From Cork to Chicago: The Humor and Wisdom of Conor the Irishman
Conor Cunneen, a renowned keynote speaker and business humorist, shares invaluable insights on the importance of humor in professional settings and personal interactions. Drawing from his Irish heritage, Conor emphasizes that humor can significantly enhance audience engagement and communication effectiveness. He recounts memorable experiences, including a standout presentation to the Amish community, where genuine laughter filled the room and created a lasting connection. Throughout the conversation, he introduces his "L.A.U.G.H." acronym, which provides practical tips for incorporating humor into presentations and everyday interactions. With a career rooted in marketing and a passion for uplifting others, Connor inspires listeners to embrace laughter as a tool for improving productivity and building rapport.
Conor, an Irishman now residing in Chicago, brings his unique perspective as a former marketing vice president and now a keynote speaker and humorist to the podcast. His journey from Ireland to America is filled with tales that interweave cultural nuances, humor, and valuable life lessons. He shares insights on the importance of body language and presentation skills, recounting how a seemingly simple piece of advice from his sales manager—"take your hands out of your pockets"—shaped his professional demeanor and approach to communication. Conor emphasizes that effective communication goes beyond words; it involves how one presents oneself and engages with others. This foundational lesson is a recurrent theme throughout the discussion, highlighting the significance of authenticity and relatability in building connections with audiences, whether in corporate settings or personal interactions.
Throughout the conversation, Conor reflects on the role humor plays in fostering relationships and enhancing engagement. He discusses how humor can serve as a powerful tool in the business world, capable of breaking down barriers and creating a more enjoyable atmosphere. With anecdotes from his life, including a memorable experience at an Amish conference, he illustrates how humor not only entertains but also serves as a vehicle for important messages about leadership and teamwork. Conor's approach to humor in presentations is strategic; he advocates for the use of relatable stories and lighthearted commentary to make serious subjects more accessible. By focusing on laughter as a catalyst for connection, he offers listeners actionable takeaways that can be applied in various contexts, from sales pitches to public speaking engagements.
The episode also delves into cultural differences between Ireland and America, particularly in how humor is perceived and used. Conor Cunneen points out the vibrancy of Irish social interactions, characterized by laughter and camaraderie, contrasting it with the more reserved nature of American humor. He discusses the importance of knowing one’s audience and using humor appropriately to avoid misunderstandings. With practical advice on crafting presentations that resonate, Conor provides a comprehensive framework encapsulated in his "LAUGH" acronym, emphasizing the need to listen, share anecdotes, and understand the context of humor. This insightful dialogue not only entertains but also equips listeners with the tools needed to enhance their communication skills and foster meaningful connections, all while keeping a smile on their faces.
Takeaways:
- Conor Cunneen emphasizes the importance of body language and presence in effective communication.
- Listening to your audience's laughter can provide valuable insights for future presentations.
- Using humor in presentations can enhance audience engagement and make messages more memorable.
- Balancing positive reinforcement with constructive criticism is crucial in leadership and teamwork.
- Conor's story about using humor during customer service highlights the value of connection.
- Incorporating anecdotes and humor into professional settings can improve relationships and productivity.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
My guest today is Connor the Irishman speaks.
Keith:This man is happily exiled in Chicago where he says the Guinness is good, the people are friendly and he has been force fed many corn fed beef, mini corn beef and green beer than he's ever had in Ireland.
Keith:Connor is a former marketing vice president who now earns a crust as a keynote speaker, business humorist and consultant who leaves audiences with a smile on the face, a spring in the step and a memorable actionable takeaways to improve people performance and productivity with a smile.
Keith:Connor is a Chicago humorous speaker of the year for a speech you would not believe on customer service in San Quentin prison.
Keith:He's also a recipient of the president's gold medal for volunteer service in his work with the unemployed.
Keith:Welcome, Connor to the podcast.
Keith:Well, we welcome Connor to the podcast.
Keith:How you doing today, Connor?
Connor:I'm doing great.
Connor:And yourself, sir?
Keith:It's good to have you on.
Keith:It's good to talk to a fellow Irishman.
Keith:So I'm very, very excited about this.
Connor:Well, I've actually been working on my Chicago accent, Keith, for about 25 years now.
