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
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Episodes
Communication Tips - part 5
January 17, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.19 MBTip 5 I talk fast. It's one of the critiques that I've always heard from people. I talk too fast, they can't keep up. This week I'm talking communication tips, and while I really haven't slowed down my talking over the years, I have enunciated better. And that may be the key for us fast talkers. Make sure you are saying every syllable when you're communicating, and people will be able to keep up better. One person told me to tape an E on the floor in front of me so that I could look d...
Communication Tips - part 4
January 16, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.35 MBI was having my HVAC unit replaced and 2 guys showed up at my house. They spoke pretty good English, but not 100%. They went up on the roof, and after about 20 minutes one of them came back down stairs and knocked on my door. I answered it and he said "are you alone." Well sort of, maybe. . ."no, I mean nobody is here in the house?" We'll I've kinda got someone coming over in a few minutes. "but right now – no one else here?" Sort of. . .what do you want. "We turn electricity off. Nobo...
Communication Tips - part 3
January 15, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.34 MBYears ago I was doing a holiday party gig for a major corporation, and I got to the venue an hour early to take a look at the room. The room was set for the thousand people. And what did I see? The tables were in a circle and the stage was in the middle. They wanted me to spin and tell jokes. Really? I was thinking us comedians only need, lights, a mic, and a stage. I never gave thought to the fact that we also need to face the fricking audience! This week I'm talking about communication t...
Communication Tips - part 2
January 14, 2020 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.62 MBGetting up at my first open mic was scary, scary, scary. Luckily it went well. But I think what was even scarier than telling jokes on stage was telling my friends that I was doing jokes on stage. I wasn't exactly the class clown, and nobody really told me I should be a comedian. I was funny, but probably not comedian funny. I remember being out with a group of friends when I brought up that I was doing stand-up comedy. Without missing a beat, my friend Mary jumped in and said "I'm funnier t...
How to excel at something when you are not the best-7
January 12, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.05 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best SUN: Heliski joke on handful of comment cards There really is such a thing as Heliskiing. This week I talked about finding a way to succeed even if you won't ever be at the top of your field. You need to get creative! I thought this was a creative way to heliski! 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, ...
How to excel at something when you are not the best-6
January 11, 2020 20:00 - 1 minute - 987 KBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Sat: 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 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. If you wan...
How to excel at something when you are not the best-5
January 10, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.39 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Tip 5 I know comedians who have flown into the town that they were performing in, didn't like the hotel or apartment that they were put up in, so they left. The club was stuck without a comedian for the night. The comic left because he could. He had another income – his wife. My tips this week are on how to succeed even if you're not the top player in your profession, and today my tip is. . . if you want to succeed, even though you aren'...
How to excel at something when you are not the best-4
January 09, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.03 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Tip 4 I got one of the nicest compliments from Mark Ridley who owns the Comedy Castle comedy club in Royal Oak, Michigan. He said he appreciated that I was professional, I showed up on time, I did the time I said I'd do on stage and that I didn't drink up all the free beer at the bar. This week we're talking tips to get ahead, even if you aren't the most talented in your field. And my tip today is to watch what you do behind the scen...
How to excel at something when you are not the best-3
January 08, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.25 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Tip 3 I was lucky enough to get in working with a lot of speakers bureaus early in my comedy career. They booked me into a lot of corporate gigs and I moved out of the comedy clubs and into better paying, better travel gigs. There were agents who really liked me, and after a few years I came out with an updated video tape. Of course I wanted feedback on it, so I sent it out to the agent. And never heard anything, not a peep. So I called one...
How to excel when you are not the best-2
January 07, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.33 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Tip 2. The emcee at the comedy club is the low man on the totem pole. They don't get paid much, they don't get much time on the show, they have to go out first to warm up the crowd, and pretty much every time they're on stage, something else is happening – people are taking a bathroom break or ordering drinks or food. It's a thankless job and it's at the bottom. This week we're talking about tips for succeeding even if you aren't the best perso...
How to excel when you are not the best-1
January 06, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.27 MBHow to succeed even if you're not the best Tip 1 I heard a comedy writer once say that he got out of stand up comedy because he heard a famous comedian's act and he thought "I'll never be as good as that guy." So he left standup comedy, and went into comedy writing. On the one hand, that's nuts to get out of something that you really want to do just because you won't ever be at the tip top. Not every comedian can be Jerry Seinfeld, but if you want to do it, you should still do it! But...
