Deliver your message with humor to get corporate gigs
Mr. Schwensen – I just completed a comedy workshop in Florida and also I’m reading your book How To Be A Working Comic. I would also like to learn about presentation and keynote opportunities. – Sincerely, EM
Hey EM – First of all, I write these newsletters for a bunch of funny comedians and humorous speakers. We’re not exactly standing up on the top tier of formality in our biz, so “Mr. Schwensen” and “Sincerely” will have to go. Our favorite terms of endearment are… well, since I promised to keep this newsletter rated G and PG for our younger readers (and the parents who screen them), I won’t make a list. But next time, “Hey Dave” will work just fine.
Second, thanks for the book plug. Saves me from having to do it myself this week… ha!
“Presentation and keynote opportunities.”
If I was a game show host we’d be celebrating right now because you just hit on a big-money topic. It also happens to be one that I don’t think enough comedians are taking advantage of.
Matt Foley
Motivational Speaker
In the comedy / humorous speaking biz this fits under the category of corporate market. Of course there are speaking gigs available in the college and cruise ship markets, but mostly from my experience businesses, associations and social organizations look to hire speakers who are humorous. They’ll hire comedians, musicians, and variety acts for holiday parties, retirement banquets and in general, when they need entertainment.
But at a corporate function during other times of the year, event planners mostly look to hire presenters who can inform as well as entertain. And when that info-tainment requirement is laughter, they go for humorous speakers.
When I speak at a conference it’s usually as the opening or closing presenter. Why? Because – again from experience – the training seminars in the middle of a conference usually consist of the “hands-on” info attendees need for professional development.
If it’s a conference on say, law enforcement, the training seminars might teach the best way to bust crooks. If it’s about being a grocery clerk, they’ll learn new techniques in bagging groceries. Since the majority of humorous speakers don’t have training in either profession, we can still open or close the conferences with a general and humorous overview of – say – customer service, communications, team building, networking or whatever specialty we have to offer.
Then our goal is to customize it to the event. This is done through research, advance surveys, and interviews with the client. Then a humorous speaker can take their expertise, direct it toward the conference theme and attendees – and deliver it as informative and entertaining (info-tainment).
———————————————————————————–
Sign up to receive Dave’s free weekly newsletter and
receive 15% off the Amazon.com list price!
———————————————————————————–
As the opening presentation, a humorous speaker can be a great kick-off for the event and a preview for what comes later. At the end, it’s more of a wrap-up and ends the event on a high note: positive and memorable.
A stand-up comedian who doesn’t customize his act for the event can still get hired, but again, usually as pure entertainment.
But that doesn’t mean you – as an entertaining and humorous speaker – need to work laughs into a strict business program about… well, “corporate stuff” like taxes, productivity, networking, increasing sales and all that. If you have experience in those fields and can speak as a “trainer” with humor – you’re in!
But most comedians I know have more of a nightclub background rather than a corporate background.
So what you need to do – like with any comedy performance – is find a way to relate to the audience. It could be some common background or something that will interest them.
This is another way of saying know your audience.
The topic of the conference could be anything from business techniques such as learning power point or relieving office stress, to more personal topics like juggling a family and a career, to improving your golf game.
Talk Ain’t Cheap
Were you ever a lawyer, teacher, truck driver, bartender, parent, golfer or anything other than a comedian? Then you have a topic you can share with a corporate or social organization audience. Talk about your experiences with humor, add in the lessons you’ve learned along the way and that you can share with listeners, make it entertaining – and event planners will hire you to speak about it.
This also works if you have a particular message.
Have you or anyone close to you survived a disease, injury or other tragedy? I hate to list those suggestions as money-makers, but I’ve seen many comedians on the corporate and college circuits turning negatives into positives as humorous motivational speakers. If your story can help someone else – then it’s worthy of telling. And if you can make it entertaining, your audience will tend to listen and “get” your message. The same idea holds true for insights on bullying, alcohol awareness and other important topics. Do you have experience in these fields? Talk, share, motivate, teach, train and entertain as a comedian.
That’s what sells in the corporate market.
Be informative and humorous. That’s the key to becoming a non-holiday party corporate comedian / speaker / entertainer. This works for comedians, jugglers, magicians, and musicians – whatever. Make it informative as well as entertaining and you’ll work.
I’ll talk more about this topic in the coming weeks because I have a lot to share. But here’s another big hint that I wrote about in earlier newsletters.
Favorite Game Show Host
Keep it clean!
For corporate shows, we’re talking G and PG (at the max) rated. Don’t even try to test that warning in an attempt to prove me wrong. You won’t – and you also won’t work corporate gigs where you can make more money in an hour than you can during an entire weekend at a comedy club. And that’s a correct answer to a big-money topic. Guess I should’ve been a game show host…
———————————
Dave Schwensen is the author of How To Be A Working Comic: An Insider’s Business Guide To A Career In Stand-Up Comedy, Comedy FAQs And Answers: How The Stand-Up Biz Really Works, and Comedy Workshop: Creating & Writing Comedy Material for Comedians & Humorous Speakers.
For information about these books, comedy workshops at The Cleveland Improv, and private coaching for comedians and speakers in person, by phone or via Skype visit www.TheComedyBook.com
Copyright 2013 – North Shore Publishing