Connor:So I've nailed it, obviously.
Keith:Okay, well, you know, I used to live in Chicago area.
Keith:See behind me there's a poster of famous Southside pubs.
Keith:So there you go.
Connor:All right, very good.
Connor:Yeah, I'm just west of Chicago in a place called Naperville.
Keith:Oh, I know Naperville.
Keith:Yeah, we have.
Keith:I've been out there a lot.
Keith:So our office was on hillside.
Keith:So I know that.
Keith:I know the area well.
Connor:All right.
Connor:Yeah, yeah, know the area.
Connor:Yeah.
Keith:So I'm gonna ask you my favorite question.
Keith:Start out with my friend and that is what is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Connor:Now, I checked some of into previous interviews and I saw you asking that question and the answer I'm going to give is actually quite unusual, I think.
Connor:And the best piece of advice I recall, the first piece of advice that really made an impact on me is take your hands out of your pockets.
Keith:Interesting.
Connor:I told you it was interesting.
Connor:It was my first job out of college.
Connor:I was working for Murphy Stuff Stout, the brewery in Cork, Ireland.
Connor:And I was working in sales and marketing area.
Connor:And my sales manager said to me on one occasion, he said, connor, I saw you walking across the lot there a few minutes ago.
Connor:Take your hands out of your pockets when you're walking.
Connor:And he said it's all about how you present yourself.
Connor:And ever since I've kept that in mind.
Connor:Not just the actual phrase, but it's how you present yourself.
Connor:In the interactions with people.
Connor:When you're on this kind of a call, when you're at sales presentations, doing keynote speaking, et cetera, body language is, as we know, hugely important and some would say way more important than the words that you're using.
Connor:So that I think is a piece of advice that has stuck most in this Irish brain rather than anything else.
Keith:That's fascinating.
Keith:I've also heard that advice when you work at the bank, keep your hands out of your pocket.
Connor:That's true as well.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:Now I think he was suggesting something slightly different there, Keith.
Keith:That's probably true.
Connor:Yeah.
Keith:No, I love that.
Keith:That's a great question.
Keith:I'm always curious about people like yourself who have worked a lot of with a lot of different people in your background.
Keith:Who are some people who serve to be an inspiration for you or a mentor for you along your journey?
Connor:Right.
Connor:A few people over the the years I've been blessed to have some good leaders and mentors.
Connor:And like other people, I've had a few real beauts as well.
Connor:World that I wouldn't say too many positive things about.
Connor:But there's two people in particular that were CEOs of mine when I was working in Ireland.
Connor:One of them was an Irish CEO.
Connor:Norman Kilroy was his name.
Connor:And he was the kind of guy that made you just feel good and he kind of trusted you to do what it he asked you to do, didn't micromanage you.
Connor:But if you didn't follow through with something, then he would have a go with you.
Connor:But you were able to accept that because you knew that he was helping you, mentoring you and supporting you when you were doing things well.
Connor:And I do believe that that is critical in leadership, Keith, that if you just constantly criticize people, you're going to turn them off.
Connor:You have the right to criticize people.
Connor:I think if you've already shown that you have their interests at heart, that you've been supporting them when things go well.
Connor:And I think in leadership and in management and teamwork building in general, you've got to have a balance.
Connor:Actually more than a balance.
Connor:The positive and the commentary and the supportive should outweigh the critique.
Connor:It doesn't mean you live in a utopian situation, but people are human and you've got to be able to make sure that you balance your reaction and your commentary to them.
Keith:I love that because as someone once said, nobody knows what you care until they know that you care about them first.
Keith:So if you don't have that relationship, whatever words you have to say no matter how valid they are, they land on deaf ears.
Keith:If you don't, people don't think you have.
Keith:You care about them as an individual.
Connor:Yeah, absolutely.
Connor:And I mean this guy Norman, I'm just goes back 35, 40 years ago that I was kind of reporting into him, but I still remember some of the lessons and the way he made you feel.
Connor:And I tried to take that through my career in corporate.
Connor:And I do try to express those messages and concepts now when I'm speaking to audiences to improve people performance and productivity with a smile.
Keith:I love that.
Keith:So what made you leave the beautiful green hills of Ireland for a place like Chicago?
Connor:It was your viewers and listeners will know it was Hellman's Mayonnaise.