Making Big Life Changes-7
January 05, 2020 11:00 - 47 seconds - 777 KBMaking a big life change SUN: Nephew neutered joke. Ahh yes, my brother loves that joke. If you want to know the question I asked to come up with that punchline, listen to Saturday's briefing. 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 enjo...
Making Big Life Changes- 6
January 04, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.07 MBMaking a big life change SAT: 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 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. Last week I talked about ask...
Making Big Life Changes-5
January 03, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.31 MBMaking a big life change Tip 5 About 2 years into living in LA, I ran into a comedy buddy Ian Salmon, from my open mic days in DC. He gave me the biggest compliment. He said Jan McInnis, you're the only one who did what she said she was going to do. Everyone talks, but you did it. You said you were going to quit your job, you did it. You said you were going to move to LA. You did it. It was a huge compliment. People always ask me "was it hard to quit my day job – a secure career...
Making Big Life Changes-4
January 02, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.25 MBTip 4. At my marketing job, every day at 3:58 pm, my boss would stand outside my office, presumably checking his mail. And every day at 4 pm, I would walk out of my office, say good night, and leave at the time I was supposed to leave. The subtle message I was being given was that he knew I was not working overtime. And that I was leaving on the dot. But I knew that my priorities had changed. I hadn't given my notice yet, but I had decided to leave my job for a career in comedy. And while I...
Making Big Life Changes-3
January 01, 2020 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.15 MBMaking a big life change Tip 3 About the same time I left my marketing career where I was working in associations, another friend of mine had left his association job. He had written a speech – I think it was on the history of Washington DC, and I think his idea was to give it at conferences in DC. He had tons of connections, and I'm sure the speech was great. But I don't think he lasted 6 months on his own. My impression was that his role changed with his contacts. He went from being ...
Making Big Life Changes-2
December 31, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.24 MBMaking a big life change Tip 2. Before I left my day job 25 years ago, Costco wasn't popular and it wasn't the go to store like it is today. There were some food wholesale grocery stores but they were very different. Sure the food was cheap, but it was also picked over, and it was displayed in boxes that they just opened up and put on the floor. It was a depressing place to shop, and it made you feel like you were poor and desperate for a bargain. But I shopped there even though I had...
Making Big Life Changes-1
December 30, 2019 11:00 - 2 minutes - 1.62 MBMaking a big life change Tip 1. I made a huge life change from marketing career to comedian. People ask me how did I do it. So this week I'm talking about some of the steps I took to make this huge life change. It goes back to summers between college, I was a tour guide in Washington, D.C., and I was great at it! I made up jokes and goofed around with the tourists, and I could remember all the city’s facts and figures. There was another guide though who was a lot older than me, ...
Memory Techniques Sunday
December 29, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.08 MBSUN: SPA JOKE. I told you on Friday how I was able to easily remember all the things in the spa. So listen to that briefing for how I did it. 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. You can find Comedian Stories wherever you listen to your podcasts. That's it for today. Take ca...
Memory Techniques Saturday
December 28, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.14 MBSAT: 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 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 humor tip – if you want to find the funny in a situation make a ...
Memory Techniques Part-5
December 27, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 970 KBTip 5 Milk bath, raspberry relaxer, seaweed conditioner, vanilla bean dip conditioner! These are all in the set up of one of my jokes – listen to it on Sunday. That list is a lot to remember and I say it fast. But how do I possibly remember that joke. Well, this week I'm talking about memory techniques, and while I've mentioned, repeating it fast, sleeping on it, and other things, it's still hard to remember things that are in a long list. My tip today is to put that list into some k...
Memory Techniques Part-4
December 26, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.29 MBTip 4 It's Zanies comedy club in Chicago, IL – a big club. It's 1 a.m. when I get onstage to close out the third show. The crowd is younger than me, and I'm tired. Three 45 minute shows doesn't sound like a lot, but it IS. I head into my act, the one I've done a lot, and boom. I repeat 3 jokes! The crowd still laughed, but I caught it! I forgot those jokes seconds after I said them because I didn't do them in the same order. I'm talking about memory techniques this week, and my memor...
