National Speaker - Humorist

Joel Zeff creates energy. His spontaneous humor and vital messages have thrilled audiences for years. As a national speaker and humorist, Joel captivates audiences with a unique blend of hilarious improvisational comedy and essential ideas on work and life. Corporations and organizations nationwide seek him out to motivate and energize their employees on such topics as creativity, communication, teamwork, passion and fun. His first book, “Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative and Productive Work Life” was just published by John Wiley & Sons.

A former newspaper journalist and public relations executive, Joel started his own consulting business in 1994. His business initially focused on helping technology and telecommunications companies with marketing, advertising and public relations. As he came in contact with so many corporate cultures, he noticed the glaring need for employees to have more fun and reenergize their creative spirit.

Since 1993, he has performed with Ad-Libs, one of the country's premier improvisational comedy troupes. Joel performs with Ad-Libs at the troupe's theater in Downtown Dallas and across the country for corporate events. As an improvisational actor, Joel studied for a short time at the famed Second City Conservatory in Chicago, Illinois.

Joel fuses his knowledge of improvisation and his experience with the corporate world to create presentations that make a difference. His humor and style create a positive and comfortable environment for his audience that allows them to take risks and explore their creativity. His funny and poignant presentations have been met with roaring approval from hundreds of companies and organizations and thousands of audience members. Joel makes audiences laugh, but he also makes them think. Participants discover for themselves how to apply his messages to become better people and better employees.

When he is not speaking, Joel explores his own creativity and communication skills as an actor and writer. In Dallas, he was co-host of The Movie Zone on UPN 21.  He has appeared in commercials for Harrah's Casino, Mydiscountbroker.com, Time Warner Cable, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Eagle Country Markets, and Extraco Bank. He has also appeared in corporate videos for Pepsi, Pier One, Hewlett-Packard, EDS, Nortel Networks, and J.C. Penney's.

KEYNOTES

The Strength of Laughter: Energizing your Spirit with Humor
Most corporations know they need fun, they just don't know how or where to find it. Fun is the most important commodity in the workplace today: Fun increases communication, productivity, teamwork and creativity. Fun gives us the energy to reduce stress and overcome challenges. Fun produces passion for our jobs. The Strength of Laughter, one of Joel's most popular topics, focuses on reducing stress, increasing creativity and creating a renewed passion for our jobs. He highlights the importance of play in our work lives to create balance. During the session, he takes the audience on a hilarious journey using interactive audience surprises. You will walk away from his session smiling, motivated and rejuvenated. Joel recently presented this topic as a concurrent keynote at the national PEC conference for Meeting Professionals International in New Orleans. A frequent speaker at MPI conferences, Joel's energetic workshops earn standing ovations and rave reviews --and always become the talk of the conference. Here is just a sampling of the comments from recent MPI participants: "The best workshop I have ever attended." "Fantastic! You made my day. A definite highlight of the conference." "Outstanding. These types of speakers make you want to attend the seminars." "Joel is phenomenal! The message is clear, well organized and extremely effective."

Creativity in Communication: Yes, They Go Together
This interactive and hilarious session focuses on the marriage between creativity and communication, examining key skills such as trust, listening, teamwork, risk-taking, confidence, positive environment and openness and flexibility to change. Part of the session focuses on the importance of a relaxed mind, increasing the possibilities, and overcoming fears and barriers to the creative process. The second part of the session builds on the symbiotic relationship between creativity and communication. Joel discusses detailed, positive and flexible communication. Participants learn the value and significance of not only more creative communication, but communication in the creative process.

Learning to Think Without a Script (Creativity and Teamwork)
Do you need a creative jump-start? Do you want to focus on the skills that make teams successful? Are you looking to motivate your team and create passion and fun? This interactive workshop uses improvisational games and exercises to have fun, increase creativity, teamwork and problem solving. This intensive session examines key team skills such as trust, listening, communication, risk-taking, confidence, positive environment and openness and flexibility to change. The workshop weaves the creative process into the team concept, examining the significance of working together to create ideas. The exercises allow the participants to discover for themselves how teamwork and creativity increases productivity, makes us happier and builds personal and corporate success. In longer workshops, participants learn how to break down barriers in their creative process and how to increase their "possibility" box.