Keith:I love helmets.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:I was working in Ireland and the UK in marketing role and one of our core brands was Hellman's Mayonnaise.
Connor:So I was a VP of marketing for the Irish UK market and then they transferred me over to the United States to as one of my friends friend said to mess up the United States.
Connor:No, Connor.
Connor:So.
Keith:So having lived in Chicago, I'm curious what's your favorite part about living in Chicago?
Connor:Favorite part about living in Chicago?
Connor:I would think it is the Lakeshore in the late spring and in the the fall it is just a gorgeous.
Connor:Chicago is a beautiful city.
Connor:It gets a bad rap at times sometimes deservedly, but when the the weather is is good it is just a magnificent, beautiful, attractive city.
Keith:So if you live in Chicago, you've had to make some tough choices and I know when I was there you had to either choose Cubs or socks.
Keith:So what did you end up landing on as you moved to Chicago?
Connor:Well, you know what, I had never been to a baseball game in my life.
Connor:So the first baseball game I went to was to a Sox game.
Connor:So as a result what you do, you become a Sox supporter.
Connor:But I gotta say though that you know this from your teachings and pastoring as well.
Connor:I know from my speaking engagements atmosphere and crowd is really critical.
Connor:And the atmosphere and the crowd in the Wrigley Field is just world class.
Connor:It's mind boggling the whole vibe in that place.
Connor:So if anyone ever goes to Copus Gam first game they're guaranteed to be a Cub supporter.
Connor:But I went to Saxon so I'm now following the.
Connor:Chicago's got a lot of losers at the moment when it comes to sport.
Keith:It really does.
Keith:It's okay because I'm a St.
Keith:Louis Cardinal fan.
Keith:So you said the right answer I would had to end the podcast early, if you had said you were a Cubs fan.
Connor:Right?
Connor:Yeah.
Keith:So I'm curious about.
Keith:You work a lot with humor.
Keith:How has your.
Keith:Your Irish heritage influenced your sense of humor, your work as a humorist?
Connor:Right.
Connor:That's a good question.
Connor:And, you know, I think obviously your background has a huge impact on your development and how you present yourself and the Irish in general.
Connor:Maybe because of our history, because we were dominated so much by the English for such a long time and had a really.
Connor:I mean, people talk about the luck of the Irish.
Connor:I actually say that Lennon spoke about the luck of the Irish, and he said, if you had the luck of the Irish, you'd be sorry and wished you were dead.
Connor:No, by the way, that was John Lennon that said that his grandfather actually came from Ireland.
Connor:But, I mean, Ireland had a really tough history in terms of the Famine, English domination, colonialization, etc.
Connor:So I think to an extent, as part of our culture, we try to just kind of.
Connor:How do we get around this?
Connor:We laugh at it and we try to get some humor into it.
Connor:It's probably the same with the African Americans here in the States.
Connor:I mean, when the whole slave.
Connor:Awful holocaust, if I can use that word, in this context, what was happening?
Connor:It was the power of prayer and song, I think that actually helped to keep them going.
Connor:So different people who are downtrodden have different ways to make it to survive the next day.
Connor:And I think the Irish have got a very quirky, fun sense of humor.
Connor:We are kind of pessimists in some ways, but also we just really have a good ability to laugh at ourselves and also laugh at other people.
Connor:So in that sense, that's where the Irish humor has helped me a little bit.
Connor:But also, Keith, it means that when I came over here, I had to be careful about some of the things I said, which would be acceptable in an Irish context, but would not be acceptable in the US context or in the corporate context, if we can put it that way.
Keith:So let's dig a little deeper, because I'm kind of curious.
Keith:What were some of the biggest cultural things you notice in America that was different from coming from Ireland?
Connor:Right.
Connor:A couple of things.
Connor:I'll give you two.
Connor:One is that.
Connor:And we'll be careful here.
Connor:I had to stop using F bombs, okay?
Connor:Because in Ireland, I hope I'm not offending anyone, but the F bomb is a noun, it's a verb, it's an adjective, it's an adverb, it's an expression of delight, surprise, everything kind of thing.
Connor:And every single conversation you're involved in, almost even in a corporate sector, all this probably pulled back now a little bit.
