Finding the Funny: Leadership Tips From a Comedian
332 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingIt's funny business! Learn leadership & business skills to deal with people & handle life's curveballs. A professional comedian offers laughs & practical tips.
Funny comedian & top keynote speaker Jan McInnis's unique, fun and useful ideas will help you develop solutions to your own work and life issues.
Jan is an established comedy writer. She's sold material for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show monologue on the Tonight Show as well as many other people, places and groups – radio, TV, syndicated cartoon strips, and even guests on the Jerry Springer show (her parents are proud).
For over 25+ years she’s traveled country as a comedian, keynote speaker, and Master of Ceremonies. She's shared her clean comedy with thousands of organizations, and her business tips with thousands of corporations and associations. She's been onstage in front of everyone from the Mayo Clinic to several of the Federal Reserve Banks. Jan is also currently co-starring in the Baby Boomer Comedy Show, touring theatres with comedian Kent Rader, and she is also an excellent Master of Ceremonies!
Jan is the author of two books "Finding the Funny Fast – How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers & Crowds," and "Convention Comedian – Stories and Wisdom From Two Decades of Chicken Dinners and Comedy Clubs." Her short stories can be heard on her popular podcast: "Comedian Stories: Tales From the Road in Under 5 Minutes."
What's in store every week?
Monday – Friday – Jan offers a quick tip for managing work and personal life
Saturday – a tip for Finding the Funny . . . Jan will help you find the funny in your life with a quick tip on using humor
Sunday – It's time to sit back and enjoy a minute of Jan's clean comedy from her shows.
Jan has shared her humor keynotes with groups such as...
Mayo Clinic
Abbott Pharmaceuticals
Sanofi Aventis Pharmaceuticals
Kaiser-Permanente
Davita Dialysis Centers
Blue Cross
Blue Shield
National Council for Prescription Drug Companies
Organization of Nurse Leaders
Federal Reserve Banks
BDO Accounting
Transamerica Insurance & Investment Group
Merrill Lynch
American Institute of CPAs
National League of Cities
International Worker's Compensation Fund
LA County Management Association
Social Security Administration
Southern California Public Power Authority
U.S. Air Force
American Heart Associations
Go Red For Women luncheons
Speaking of Women's Health
International Association of Administrative Professionals
Toyota Women’s Conference
Women in Insurance and Financial Services
Soroptimists
Women in Film & Video
Henry Ford Health Centers Women’s Event
Breast cancer awareness
School Business Officials associations
School superintendent associations
School boards associations
State education associations
Community college associations
Head Start associations
Texas adult protective services
Association of Elementary and Middle School Principals
International Association of Emergency Managers
Disney Emergency Managers
COPIC
Salt Lake County Public Works and Municipal Services Disaster Recovery Conference
Pennsylvania Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health conference
Mid Atlantic Safety conference and Chesapeake Regional Safety Council
Risk associations
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation Associations
NIGP
Public procurement associations
Public purchasing associations
correctional associations
public utilities
public personnel associations
rural housing associations
community action associations
Health Information Management Associations
Healthcare Financial Management Associations
Hospitals
Home Healthcare Associations
Assisted Living Associations
Medical Group Management Associations
Healthcare Risk Associations
Healthcare Quality Associations
state emergency management associations
insurance groups
state education associations
community college associations
school administrators associations
school nutrition associations
principal associations
library associations
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Reasons to Use Humor part 6
March 07, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.71 MBCANDLE LIGHTING CEREMONY JOKE And it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to hundreds of radio stations. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. Today's 60 second tip. . . Use your sarcastic voice. Sarcasm and comedy tend to go hand in hand, and that's fine. . . as long as you're nice about it! Because using a little sarcasm is a...
Reasons to Use Humor part 5
March 06, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.13 MBHOT AIR BALLOON JOKE I thought that was a creative way to get around that question about my weight! This week we're talking about the benefits of using humor in your business and personal life, and today's tip . . . laughing makes you more creative! There was a study out that a professor I believe at Syracuse university did where she had half of her students watch sitcoms and the others didn't, and then she gave them all a task that involved using their creativity. She found that the stude...
