Nailing the Punchline
Opportunity knocked again one recent Sunday afternoon. Well, actually it called my cell. My family had already left for Tennessee to visit family and enjoy Thanksgiving. I had stayed behind due to plans on Monday evening, with a flight out set for Tuesday morning. Sunday afternoon, then, found me home alone with no real plans, until my phone rang. “Joe, I’m glad I caught you!” said my friend Christian. “Are you working tonight?” “No – why?” “Well, I’ve got a situation…” Christian is a local comedy magician who was scheduled to play Atlanta’s Punchline Comedy Club that evening. Due to some miscommunication between himself and the club manager, each thought the other had booked the rest of the talent for the evening’s show. That is, they had a headliner but no emcee and no feature act. Would I be interested in taking one of those spots? The emcee spot runs about ten minutes, then you introduce the other acts. The feature spot is a 25-minute spot, then you’re done for the evening. I had never worked a comedy club before. Sure, I use humor in my act, but I don’t bill myself as a “comedy magician.” My friend assured me that I would be great and that the crowd that night was expecting strong magic. Back in April I wrote about the importance of being willing to jump into unexpected opportunities. I thought about that post as I considered this offer for a few seconds. “If I can do the feature spot, I’m in.” “Done. See you at the club.” Next thing I know, I’m headed into town to work the Punchline. On the way, I considered how I would start. I had a routine that I knew would fit comfortably into the time slot. I knew the effects would work well together, involve the audience, and generate some laughs from their intrinsic humor. My main concern was precisely how to open for an audience largely primed for stand-up comedy. I decided to take part of a humorous speech I had written for another performance and adapt it to this new venue. Basically, I set out to establish that I was on the show for contrast, to make the funny acts seem funnier. However, in positioning myself that way, I was also getting some laughs. The combination worked well, and I had the audience laughing at my ‘predicament’ before I even started the magic. As it turns out, I had a great time. Excellent comments after the show, including “You were our favorite” from a couple who didn’t know any of the performers, and “You changed our whole outlook on magic” from another couple who had actually come to see the headliner and didn’t expect to see other performers. Some of my takeaways from the experience: Take advantage of unexpected opportunities to grow. I could have stayed home and told myself, “That’s not my venue.” Instead, I now have a new venue. Are your skills or services applicable to a market you haven’t explored? Think about your opening. Find a way to position yourself for success by turning your presumed weaknesses into strengths. They’re not bugs – they’re features! Is there something about what you offer – or about what you don’t offer – that you can use as a point of contrast to others in your field? Nail the punch line. In comedy, you won’t be successful if you don’t nail your punch line. All the build up requires that you deliver the goods at the end. How do your clients know when it’s time to laugh and applaud? Are you nailing your punch line? Here we are at the end of 2011, a year that has been both amazingly challenging and amazingly fruitful. You have just enough time left to nail your punch line.
Credibility Counts – Interview on Georgia Business Directory Network
Anyone can claim anything. How are you evaluating the credibility of the speakers or entertainers you book for your conferences and events?
Reviews, Recommendations, and Referrals
It’s no secret that positive feedback from my previous clients is a key factor in the buying decisions of my new clients. Most of my clients are eager to give their recommendation, but gone are the days when a binder of recommendation letters was the best way to collect stories from happy customers. I love having that letter to remind me of a great project and a great result, but if that story exists only on paper in my office, or even as text on my web site, then it is only having a fraction of the impact that it could have. That’s why I ask my clients to channel those valuable positive responses into online reviews, recommendations, and referrals. By contributing their input to some key online repositories, they can multiply the effect that their great feedback will have. The down side of this, of course, is that they have to take the time to do it. The purpose of this post is to make it easy to leave a great review online in just a few easy steps… with links included! Step One: Don’t panic! Keep it short and appropriate for the primary target market. Sometimes people are intimidated by a perceived need for volume. Relax! You don’t have to write a New York Times theater or book review. You can write one short review and post it in multiple places. In fact, it’s better to keep your review short and enthusiastic – it’s more likely to be read! Despite being short, though, it’s also important to give some thought to how best to communicate value to the future prospect. My primary target market, for example, consists of meetings, conventions, and corporate events where I can be booked as a keynote speaker, after-dinner entertainer, trade show booth presenter, or hospitality entertainer. Sometimes my work takes me into other venues or settings, but it is my primary corporate audience that needs to know my value to them. If my work for you was in a different setting, it’s helpful to focus on the components of my presentation that are of most interest to my corporate clients. Comments relating to professionalism, reliability, superior experience, higher value, my ability to deliver high-quality entertainment, build practical skills, engage people, get good audience feedback, and integrate client messages into my performances are all of interest to my main clients. Step Two: Share your review, prioritizing key sites first but sharing as widely as possible. Google and LinkedIn are two key sites where my clients do research on speakers and entertainers. Having your review posted there makes a big difference in my online visibility. In order to post reviews on Google and LinkedIn, you’ll have to have an account at both places. Fortunately, they are free and most people already have them. How To Leave a Google Review If you don’t have a Google account, then click here to create one for free. Once you’re signed in, click here to leave a review. If that doesn’t take you directly to a text box, click here and look for the “Write a Review” button. How To Leave a LinkedIn Recommendation If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, then click here to create one for free. Once you’re signed in, click here to view my profile. At the top right of the screen you’ll see the link to “Recommend Joe M.” – just click on that and you can post your recommendation there. You may wish to target your recommendation either to my entertainment offerings or my professional speaking. Taking It To The Next Level If you have time, you can follow a similar process to leave your review on as many other pages as you can. Klout is growing in importance – please visit my Klout page and leave me “+1” on topics of change, speaking, networking, and magic. Some additional options include Bing, Yelp, Yahoo, and Merchant Circle. Step Three: Share your review on your social media sites and mine! Once you’ve created your review, don’t forget to share a link on your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social media pages. If you have a blog, post a link there. And as always, please feel free to join me on my Facebook page and share your feedback and even upload photos you may have taken at your event! Your participation on my page makes a big difference in its visibility.