Connor:There was F bombs left, right and center.
Connor:So that was one thing I added to change the other thing.
Connor:And my wife comments on this regularly.
Connor:She says one of the real things she misses from Ireland is laughter.
Connor:And if you go into an Irish environment, social environment, you're guaranteed to hear a lot of laughter.
Connor:A lot of you won't know what they're laughing at, but there's a laughter and the vibrancy.
Connor:You go into a pub in the Chicagoland area, might be a nice pub, but you're not going to get the same amount of laughter.
Connor:It's the same in all of the various social situations.
Connor:And that's something she regularly comments on.
Connor:When we go back to Ireland, oh, I love to hear the sound of laughter.
Keith:So, because that's not part of our culture, how have you used that in your speaking engagements when it's not something that we're accustomed to as much here in America?
Connor:Well, I think the advantage I've got is because I am able to make people laugh, I can connect better with them.
Connor:And there is a lot of research that has been done that if you can make people laugh, the neurotransmitters, the chemicals in the brain, start popping.
Connor:So things like I created when I'm speaking to audiences about the power of laughter, what difference it can make.
Connor:I say you've got these neurotransmitters.
Connor:I'll give you an acronym for them.
Connor:It's dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins.
Connor:They pop routines.
Connor:Good things happen.
Connor:And if you're in a sales presentation or if I'm in a keynote speaking situation, if I can get that dose of neurochemicals popping, people are going to connect better, they're paying more attention, they're going to appreciate the speaker hopefully better.
Connor:And as a result of that, my message connects better with them.
Connor:So I do encourage people in circumstances where they're in communication with anyone, there an opportunity for you just once or twice to put a smile on your audience's face or on your customer's face.
Connor:Because if you do that, you're on the way to building a good connection with that customer or with that audience.
Keith:That's fascinating.
Keith:So you have an acronym for lab.
Keith:Tell us what that acronym stands for.
Connor:Okay, we will, we will, we will.
Connor:So actually, one of the ways I introduced this case, Keith, is so we'll do a little bit of role play.
Connor:Here, okay, we forget about the use of the word that you used there a second ago.
Connor:So, Keith, I'm looking for one word and the word is a five letter word.
Connor:So if I say something funny, what do I hope that you will do?
Keith:Laugh.
Connor:Laugh.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:All right.
Connor:That's the way I introduce it to my audience.
Connor:Laugh Gang is the acronym, five letters that if you adopt and implement and work with, can help you to add humor to your presentation or to your sales pitch or to your communication.
Connor:And basically what I say, Keith, is that very briefly, the first element of laugh is listen.
Connor:Listen.
Connor:Okay, Right.
Connor:So if you consider over the last.
Connor:We'll ask you a question here.
Connor:If you consider over the last week, how many times do you think you would have laughed over the last week?
Keith:Maybe three times.
Connor:Okay, all right.
Connor:I tell you right here and now you are wrong because you've actually laughed about four or five times since this conversation started.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:And what happens is that the laughter researchers suggest that the average human laughs about 15 to 17 times a day.
Keith:Interesting.
Connor:Now, as you're above average, I know you're gonna laugh more 25 times a day, most likely.
Connor:Okay, all right.
Connor:But here's the thing though, and your answer actually just proved the point.
Connor:We don't remember what made us laugh.
Connor:And what I suggest to people is that if something made you laugh in the last couple of days, listen to it.
Connor:Oh, that's a good point.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:Made me laugh or I said something that made someone laugh, listen to it, write it down, capture it, and sometime, somewhere, you may be able to use that little comment or that anecdote again in the next conversation.
Connor:So if you're a salesperson, for instance, you're going to make a.
Connor:You made a big presentation last week to a client for X million dollars, and you said something or they said something that made the room crack up a little bit, which would not be unusual.
Connor:I mean, it's not just kind of serious, serious, serious, but you could maybe throw a quip out or something that got a comment.
Connor:Remember that quip.
Connor:So next time I'm doing my multi million dollar presentation next week, is there some way that I can bring that into the conversation?
Connor:So what I say is, Keith, you don't have to be funny to be funny.
Connor:Just pay attention to this laugh acronym.
Connor:So listen, is the first example or the first element of the laugh acronym.