Reasons to Use Humor part 4
March 05, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.09 MBMEDICAL TATTOS . . I speak at a LOT of health care events, and they are some of the funnest groups on the planet. AND they deal with some of the toughest topics on the planet. This week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your business and personal life, and today's tip is because it helps break the ice on tough topics. I'm not talking about making fun of a serious topic, but hey, would you rather have your hospital nurse come in looking grim and scary, or come in with a po...
Reasons to Use Humor part 3
March 04, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1 MBTEENAGERS JOKE. People love that joke because they can relate to it. And this week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your business and personal communications. Today's tip – use humor because it gives you an instant connection with others, and it makes you approachable. Don't you love that ah ha moment when people "get" your humor? It's an instant connection, and that's what we're looking for with people– whether it's a client, coworker, new friend, or staff person, you ...
Reasons to Use Humor part 2
March 03, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.15 MBGIFTS JOKE That joke is one of my most memorable jokes and I get a LOT of people telling me they love it. This week I'm talking about the reasons you should use humor in your personal and business life, and today's tip . . because it introduces you. Listen to the humor that people use, it'll tell you about them. If someone makes a snarky comment, then you kind of know the frame of mind they're in. And if you use humor, you can also give people information about yourself. My joke today told ...
Reasons to Use Humor part 1
March 02, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.54 MBSister hospital joke. . . This week I'm talking about reasons to use humor, and my first big reason is that it diffuses tension. We used a lot of humor when my sister was in the hospital because it was a very stressful situation. When I go out to talk with businesses about using humor, some people think it's just about telling people how to write jokes and be a comedian. It's not. Humor in business and in your personal life, is extremely important. Think about it, at work if you sit down to ...
Travel Tips - clean comedy
March 01, 2020 11:00 - 55 seconds - 872 KBHey Caterpillar hires me, I'll make a john deer joke. If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes. That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.
Travel Tips - Finding the Funny
February 29, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.33 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to hundreds of radio stations, and websites such as wedding toasts. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. So here's your 60 second tip. If you're trying to find humor for a company speech, or even a roast or a wedding, here are 3 questions you should ask. Who is the competition – compa...
Travel Tips part 5
February 28, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.89 MBSouthwest Airlines used to make you line up in order to get on the plane – no seat assignment. The order you were in line was the order you got on. I heard the reason they did that was because their founder Herb started with 3 planes, and so to make his airline routes on time, he had to make sure the planes took off on time . . . and to do that he had to make sure the people showed up on time. And nothing makes people more anxious than getting stuck at the back of a line. So travelers showed...
Travel Tips part 4
February 27, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.82 MBI go through a couple of suitcases a year due to my travel. My current suitcase is a white Day of the Dead bag – I've had people stop me to take it's picture. It's kinda cool. I got it because my bag died in between crazy travel, and I only had one day to buy a new one. I couldn't even wait for Amazon so I went to Ross. As I'm looking at bags, they announced that the store was losing power in 5 minutes. I didn't have time to come back, so my friend pointed out a cool bag with a pretty pictur...
Travel Tips part 3
February 26, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.81 MBSo I'm in a small airport – I believe it was Fargo, ND. I had just finished an event and I had to fly to New York for a huge event in front of 1100 people the next morning. And Fargo was having weather issues. All at once, everyone in the gate area got the notice on their phones that the flight was cancelled. And a line formed immediately at the gate agent's desk to get rebooked on other flights. I looked over and saw someone from the ground crew standing near a computer. She had on those pr...
Travel Tips part 2
February 25, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.36 MBSo I'm sound asleep on the plane when I wake up to the pilot announcing Welcome to Little Rock, Arkansas. This was scary because I was supposed to be in Nashville! I asked the woman next to me, and apparently there was so much turbulence that they had to go to a different airport. I called my travel agent and she could get me a rental car that would get me to the gig about 30 minutes late. I called the club and the booker said he'd find a replacement for me instead. This is the only gig I've...
