed up and created the symphony of chaos.  (Hurry!  Somebody trademark that…. what a great name for a band.)

Anyhow, it cracked me up.  Hope you enjoyed the video.

If you’re looking to HIRE a motivational speaker (with or without the jack hammer) I hope you’ll contact me here.

Brad Montgomery
Colorado Motivational Speaker, Home Officer, Love of Jackhammers.

Dateline: Ft. Collins, Colorado I just got back from Colorado’s premier magicians convention called Magic in the Rockies. What a blast. Colorado magicians converge on three days of tricks, lectures, and laughter. A couple of my favorites were comedians (yup, you can be a comedian AND a magician) Dana Daniels and comedian magician Michael Finney. They were hilarious, honed, and clean.

One interesting note was that Michael Finney received a rare standing ovation from the magicians…. for not doing a trick. He did a long set of stand up comedy and KILLED! Even magicians were amazed — and laughing ’till their faces hurt — by this corporate comedian.

The best part of the convention for me was that it rejuvenated my love for all things magical and magic. I’ve been so involved with the comedian portion of my speaker job that I’ve taken the magician part of me for granted. No more…. welcome back Magic Boy!

Check out all the info about my work as a corporate magician here.