Connor:Excuse me, the second element of the laugh acronym is.
Connor:Well, I'll ask a question again.
Connor:So let's assume that over the last week you laughed.
Connor:Let's say 15 times a day anyway.
Connor:Alright, you don't recall them, but what do you think you laughed most at?
Connor:Was it jokes that someone told, or was it quips, or was it comments, or was it anecdotes that you laughed most at over the last week?
Keith:Most likely comments, if I remember right.
Connor:Okay, it is.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:And that's the interesting thing.
Connor:You see, it's comments and anecdotes that make people laugh.
Connor:It's jokes we might laugh the heartiest at, but we don't laugh at that many jokes as we don't hear that many jokes, unless you're watching late in the television or something like that.
Connor:So.
Connor:And the funniest A is for anecdote.
Connor:Okay?
Connor:And the funniest anecdotes, Keith.
Connor:Keith.
Connor:Are the ones where something went wrong and you're telling your friends or on the water cooler or at the church or somewhere else about something that went wrong and you can now laugh at it.
Connor:Stories where everything was perfect are not funny.
Connor:Right?
Connor:So I'll combine the A and the U.
Connor:The A is for anecdote, the U is for uncomfortable.
Connor:Okay?
Connor:And the funniest stories are ones where something went wrong, where you were uncomfortable, but now you can laugh at it.
Connor:And I'll just give you an example of how this would work in my presentations.
Connor:So let's assume that I'm speaking to an audience.
Connor:It could be almost any audience where attention to detail is important.
Connor:Or you've got to make sure you follow through on what you're supposed to be doing.
Connor:But again, if you don't follow through what you're doing, you can run into trouble.
Connor:A couple of weeks ago, I was at a friend's house and I had to go to the bathroom, which you never want to do in a friend's house.
Connor:Okay?
Connor:So I'm there.
Connor:The friend says, carol, are you ready?
Connor:And okay, I said, I'm ready.
Connor:I'm rushing, rushing, rushing.
Connor:So I finished my business and as human beings, we don't want to leave our mark too obviously in the bathroom.
Connor:Okay, Right.
Connor:So.
Connor:So I search around and I grab the aerosol, spray the aerosol and all around the place aggressively.
Connor:It's shaving form.
Keith:Oh, no.
Connor:Right.
Connor:So I said something like, oh, no.
Keith:As well, Keith, but more Irish.
Connor:Yeah, I think more Irish, Keith.
Connor:Okay, so I have to clean up this place fast and then get out of the place.
Connor:But what does that got to do with you when you're an auditor or when you're working in an environment where safety is critical?
Connor:You've got to make sure that you follow the instructions, you've got to make sure you're aware of your surroundings.
Connor:And if you're not aware of your surroundings, well, then you can end up in trouble.
Connor:Now for me, in that situation, it was only a minor little thing, an anecdote.
Connor:I told tell.
Connor:Okay, I was slightly uncomfortable at the time, but I can bring that anecdote now to almost any conference where people are interested in attention to detail, follow through, etc.
Connor:And then what I can also say, Keith, I speak a lot about the importance of having mental triggers.
Connor:What I say to people is, alright gang, the next time you're shaving your legs, men, next time you're shaving your legs, remember, use a shaving foam, not an aerosol spray, okay?
Connor:Or I'll say to the ladies, when you go to the bathroom, just make sure that think about what the Irish guy said.
Connor:And remember when you've gone back into the office or into the area where attention to detail is important, that's the little mental trigger I'm leaving you with.
Connor:So that effectively each time you go to the bathroom, almost for the next few days, you're probably going to be remembering what the Irish guy said.
Connor:And if I as a keynote speaker can leave you with a good message but also a mental trigger to remind you of that message and I can use humor in that mental trigger.
Connor:We've got a win, win, win situation.
Keith:I love that.
Keith:That's, that's really helpful.
Keith:Now when I do my next presentation, I'll be able to use some of those things.
Connor:Absolutely.
Connor:Yeah, yeah.
Connor:So go to the bathroom after this call.
Connor:Okay.
Keith:You can use that example I love.
Connor:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Connor:So then are we okay with continuing?
Keith:Oh yeah, go ahead.
Connor:Yeah, so, so we got, listen, anecdote, uncomfortable situation.