Memory Techniques Part-3
December 25, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.5 MBTip 3. I always kick off my corporate comedy shows with a few jokes about the group to connect with them instantly. At my first big event I was in front of 500 mushroom growers in Las Vegas. Their biggest competitor had bought up a dozen mushroom farms, over extended himself, and went out of business. The group was happy about that – more business for them! I had written new jokes about it to kick off the show. So I hopped on stage and immediately . . . blanked. I couldn't remember any of t...
Memory Techniques Part-2
December 24, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 993 KBTip 2 I have a reoccurring dream that I'm onstage and I forget my comedy act. I always wake up before I figure out what to do. Luckily that's never happened because I work hard at remembering it . . . especially new jokes. I do a lot of jokes – 3 or 4 a minute, and so when I add in a new one in, it's hard. I’m in a rhythm of saying the ones I've done forever, you know joke, joke, joke. And then I hit the new one and I don't want to have to break the rhythm to remember it. This wee...
Memory Techniques Part-1
December 23, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.24 MBMemory techniques comedians use TIP 1. I met a guy in college my freshman year, and we ended up being friends. Not close friends, but we were in the same major and so we'd see each other around campus. Immediately after I met him, I forgot his name. I was too naive and embarrassed to ask him again, so I spent 4 years trying to remember it. Every time we'd meet, he'd say Hello Jan and I'd say how's it going, or great to see you. At a big end of year party my senior year, he came up to...
Live - Standup
December 22, 2019 11:00 - 58 seconds - 907 KBSUN: Make up joke. That's pretty much the first joke I ever came up with– I actually said it to a makeup lady. If you want to know one way comedians come up with the humor, listen to Saturday's humor tip. I think you can just say Alexa previous. 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. T...
Comedy Tip-Ask Questions
December 21, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1000 KBSAT: 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 Jay Leno's Tonight Show monologue 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, as...
Introductions Part-5
December 20, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.14 MBTip 5 I do a lot of work humor so my website is Work lady.com and sometimes I'm introduced at events as the work lady. But a few times I've been introduced as the Working Girl. That's a whole other profession. People are wondering what kind of entertainment they hired. And my knee jerk reaction is to correct them before I start getting offers. But really there are other choices. I can ignore it. . .which is what I do if I don't have much time on stage. Just move on and presume they'l...
Introductions Part-4
December 19, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.15 MBTip 4. I once got a painful introduction where the lady introducing me read the email that I sent her to get the gig. She's telling them all the reasons they should hire me. People are looking over at me like are we voting on this? Jan's standing right there. I'm like, I'm going on stage . . I flew here. And at one event, the person introducing me read my 3-page bio instead of my 3-sentence introduction. My bio is all the stuff my mom likes to hear about. . . the audience who doesn't know ...
Introductions Part 3
December 18, 2019 11:00 - 1 minute - 1.45 MBTip 3. Shut the hell up. We've got a comedian here and she's really funny! Now shut the hell up! And with that crappy introduction I took to the stage. Sure everyone got quiet – because they were screamed at and ordered to. And now the pressure is on . . .I'd better be really funny. In fact, I'd better be funnier than the things they were just laughing about with their friends. I get it that the guy was trying to get them focused. But screaming at the audience and telling 'em that th...
Introductions Part 2
December 17, 2019 15:30 - 1 minute - 1.31 MBTIP 2. I've had some bad introductions over the years. One woman read my jokes. She's out there getting laughs with them, I'm backstage wondering how I'm going to say them in a few minutes. Another guy said "these jokes are so funny, I just have to say them" no you don't. My tips this week are on introductions, and I've gotten some doozies over the years. You will have introductions, even if they aren't from the stage. Make sure they're done right. I realize that some of these bad in...
FTF1 - Introductions Part 1
December 12, 2019 21:56 - 1 minute - 1.34 MBINTRODUCTIONS Tip 1. And now coming to the stage is a writer for Reader's digest. I actually got that as my introduction once. People are staring at me like, can't anyone write for that? You just send in an article. The guy introducing me was trying really hard. He remembered that I'd written for big things, but he was so nervous that he forgot that it was Jay Leno on the tonight show and radio and syndicated cartoon strips. He tried to wing it. . .and that's what his brain came up with. ...