When corporate comedian Judy Carter was selected to be the closing keynoter for Hong Kong’s top business leaders, she realized she had a problem: “How would my American comedy translate to an Asian audience?” she wondered. The problem was magnified when, after giving the client an outline of her talk, they responded with a list of 45 items she couldn’t mention – including the economy, relationships, and even, dogs. What’s a comedian to do?!

Judy Carter in China

Judy wondered how she could take her humor – and all of its American references – and translate it to be funny for the Asian corporate culture. Then, bingo!

“I realized that there’s one thing that unites all of us,” Judy said. “No, it’s not love. It’s technology! Whether you live in Kansas, New York, or Beijing, computers, emails, and system breakdowns are the new international language of despair.”

So, with her revelation, Judy created a new talk that featured the “Top Signs You Have Too Much Tech Stress.” Among them:

• When you talk without your blackberry, your thumbs still move
• You stay in a bad relationship – because you can’t handle any new upgrades
• You’re up at 3am to go to the bathroom and you check your email on the way back to bed
• You find yourself arguing with inanimate objects
• You have to text your kid to take out the trash
• When your friend tells you about a “hot looking server at Hooters” you think he’s talking about the IBM networked to the cash register

The end result? Judy was a hit! (Read the article in the South China Morning Post.)

Clients – from coast to coast and around the world! – consistently rave about Judy Carter. If you’re looking for a “comedy makeover” completely customized for your event, to help your attendees battle a depressed economy, consider Judy. You’ll be glad you did!

Posted under Corporate Entertainment, Corporate Entertainment Reviews, Keynote Speaker Reviews, Motivational Speakers, Speaker News, Speaker Recommendations

Completing my weekend tour of client visits, I spent yesterday at a leading healthcare company’s physicians meeting in Dallas, Texas… what a great group of people! Joel Zeff was their featured speaker, and it was his fourth engagement with this particular organization in 2006. Needless to say, they like him a lot! This was my first chance to see him in person, though, and now I know why they keep bringing him back… what an amazing speaker! He easily ranks as one of my favorites, out of hundreds whom I’ve worked with over the past seven years.

What makes Joel so great? Think of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Chocolate? Good. Peanut butter? Good. Together? Yummy! Joel’s presentation is sort of like that. The peanut butter inside is a dynamic, relevant business message that could stand very well on its own. The chocolate coating outside is hilarious, unpredictable improv comedy entertainment. (If you’ve ever seen Whose Line Is It Anyway? on ABC, or on Comedy Central, you have some idea of what I’m talking about.)

By combining years of business experience with years of improv comedy training, Joel has truly created the perfect program. There are many outstanding speakers available and many outstanding entertainers, but I haver never seen someone combine a message with entertainment so effectively.

And another bonus with Joel: improv comedy is always tailored to the audience, because they submit ideas and play along throughout the program… making for an even more memorable program for your attendees.

Joel Zeff Speaker Preview on YouTube

Posted under Corporate Entertainment Reviews, Keynote Speaker Reviews