Microsoft Outlook: Combining Two Groups of -Company (None)- Contacts
When Microsoft Outlook imports contacts from outside files, sometimes you end up with two groups of “No Company” contacts. This simple process will help you easily consolidate the two groups into a single “No Company” group.
Atlanta Speaker, Mentalist, Magician Turner to Perform at London Palladium
Atlanta speaker, mentalist and magician Joe M. Turner will perform at the London Palladium in September at a show benefiting several UK children’s medical charities. He is the sole American close-up performer on the bill. Atlanta-based speaker and corporate entertainer Joe M. Turner has been tapped to perform at a landmark event at the historic Palladium Theatre in London on September 19. Illusionists from around the world, including Las Vegas headliners Mac King and Jeff Hobson, will present an evening of stage magic and close-up sleight-of-hand as part of “Palladium Magic,” a gala benefit show supporting several UK children’s medical charities. Turner, a two-time Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year, is the only American slated to be part of the close-up magic performances. “It is an honor to have Joe as part of our event,” says producer Paul Stone, president of MagiCares, the charity behind the show. “His talents are well-known in America and we are proud indeed that he agreed to share them with us. Great magicians such as Harry Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, and Paul Daniels have performed in this historic theatre, as have most of the greatest singers, actors, and variety stars over the last hundred years. Joe will become part of a great show business tradition when he takes his bow on the Palladium stage.” Turner’s skills as a mentalist and sleight-of-hand expert have put him in high demand as an entertainer and speaker. His visual and psychological illusions have been featured on Good Morning America, Nightline, CNN HLN, and numerous other television programs at home and abroad. He has performed multiple times at the Hollywood Magic Castle, the Tropicana Atlantic City, off-Broadway at Monday Night Magic in New York, and at hundreds of corporate and private events in North America, Europe, and the Caribbean. Turner performed at the 2010 national convention of the Society of American Magicians and serves on the Executive Committee of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the industry’s largest organization. He is a member of the London Magic Circle, which awarded him an advanced performance degree last year. As a speaker, Joe frequently delivers motivational keynotes on subjects of creativity, leadership, and “doing the impossible” by leveraging one’s unique combination of talents and life experiences. He is a member of the National Speakers Association and was featured in their national magazine earlier this year. After the show, Turner will travel north to perform and lecture at another conference in Southport before returning home. Find out more about Joe M. Turner’s unreal entertainment and keynotes at https://turnermagic.com and https://www.turnertalks.com.