Connor:G is for Google, as I say, Google on the Bing or Google on the AI no kind of thing.
Connor:Getting it all mixed up.
Connor:All right, but if you're doing a presentation, let's say on leadership or on marketing, and you're struggling to add a little piece of humorous material to it, go to the Googler and search for humorous quotes about leadership, funny quotes about marketing, what did Mark Twain say about leadership?
Connor:What did Will Rogers say about leadership or politics or something like that, it's quite likely you'll find a comment or a quip that you can use.
Connor:And then when you're doing your presentation, you make your serious point.
Connor:This is the way humor works, I think best in keynotes and presentations.
Connor:Make the point and then find some way to reinforce it with the present, with the humorous quote.
Connor:So, for instance, if we're talking politics, all right, which is not always a good thing, but we'll keep it going here.
Connor:But we could say though, that in today's environment, all right, it's very, very divisive.
Connor:Our politicians, we don't have a lot of faith in, but nothing has really changed.
Connor:Mark Twain said on one occasion, suppose you were a congressman, suppose you are an idiot.
Connor:But I repeat myself.
Connor:Okay.
Keith:That'S pretty good.
Keith:I like that.
Connor:Right.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:So I'm not kind of a.
Connor:Not kind of making any deliberate specific comment about any particular congressman.
Connor:Maybe I'm saying about the whole Congress, etc, but what I've done is I've made the point that everyone understands that the whole political system is, well, we'll be careful.
Connor:But then I reinforce it with a quote from Mark Twain.
Connor:And you can do the same with almost any topic.
Connor:If you're a lawyer, you can make fun of an account.
Connor:Accountants, for instance.
Connor:If you're accountant, you can make fun of lawyers, that kind of thing.
Connor:And all you got to do in your presentation is get that dose going.
Connor:The dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins, etc.
Connor:Just a few times in the presentation, you don't have to have them laughing, hilariously.
Connor:Smiling three or four times in the presentation will make a big difference to how they connect with you.
Keith:So I love that.
Keith:I have a question before you get on to your age.
Connor:Yeah.
Keith:There are a lot of people who are worried about using humor because like you said, they're not funny and they're not quite sure how to do what you just did.
Keith:Typically, I know people who's like, I'll make, I'll make a lawyer joke, but I'm with a bunch of lawyers.
Keith:You just said make a, make a accountant joke with a bunch of lawyers.
Keith:So are there some do's and don'ts about comedy or humor that you want to avoid so you don't fall into the trap of making the wrong kind of a humorous statement?
Connor:Right.
Connor:I think the most important thing is listen to your intuition.
Connor:If when you're thinking about this, you say, oh, will this offend someone?
Connor:It will.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:Right now, if you're doing something at a comedy club, if you're a comedian, you don't worry about offending people too much.
Connor:But if you're doing a comedy corporate presentation, well, I, as a keynote speaker, I can't afford to offend anyone in my audience.
Connor:So I'm very careful on that.
Connor:Now I do make fun of the audience sometimes or one of their icons, shall we say.
Connor:That's acceptable.
Connor:And I'll give an example of that with the H.
Connor:Okay, so H is for.
Connor:This is the more advanced one.
Connor:But ages about he he, he to ho ho, ho.
Connor:And the idea here is that, alright, I made a comment last week where I got a little chuckle from the audience.
Connor:Now I'm doing the same presentation next week to a similar audience.
Connor:So I know that they laugh at that line or that little comment.
Connor:Is there some way that I can change it a little bit to go from he he, he to ho ho, ho?
Connor:And that might be just adding one additional word in.
Connor:It might be taking a word out.
Connor:It might be a substituting a word.
Connor:I remember I was doing a keynote at some conference a few years ago.
Connor:I was watching one of the other presenters afterwards and she was talking about her son.
Connor:And they're kind of a.
Connor:She was talking about a teenage son.
Connor:As parents, we know what teenage sons are like.
Connor:And she referred to our teenage son as a total knucklehead.
Connor:Okay, all right, so you're laughing at that.
Connor:The audience laughed a little bit at it.
Connor:And I thought, hey, that's interesting.
Connor:That's a really fun kind of word.
Connor:To suggest someone in a lovable way is a bit of a dope kind of thing.