Travel Tips part 1
February 24, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.46 MBA few years ago on Southwest Airlines, my favorite airline by the way, we had a stopover in El Paso Texas. It was a bumpy ride in, and right before we landed, the woman behind me got motion sickness . . .and barfed all over ME! It was disgusting! Of course she got off the plane, but I was staying on for another 3 hour flight to LA. The flight attendant handed me a can of club soda and ONE free drink ticket. I thought this was at least a 3 drink ticket experience! Being barfed on was a ...
Clean Comedy live
February 23, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 937 KBTeambuilding joke – I love that joke. I once had a client tell me I can't do that joke. It turns out the company had just laid off a bunch of people, and those people took office equipment! Too funny. Bummer, it would have killed! If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under ...
Finding the Funny Yourself
February 22, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.09 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to CEO's giving speeches. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. Here's your 60 second humor tip to find the funny yourself. One quick way is to twist an adage or idiom. Idioms aren't the people in congress - but rather they are sayings that we've all heard a million times like . . . k...
How To Set Up Meetings part 5
February 21, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.39 MBSo I got to go to Hawaii for 3 full days. I had to do an hour long keynote. I met the president the night before, and he was nice but I felt like he thought he was a comedian too. He was kind of trying to be funny, and he talked a LOT. The next morning, when he went on stage ahead of my keynote, he talked. . . and talked . . and talked. The group had to be out of the room by 10 a.m., so by the time I was introduced, I had 16 minutes. The client apologized. I was like, I'm okay with it . . .b...
How to Set Up Meetings part 4
February 20, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBSo I'm standing on a banquet chair in the middle of the room filled with about 500 people, and I'm doing my act. Why? Yes there was a stage, but I got a crappy introduction. The introducer spoke softly, didn't hold the mic up to their mouth, and never got people's attention. When I got on stage, the entire room was loud and ignoring me, in fact they probably had no idea I was even up there. So I figured I had 2 choices. I could quit and leave and not get paid, or I could try something to get...
How to Set Up Meetings part 3
February 19, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.26 MB. I was performing at a 50's themed event once, and during the sound check the DJ and the band got into a huge fight. It turns out that the DJ was playing all of the 50's songs that the band was gonna sing later. My topic this week is how to put together a successful event. I've been at thousands of events, and so I've seen what works and what doesn't. And today's tip . . . don't try to cram too much into the event. I mentioned not doing more than one thing at a time – like clearing ...
How to Set Up Meetings part 2
February 18, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.65 MBI got off stage after a great show for a big health care company only to have several people comment that I SOUNDED funny . . .but the center pieces were in the way. And yes, the center pieces on each table were beautiful . . .and about 6 feet tall. I'm talking this week about putting together a successful event, and my tip today is to pay a LOT of attention to room set up. Here's a quick list: Don't get too creative with centerpieces that reach the stars. Make sure the first row ...
How to Set up Meetings part 1
February 17, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.31 MB. I was doing a big fundraiser event and it was going great. I'm plowing through joke after joke and the crowd is loving it. All of a sudden, things got quieter and quieter. I can't see anything from the stage, so I started wondering if I said something that offended people. It was weird. I finally wrapped up, got off stage, and the meeting planner came over and said – well I guess I shouldn't have rolled in the 6 foot high chocolate fondue fountain during your show. Really? What a horrible ...
How to Make Decisions part 7
February 16, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 965 KB: smokers joke. Yes that's probably a true statement! There is something good to be said about smoking. If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes. That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your journey.
How to Make Decisions part 6
February 15, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.38 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show monologue with Jay Leno to realtors and even wart removal cream companies. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. So here's your 60 second tip! If you want to grab people's attention and use some humor, then make a counter intuitive statement. Counterintuitive means counter to what we t...
