Igniting Creativity, Teambuilding, Communication and Passion
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.
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.
Available Programs:
Make the Right Choice: Taking Ownership and Responsibility for your Happiness and Success - In Make the Right Choice, Joel shares his experience and insight on creativity, communication, teamwork, passion, and fun. With wit, a sharp observational eye, and playful irreverence, he discusses the choices we all encounter in our careers. We each have the ability to take initiative and make the right choice to live a more creative, passionate, effective, and productive life. How do your employees and managers Make the Right Choice? We all must take ownership of our work environment and create a foundation of opportunity and positive support. We can choose to be patient, supportive, and more flexible to change. We can choose to have fun in the workplace and still be productive. Joel teaches us just how easy it is to make these choices. He connects to his audience with humor that has them laughing so uncontrollably that their mascara runs, their cheeks hurt, and their bellies ache. And he doesn't do it alone. Volunteers from the audience join him on stage and play an integral role in an improvisation game in front of hundreds or thousands of people—something the audience members have never done. He expects nothing less than their success. He expects the volunteers to focus and work together as a team; communicate effectively; positively support each other; and take responsibility. Joel makes his audience laugh so hard that they forget about the corporate nonsense of conference calls, "strategic deliverables," PowerPoint presentations with upside-down triangles, or "paradigm shifts in a cross-functional organization." Make the Right Choice is conversational, funny, and very informative. Yes, Joel will make you laugh, but he'll also make you think. This presentation delivers a combination of inspiration, essential business knowledge, and significant ideas to help audience members reconnect with their own passion, creativity, and success.
Make the Right Choice: Leading Teams during Change with Passion and Success - It’s hard to have fun and stay passionate at work during stressful times. Your employees build stress after each media report about economic challenges. Business today means surviving and thriving during a merger, layoff or the all encompassing “restructuring.” How do managers continue to motivate and energize employees during difficult times? Managers must help employees stay in the game; work in the moment; and take ownership of their happiness. Joel leads the audience through a series of exercises that demonstrates how easy it is to continue working creatively, effectively and productively while dealing with change. This interactive and hilarious presentation will teach managers the importance of creating opportunity and giving positive support to their employees. Just as important, managers must allow employees to create ownership. Ownership and responsibility will allow the employee to care. And once the employee starts to care, the next step is passion. Joel uses humor and improvisation to teach his audiences how important these simple choices are to success. During this keynote, audience members will laugh, have fun and be motivated, inspired and energized.
Make the Right Choice: 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. Employees and managers who have fun at their jobs are more loyal, enthusiastic and passionate. They will sell more; communicate more effectively; take care of the customers and produce results. And, fun increases employee retention. If employees and managers are not happy and having fun, they become “Bye-Bye” people. “Bye-Bye” people don’t take care of customers, sell anything, or produce results. “Bye-Bye” employees and managers come to work everyday; they just don’t care because they have quit mentally. 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. Joel discusses the key foundations of opportunity, ownership and responsibility, flexibility to change and creating a positive environment. 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.
Make the Right Choice: Communicate with Passion, Creativity and Energy - This interactive and hilarious session helps employees and managers communicate more effectively with each other and with their customers. Attendees will examine key skills such as trust, listening, teamwork, risk-taking, confidence, positive environment and openness and flexibility to change. Participants will learn: 1. How to increase focus and be more prepared for change. 2. How to use the three elements of good communication: Details, 50/50 partnership and a positive and patient attitude. 3. How to help your customers, colleagues, vendors and partners feel more comfortable, confident and in control of the message. Audience members will learn through discovery how a few easy choices can lead to more effective and successful communication. This session is perfect for any audience that communicates for a living, and that is pretty much everyone. From sales associates, to working with the public, to working in an organization that is spread over multiple locations, everyone will enjoy this session on communication. During this keynote, audience members will laugh, have fun and be motivated, inspired and energized. 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, 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.
ROI/Tangible Program Benefits:
- Laugh so hard you'll forget about the corporate nonsense of conference calls, "strategic deliverables," PowerPoint presentations with upside-down triangles, or "paradigm shifts in a cross-functional organization"
- Reconnect with your own passion, creativity, and success
- Learn how to work creatively, effectively and productively while dealing with change
- Learn why fun is the most important commodity in the workplace today
- Discover a few easy choices that can lead to more effective and successful communication
Testimonials/Client List:
Your messages were right on target and, just as importantly, the forum in which they were delivered kept everyone engaged and entertained. I have to tell you that it was truly the best 'motivational speaker' type presentation I've ever seen!-American Heart Association
I can already name no less than 5 occasions in the last few days since our retreat that your messages have come up in meetings and conversations as examples for ways we should improve or move forward. Your impact on this team will be enduring!-KPMG
You were a star and did just the right thing. Throughout the conference I heard so many great comments and saw people laughing as they reenacted some of your presentation. A number of people seemed interested in hiring you. An added benefit of having someone great is that you make the committee look great! Thank you so much.-International Society of Restaurant Association Executives
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