Managing Without A Script
What makes a good manager? How do you create an environment that allows your employees to be more creative, productive and happier in their jobs? What do employees want in a manager? Using interactive exercises that will have participants crying with laughter one moment and thinking intently the next, Joel focuses on the keys to successful managing. This session focuses on dealing with change, reducing stress and creating a positive environment. A positive environment is the foundation because it builds confidence, loyalty and creativity. Employees become more productive and more passionate about their jobs. This session also covers Joel's three keys to better communication: Details, 50/50 and Positive Support. Participants also learn one simple lesson that makes everything else work: The importance of fun.

Marketing/Sales Without A Script
Customers are unpredictable. You never know what they are going to say. You never seem to know exactly what they will want. How do you prepare yourself? How do you deal with the constant change? Joel uses improvisational exercises in this fun and fast-paced session, pointing his messages directly toward sales and marketing executives. Through the laughter, executives learn the idea behind 50/50 communication; high-focus listening; and the importance of creating a positive environment. Other skills discussed include dealing with change; creating opportunity for team members; reducing stress and taking away the fear of risks. These skills will help sales and marketing executives become more productive, more creative and more passionate about their jobs.

Effective Communication Without A Script
Communication is the most important tool in business. Just because we can talk and write, doesn't mean we are communicating effectively. We must constantly refine our communication skills and become more detailed, patient and positive. Every type of business relationship - customer, vendor or colleague - rises and falls on the skill of communication. Joel Zeff, a former newspaper reporter and marketing consultant, uses hilarious improvisational exercises to break down barriers and explore skills such as trust, flexibility to change, opportunity, and listening. His energetic, humorous and interactive workshop will help employees learn how to create positive, detailed and equal communication that will build more successful business relationships.

Team Building for People Who Hate Team Building
Tired of team building games that are silly? Tired of college kids leading your employees in games that have no message and no application to your business? Are you tired of building boats with cardboard and dental floss? Joel's sessions are about team skills including communication, positive support, creating opportunity, leadership, listening, trust, initiative, openness, flexibility and creativity. His sessions involve the entire audience by creating a positive and comfortable environment. He leads participants in hilarious improvisational exercises that are fun, easy and perfect for any level of employee. After each exercise, Joel creates a dialogue with the participants to discuss the messages learned and how to apply them. Joel promises there will be no boat building in this session. Event Entertainment (Comedy) Joel uses a unique blend of improvisational and traditional comedy for his event entertainment. His comedy is hilarious, interactive and perfect for any corporate audience. The same dynamic energy and audience interaction, which make his keynotes so engaging, works perfectly as pure entertainment. Joel can also customize his entertainment performances to include key managers and audience members. His entertainment is perfect for after-dinner, entertaining employees and spicing up conferences. Want to add more power to the entertainment? Joel can include some of his key messages to performance. Here is what one of our many satisfied clients told us: "Our [participants] thought you were the funniest man alive."

What People Are Saying

"On behalf of everyone at Todays, I would like to thank you for spending time with us at our annual meeting in January. This was our first time to link laughs with a business message and we learned that comedy makes meetings memorable. Joel, the audience response to your presentation was tremendous, and mine is a hard crowd to please.

"The team building and creativity sessions you conducted with our sales and operations people were top-rated. It was apparent that you spent time getting to know us as a company and were therefore able to weave in some laughs that were particularly relevant.

"Joel, I highly recommend you to other corporations and associations for their meetings. We look forward to working with you again in the future."
-- Todays Staffing

"I wanted to thank you for the outstanding work you did for our recent meeting in Dallas. We were very pleased with every aspect of your participation. This included your help prior to our event, your willingness to add to the scope of the work, your patience with our last minute requests, and your follow up after the meeting. You were professional, responsive, creative and fun to work with throughout the entire process.

"Most importantly, the end result was just what we wanted. The team building exercises during the meeting generated a lot of energy and excitement and the videos will be a keepsake for many of the participants."
-- Accenture

"Colleagues loved the games you facilitated and they really instilled how to have fun, be creative and work together as a team. Your presentation tied back to Comerica's mission statement of "helping people be successful" by creating a positive environment for our colleagues to build trust, teamwork and respect."
-- Comerica Bank-Texas

"I have received a steady stream of compliments from my partners about the fabulous program you presented at our attorney retreat. The consensus is that yours was the best program we have ever had. Surprisingly, many of the compliments have come from partners who historically have voted against our even having attorney retreats.

"You helped our group of sixty-five lawyers interact with each other, laugh with each other, and otherwise bring down the barriers that normally exist in this type of setting. You were exactly what we needed to get our retreat off to a good start - quite an accomplishment!"