How to Make Decisions part 5
February 14, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.37 MBYears ago my friend Michael and I were talking about how he had just worked with David Brenner – a really famous and funny comedian. David was performing in Vegas that night, and David had told Michael to just pop by whenever he wanted, and Michael would be allowed in the VIP section. Vegas was 4 hours away, and so on a whim we decided to go to the show that night. We got there and walked up right as the show was starting. When we got to the VIP section in the balcony, Michel's name was not ...
How to Make Decisions part 4
February 13, 2020 11:00 - 57 seconds - 899 KBI do a 5K 3 or 4 times a week around the Rosebowl in Pasadena. I'm not a runner – I walk it – and while it's great exercise, what I'm really doing is clearing my head and giving my brain some space. My tips this week are on how to make a decision, and my tip today is one of the most effective ways I've found to make a decision is to get my body moving. Take a walk. Go on a bike ride do something. Just get moving. It's something about having the ideas rattle around in my head, while I...
How to Make Decisions part 3
February 12, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.76 MB. I just lost a gig to eeny, meeny, miny, moe. I'm not kidding. The would-be client said that the committee just could not decide between me or another keynote speaker. I lost because of Moe. I also once lost the coin toss when another potential client couldn't decide between me and another speaker . . . random games of chance may not be my thing. This week we're talking about how to make decisions on things that you may not have made decisions on before. That was certainly the case f...
How to Make Decisions part 2
February 11, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.05 MBOver the years, besides just telling jokes as a comedian, I've also done a lot of different projects. Some hit and some didn't. From characters on the radio to touring theaters in the Baby Boomer Comedy Show and even this flash briefing, I have always had some other projects going, and they've lead me down some fun paths. Hey I got to meet Sally Struthers from All in the Family! An icon from my generation! This week's theme is making decisions, and when running your own business, you h...
How to Make Decisions part 1
February 10, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.38 MBMany moons ago, I was offered a gig to dress up as Hillary Clinton but instead of wearing a pantsuit, the client wanted me to wear a tight leather outfit and carry a whip. Yeah, this was a serious offer, but he didn't tell me what the event was, because I said no pretty quickly. I've impersonated celebrities before, but the leather and the whip were over the top. Saying no to that gig was an easy decision. But sometimes we're asked to do things, and there's a little more grey area. This we...
Dieting Joke Sunday Flash Briefing
February 09, 2020 11:00 - 52 seconds - 847 KBOh the irony. I came up with that joke by listing people who we associate with being healthy or not healthy . . . and I pulled out the irony. That was my humor tip yesterday. If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes.
Finding the Funny tips for finding humor yourself
February 08, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.02 MBAnd today is the Saturday version of Finding the Funny where I show you how to find humor. I've written for tons and tons of people and companies, and now I travel around the country presenting keynotes on how to use humor in business. My 60 second humor tip today is . . pull out the irony. Comedy is really about pulling out the irony between two or three different things. The online Cambridge dictionary says irony is something that has a different or opposite result from what is expec...
Master of Ceremonies - part 5
February 07, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.22 MBMy dog is named Delilah and I've got an app that makes her talk. I load it up on Facebook and Delilah gives people updates on my travels. People love it! This week I'm talking about tips for being the master of ceremonies for an event, and today's tip is to Make Them Want To Listen. How do you do that? Well, people will listen to if they like you - just ask Oprah or my dog Delilah! So when you're emceeing, find ways to keep people engaged. In between speakers, be personable by shari...
Master of Ceremonies - part 4
February 06, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBMy first big weekend emceeing in an A room comedy club in DC COULD have been disastrous. The feature act didn't show up, so the club owner had to find another feature to drive down from Maryland. I had 6 minutes of material and I had to do 20 minutes on stage. Luckily it was a hot crowd and I was able to joke around with the audience to stretch, but I can tell you that I almost put the microphone down on stage and walked off, never to do comedy again. It was scary. This week I'm giving...
Master of Ceremonies - part 3
February 05, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.01 MBOne of the top one thousand popular names for girls in the U.S. is spelled N-e-v-a-e-h. Do you know how to pronounce it? This week I'm talking about tips for being a Master of Ceremonies, and my tip today is to be prepared. It sounds simple, but there is a tendency to try to just wing it – don't. Practice the speaker’s name out loud several times fast, so it rolls off your tongue, and make sure you've got it written down phonetically. I read a marketing study once that people would rather ...
