Joel Zeff

Joel Zeff is a dynamic speaker, work culture expert, improvisational humorist, and author. His interactive performances invite members of the audience to participate in hilarious improvisational exercises that illustrate Zeff's central message: That organizations and individuals should celebrate their successes to increase collaboration, productivity, passion, and innovation.

Since 1997, Zeff has inspired audiences from Wells Fargo to Samsung to KPMG and even the IRS. Zeff is a masterful keynote speaker and a nationally renowned motivator, humorist, and improvisational actor. His spontaneous humor and vital messages have thrilled audiences for more than 25 years, and he has shared his insight at more than 2,500 events.

His career is a search for fun and passion. He quickly realized the importance of both at his first jobs delivering the hometown newspaper and cleaning up trash at a suburban movie theater. He started his professional career as a newspaper journalist and public relations executive. In 1994, Zeff went out on his own as a corporate communications specialist. He helped clients with their internal communications, media relations, strategy, and customer marketing. Throughout the consulting process, Zeff realized his clients—many of them high-level technology and telecommunications firms—needed more than marketing and public relations strategy. Many of his clients' employees were starving for fun, passion, and a new perspective on finding success.

At the time, Zeff was having fun on the weekends as a comedian. Through friends, he discovered improvisational comedy. One of his clients (a large technology company) knew Zeff performed comedy on the weekends. The client invited him to entertain and speak to a group of executives before dinner. A corporate speaking career was born.

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 does not 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 success. He expects the volunteers to focus and work together as a team; communicate effectively; positively support each other; and take responsibility.

Zeff makes his audience laugh so hard that they forget about the corporate nonsense of conference calls, "strategic deliverables," PowerPoint presentations with upside triangles, or "paradigm shifts in a cross-functional organization." Zeff will make you laugh, and he will make you think. His keynotes deliver a combination of inspiration, essential business knowledge, and significant ideas to help audience members reconnect with their own passion and success.

As discussed in his book, "Make the Right Choice," Zeff believes that we all encounter choices in our careers. We always can have the opportunity to make the right choice to live a more creative, passionate, and productive life. How do you "make the right choice?" You can choose to provide opportunity. You can choose to provide positive support. And along the way, you can choose to have fun.

He has appeared on CNBC and featured in The Dallas Morning News, The Houston Chronicle, The Kansas City Star, and many other media outlets. Additionally, his book "Make the Right Choice" is a Dallas Morning News bestseller and consistently ranks highly in Work/Life balance categories on Amazon. Zeff offers a virtual experience titled "The Spirit of Ta-Da" which aims to inject fun, energy, and passion into the audience. His emphasis on improvisation is not just for entertainment but also teaches the importance of flexibility and adaptability in creating successful teams during times of change and disruption.