Keith:Yeah, right.
Connor:So what I do know with that one is I sometimes say to my speaking to audiences about leadership, or let's say I'm speaking to an association where one of the full of all members and most of the members in the association have some privilege about either a boss they had previously, everyone does or have right now.
Connor:So I don't say, I'm sure everyone here in this room has had difficult bosses, okay?
Connor:And you'll get laughter, obviously.
Connor:All right.
Connor:But what gets even more laughter is I'm sure some of you in the audience here have had bosses who are total knuckleheads.
Connor:Okay, that gets much more response from them.
Connor:But really all I've done is I've only changed one word.
Connor:So it's about.
Connor:I listened to the reaction that word got when that lady spoke about it.
Connor:And then what I did was I just, I drop it into the odd time into the presentation.
Connor:And it's a better word and it's kind of a nice gentle word to have a dig at someone another way in terms of making fun or having fun with your audience.
Connor:I tell a story.
Connor:My signature story is about choosing your attitude.
Connor:And I tell a story that I was had a.
Connor:Was Stopped on one occasion when I looked in my rear view mirror and I saw what I refer to as a mobile discotheque.
Connor:Okay, all right.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:So again, that's an example there.
Connor:If I say a cop car, people are going to go, ooh.
Connor:But if I say a mobile discotheque, people laugh at it.
Connor:All right?
Connor:But I then say, and the basics of the story is that if you choose your attitude, things can work out reasonably okay, which is what happened in this situation.
Connor:I just gone through a red light, etc.
Connor:But I was in Hartford, Connecticut, a couple of years back.
Connor:This is when Tom Brady was playing with the Patriots.
Connor:Okay?
Connor:So I say I saw the cop get out of his car and walk up towards me.
Connor:And this guy was really ugly, really ugly.
Connor:He reminded me of Tom Brady.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:So I could.
Connor:I get booed by the audience kind of thing for.
Connor:In a good natured way.
Connor:But.
Connor:But that's an example there of being able to use a specific icon in a specific market.
Connor:I mean, I couldn't use that particular word or phrase or name down in Baltimore or somewhere like that.
Keith:All right.
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:So it's about knowing your audience, figuring out what their history is, who their icons are, what I might be able to make a little bit of fun of to reinforce the messaging.
Connor:And all of that is encapsulated then in the laugh acronym, which is about listen, anecdote, uncomfortable anecdote, Google on the Bing or on the AI, whatever you want to call it.
Connor:And the next one is going from hehehe to ho ho, ho.
Connor:And everyone can take this concept key.
Connor:I keep saying, you don't have to be funny to be funny.
Connor:I think you just gotta decide that.
Connor:I understand.
Connor:Humor is powerful.
Connor:Humor helps me connect.
Connor:So if I want to be connecting better with people, maybe I should just use this little trick and learn how to use it to help me build my business, build my connection, build my sales as well.
Keith:That's great.
Keith:I want you to think about maybe your most memorable speaking engagement.
Keith:What made it so special?
Connor:That actually is an easy one because I have referenced a number of occasions.
Connor:I was presenting to an Amish conference down in Shipshewana, Indiana, just before.
Connor:Before COVID It was actually the January before COVID hit.
Connor:And before I went down, my wife said to me, no camera, Be careful.
Connor:And I said, I will, honey.
Connor:I will.
Connor:All right.
Connor:So I go down.
Connor:I go to this.
Connor:It was a large exhibition hall in Shipshew ne.
Connor:I drove into the parking lot.
Connor:The parking lot is full of bogies and horses.
Connor:There's about maybe 25 pickup trucks there.
Connor:And the rest of them are just buggies and horses in my car.
Connor:I go in and make the presentation.
Connor:I come out after the presentation, I text my wife and I say, this is the best gig I've ever done.
Connor:And she responds back, seriously?
Connor:And I said, yes, seriously.
Connor:The reason why it was the best gig I've ever done was that it was amazing with about maybe 400 people in the audience.
Connor:The Amish community are obviously a very, very skilled craftsman and they do wonderful furniture, etc.
Connor:And this exhibition was basically showing all of their products.
Connor:And I was in there to help them to grow their business a little bit by building connection and by building a brand.
Connor:But what happened was that in the 400 people in the audience, you had moms, your dads and moms come in.