Master of Ceremonies - part 2
February 04, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.1 MB. I got to emcee a 3 day financial summit and one of the keynote speakers was Aaron Ralston – you know, the guy who got stuck under a rock in Canyonlands national park and had to cut his arm off. They made the move about him called 127 hours. He was really nice, and his speech was great. After he got off stage, I kicked off with "you know I was feeling kinda bad for Aaron for having to lay under a rock for 5 days, until he said that thing about losing 8 pounds a day. Then I got kinda jealou...
Master of Ceremonies how to - part 1
February 03, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.26 MB. “Welcome to our convention! We have a great agenda, but first, I’ve got a few dozen announcements for you. . . “ And you’re off to the races with a great event hosted by a not-so-great emcee. As a corporate and association comedian who has mastered the art of keeping a conference moving, my tips this week will be on how to be the Master of Ceremonies for an event. You may never be the emcee in a comedy club, but you may have to be the Master of Ceremonies at something else . . . and yo...
Finding the Funny - Clean Joke
February 02, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1010 KBBIG FEET JOKE - Yes, I do have a size 12 foot. .in fact, your feet never really stop growing, so I think my foot size is even bigger now! Anyone have a connection to a show manufacturer who wants to sponsor me, let me know! If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes. ...
Managing Mistakes - Part 6
February 01, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.16 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to radio, syndicated cartoon strips, CEO's, companies like wart removal cream makers, and even guests on the Jerry Springer show (my parents are proud). I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. So here's your 60 second tip. Connect with people instantly by using self-deprecating humor. Th...
Managing Mistakes - Part 5
January 31, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1 MBI once heard Jay Leno say that he never looks at a tape of a bad show. He said why would I look at that, that's not what I wanted to do. This week we're talking about how to handling mistakes, and my tip today is to ignore it. I know that sounds simple, but really, no amount of worrying about it or feeling bad about it is going to change the fact that something didn't go well. But if you keep focusing on it, you're just going to screw up the future things you're working on if you don't let...
Managing Mistakes - Part 4
January 30, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.61 MBDid you know that heintz the ketchup once came out with purple ketchup? Or that Bic actually tried to market a pen for women only . . .the big difference was that it was pink. Neither of these products worked – purple ketchup looks like a monster barfed on your fries and well, never in the history of writing has a woman run around the house screaming, I can't possibly write that letter – I can't find my lady pen. These are examples from the Museum of Failure, and this week we're talking ab...
Recovering From Mistakes - Part 3
January 29, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.09 MBAny comedian who says they've never bombed is lying. In fact we have a lot of fun with each other when something doesn't go right on stage. If you're a comedian and you get off stage and another comedian says, hey nice speech. That is not a compliment! This week I’m talking about handling mistakes, and my tip today is, when you make a mistake, connect with your network. Comedians talk with each other more about the bad shows than they do about the good ones. It gives us a sense of camarade...
Recovering From Mistakes - Part 2
January 28, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBI've opened for some big name celebrities – comedians and singers. Usually things are good, but sometimes things are a little chaotic. I once opened for a famous singer, and it was confusion and disorientating backstage. . . nobody knew what was going on and nobody would give me the time of day. When I was sent out on stage, without any introduction or anything, I immediately realized that I wasn't there to warm the crowd up, I was there to settle them down. Because as much confusion as ther...
Recovering From Mistakes - Part 1
January 27, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.21 MBComedians learn our jobs by bombing and failing a lot. We go up at an open mic, and that's where we practice our stage presence, our timing and see if our jokes work. No other profession does this? There's no open scalpel night at the hospital is there. Come on down. By day he's a plumber, but tonight he's going to try his hand at open heart surgery! And by the way, don't tell my health insurance company about this idea. ..they'll probably try it. This week I'm talking about how to handle ...