“One Enchanted Evening” in Vicksburg Sept 8
Mississippi Native Turner Brings Magic, Music From Atlanta to Vicksburg NOTE: Listen to a radio interview about this upcoming appearance! Interview by Annette Kirklin on The Directors Report, WVBG Radio, Vicksburg, MS (8/17/2011) Atlanta speaker and entertainer Joe M. Turner will perform “One Enchanted Evening” at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center on Thursday, September 8. Turner, a Brandon native, will present a unique show of sleight-of-hand illusions and music performances. The Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation takes immense pride in welcoming acclaimed international speaker, corporate entertainer, and Brandon, Mississippi native Joe M. Turner back to his home state for a one-night-only, one-of-a-kind theatrical performance on Thursday, September 8th at 7:00pm in the SCH Auditorium. Turner will present a multi-faceted evening of variety entertainment including unreal sleight-of-hand mysteries, uncanny psychological illusions, and unforgettable piano and vocal classics, all woven together into what some consider “a 21st-century one-man vaudeville.” Don’t miss this unique entertainment event! This limited engagement will sell out, so don’t miss out! Tickets are $25 for SCHF Members, $30 for Non-Members and $225 for a Corporate/Private Table. Ticket price includes heavy hors d’oeuvres, punch, a cash bar, and an unforgettable evening of magic, mentalism, and music! Tickets are on sale now at the SCHF Business Office, Paper Plus or charge by phone at (601) 631-2997. You can get tickets and directions online at https://www.southernculture.org Joe M. Turner combines seven years of corporate experience in training design and development, business communication, human performance development and change management initiatives at Fortune 100 clients with extensive theatre experience and magical talents to create customized magical presentations for his clients. Joe is a member of the National Speakers Association, the Academy of Magical Arts at The Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Society of American Magicians, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, The Magic Circle in London (A.I.M.C. with silver star), and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians. He is also a popular speaker, onscreen and onstage talent, a professional pianist, an accomplished vocalist, composer and playwright. Visit his website at https://turnermagic.com Space is limited and an advanced ticket purchase is suggested. For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the SCHF office at 601-631-2997 or email info@southernculture.org ### Based in Atlanta, Georgia, professional speaker, mentalist, and corporate magician Joe M. Turner delivers unreal entertainment and keynotes for corporate meetings, events, trade shows, conferences and private events worldwide. Category Entertainment, Event, Arts
Recent Interviews and News Stories
Atlanta speaker, mentalist, and magician Joe M. Turner is the South’s most-recommended magical entertainer and speaker based on LinkedIn and Google results. This post contains links to several interviews and media appearances in recent weeks.
On the Essential, Eternal Question of Pricing…
When a client contacts a professional speaker or entertainer for a possible engagement, the one issue everyone knows must be addressed – but which nobody wants to be the first to mention – is the fee. Joe M. Turner examines the issue via a quote of disputed origin but undisputed relevance.
The Path of At Least Some Resistance, Please
One of the familiar idioms in our language has to do with “finding the path of least resistance.” We use this phrase to describe the flow of currents – water, electricity, even people. It is sometimes applied to discussions about process and workflow design, and is occasionally even used to describe personality traits in people, as in “He’s the type that seeks the path of least resistance.” Even good-hearted, well-meaning friends, seeing us facing hard times, sometimes say “Why fight it? Take the path of least resistance!” That kind of advice certainly sounds reasonable on the face, doesn’t it? The path of least resistance sounds like an easy choice, and none of us is likely to be interested in making life harder for ourselves, particularly when economic, professional, and personal crises may be creating plenty of stress already. Why not ease up and take the path of least resistance? One good reason not to do it is that the path of least resistance isn’t really a path at all. It’s not a path, a road, a highway… it’s not even a trail. It has no target, no metrics, no direction, and no destination. The result of the path of least resistance is not to get anywhere or do anything – it’s just to find the easiest way to move somewhere else other than where you started. Worst of all, once you are on a path of minimal resistance, it seems to take even more effort to get focused again! Resistance isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In human muscles, resistance builds strength. In “project muscles,” resistance helps to ensure that forward motion is done purposefully and in ways that can be explained and defended. A certain degree of pushback is useful and can help keep audiences focused on the goal and the core reasons for achieving it. You can illustrate this for yourself. On a sheet of printer or copier paper, draw a large circle. Place the paper on the floor. Stand beside it and hold a business card over the target with your finger and thumb, positioned with a short, thin edge pointing straight down toward the target. You should be holding the card at about waist height. Drop the card over the target. Instead of hitting the target, the card will almost certainly flutter away and land nowhere near the target. It will often land without even touching the piece of paper! Try again with another card, but this time hold the card parallel to the ground, so that the card drops toward the target flat side first. Drop the card so that the printed side is aimed at the target. In this position, it will fall more or less straight downward. This is an unintuitive result. It would seem that in the edge-first position, the card would move more swiftly and slice through the air toward the target with little or no resistance. However, in that position it is most vulnerable to being knocked off course and it eventually tumbles out of control. When dropped in the face-first position, the steady air resistance actually allows the trajectory to be more accurately controlled. Apply this demonstration during your next team meeting or presentation by considering the following: Resistance to change in an organization is normal. It’s human nature. But are there certain types of resistance which are actually beneficial to reaching the ultimate goal? Without some resistance, a trajectory can be influenced by chaotic factors and spin out of control. With too much resistance, the target is never reached. How can you evaluate the kinds of resistance your team is facing and harness it to allow you to progress more effectively and accurately toward your goal? I’ve mentioned Martin Gardner in this column before. He was an amazing writer and thinker. He died just over a year ago, and when he crossed my mind recently I decided to give him another reverential nod in my blog. This “falling cards” demonstration appeared in his book Smart Science Tricks in 2004.
Foreground, Background, and Perspective
By looking at your combination of skills and occasionally putting emphasis on skills you might have left in the background, you are likely to find that the labels you have put on yourself are woefully insufficient to describe the true and expanding depth of your real capacity.