Finding the Funny - Part 7
January 26, 2020 11:00 - 46 seconds - 1.05 MBresume joke. I think I actually had that thought when I was in my marketing job. I talked about using statistics in yesterdays humor tip, so that's an example of how I did it. I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday. If you want to hear stories from my comedy career, check out my short podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. It's called Comedian Stories. I kick off with a joke, tell a short 3 or 4 minute story, and end with a take-away tip from what I learned. All under 5 minutes. ...
Humor Rules - Part 6
January 25, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to radio, syndicated cartoon strips, CEO's, companies like airline food vendors. I now travel the country showing organizations how to use humor in business. So here's your 60 second tip. . . Use statistics. They may be boring, but they are your friend in comedy. Make them up or find out ones. If you find out that 60% of people...
Humor Rules - part 5
January 24, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.16 MBIf you watch 20 comics, you may see 20 different approaches to telling a joke. In my act I do 3-4 jokes a minute, and I like the set-up punch style of Rodney Dangerfield and Jay Leno. If you don't like this one, then you'll like this one. But other comics like to tell stories, and other comics like to tell stock jokes that we've all heard, and some comics like to act out and be physical while tell jokes, while others like to be deadpan. I'm talking this week about humor rules, and whil...
Humor Rules - part 4
January 23, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 976 KB. I always have a client call before my keynotes and comedy shows. And people try to come up with funny things, instead of just telling me the facts and let ME come up with the funny. And people have actually said things to me such as "make fun of her hair" or "make fun of his divorce." Wow, really? Would you say that to them? We're talking humor rules this week and my tip today sounds obvious, but shockingly it's not. Don't make jokes about something that you wouldn't say to their fa...
Humor Rules - part 3
January 22, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.11 MBI was performing for a group of 4400 people. It was a dinner event, and they ran out of dinners for 1500 people. It was plated, so basically they miscounted by 1500 meals. AND it was their employee appreciate banquet. As a comedian, I wanted to get onstage, pull the curtain back and say "hey, I found them." I didn't do that – why? Well this week's tips are on humor rules, and my tip today is to watch the sensitive subjects. . . don't take the easy shot. People had stormed out of this d...
Humor Rules - part 2
January 21, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBYears ago I got to do comedy in front of 500 blind merchant. I was the only sighted person in the room, so of course as a comedian, the first thing I want to say when I get on stage is "hey, I'm naked!" But I didn't. Why? Okay, maybe it's a bad visual, but also they had put in my contract that they have heard every blind joke on the planet, so I can't do them. Period. They had a GREAT sense of humor, but they've heard all the blind jokes they want to hear. My tips this week are on humo...
Humor Rules - part 1
January 20, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.1 MBThere are few rules for humor, and in fact, I think the only big rule in comedy is to be funny. You can be dirty, clean, insulting or whatever, but as long as you're funny, you've fulfilled the job requirement. That's the number one rule for the comedy clubs anyway. BUT doubtful most of you will be performing in a comedy club. So, if you want to tell jokes around family, friends, or the office, there really are a few loose rules that you might want to pay attention to. And that's what I'll b...
Communication Tips - clean joke
January 19, 2020 11:00 - 46 seconds - 878 KBCat Rover joke The won custody punchline wasn't the original punchline. My communications tips this week tell you how I get a little information over to you so that you get the joke. Check them out. And if you want to hear short stories from my comedy travels, check out my podcast – Comedian Stories. It's a very short podcast, under 5 minutes. I kick it off with a joke, tell a quick story and end with a take-away tip of what I learned. That's it for today. Take care and enjoy your jo...
Communication Tips - part 6
January 18, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.27 MBAnd it's the Saturday edition of Finding the Funny, which means I'll be giving you a tip to find the funny yourself! I've written for everyone from the Tonight Show to radio, syndicated cartoon strips, CEO's, companies like wart removal cream makers, and even guests on the Jerry Springer show (my parents are proud). I now travel the country showing people how to use humor in business. So here's your 60 second tip – if you want to find the funny in a situation by doing some quick research. ...