Connor:They brought their kids in.
Connor:So I can visualize in the front row, there was a couple of couples.
Connor:They had a kid, kid on each knee.
Connor:So dad had a kid on each knee, mom had a kid in each knee as well.
Connor:But what made it really special was that the stories I was telling, I think are genuine and connect well with people.
Connor:They weren't used to a presenter who had good content with good humor.
Connor:So when I was telling a story, but particularly about that, the mobile discotheque one, they were breaking their sides laughing.
Connor:And as an experienced presenter, you do know how long people are normally going to laugh for.
Connor:I was just there in front of them and I was thinking to myself, this is unbelievable.
Connor:They're still laughing at that comment.
Connor:I'm looking around the room and it was just so uplifting.
Connor:I loved it.
Connor:I'm hoping to go back there next year again to do the conference.
Connor:He said he'd bring me back after a few years, so.
Connor:But that's an example there of just a really genuine audience.
Connor:And I made sure I customized my business to and my messaging to them.
Connor:And it was just the simplicity and don't mean this in a negative sense of their experiences that made it so wonderful for me and for them.
Connor:And I was driving home, I was on cloud nine.
Keith:That's so cool.
Keith:But that would be fun.
Keith:So I.
Keith:I did your bio and did some research on you.
Keith:I found out you're a big Metallica fan.
Keith:What is your favorite Metallica song?
Connor:Possibly Enter Sandman.
Connor:But what I love about them is on YouTube, there are multiple ute metallic concerts on YouTube.
Keith:Wow.
Connor:It's amazing.
Connor:And there's so many people now who are, I don't know, pirating on that but multi cam presentations where people are in the audience and they have to get, I don't know, six, seven decent cameras around the place.
Connor:But Metallica also, particularly when Covid happened, they put out a lot of their official concerts on YouTube.
Connor:So I mean the two and a half hour concerts from Barcelona, from Manchester, remember Manchester was pouring rain and they just kept going through all etc.
Connor:The full concert multi cam.
Connor:So I love playing Metallica loud.
Connor:And as I say in my intro, my wife does not like me playing Metallica loud.
Keith:But you have to play Metallica loud.
Keith:It's Metallica.
Connor:Gotta play Metallica loud.
Connor:In fact, I'll tell you another story and I use this now as, as a little customer service anecdote.
Connor:We were back in Ireland a few weeks ago and I went up to the car rep, the rental counter and he said to me, how long have you been living in the States?
Connor:And I said, 26 years.
Connor:And he looked at me and he said, you must be torn deaf, are you?
Connor:So I said, hey, I'm a metallic, I'm a heavy metal fan, I'm a Metallica fan.
Connor:What do you expect kind of thing.
Connor:But the story about that though, I mean, you're breaking your sides laughing at that.
Connor:I've actually just only done one keynote using that message since I came back from Ireland.
Connor:But I basically talk about customer service.
Connor:And here, gentlemen the ladies, is an example of tone deaf customer service.
Connor:All right?
Connor:But it's not.
Connor:It was just an example of we'd obviously build a little bit of a connection before that.
Connor:He made me feel comfortable, I made him feel comfortable and then he was able to say that kind of thing.
Connor:But I started a blog on tone deaf customer service where I'll use that example.
Connor:But again, again, that's an example.
Connor:I laughed when he mentioned tone deaf.
Connor:I put it into my iPhone.
Connor:That's the best note taker anyone can have your Android put into my iPhone.
Connor:And I just remember a few days later when I was come back over the iPhone notes.
Keith:That's great.
Keith:So you've written several books, Connie, you want to tell us about your books?
Connor:Yeah.
Connor:One of my books is which side of it you can see behind me there, which is Mark Twain.
Connor:Suppose you were an idiot.
Connor:Which I'm a big Mark Twain fan and Twain was a really acerbic social commentator.
Connor:And if he came back today, he'd probably say I told you kind of thing.
Connor:I mean, he said about Congress, there's only one native criminal class in America, that's Congress.
Connor:Okay?
Connor:So I mean he was really acerbic about the candid hypocrisy of politicians.
Connor:I also wrote a book which is titled, it's a book on what Mark Twain can learn you about public speaking.
Connor:And there I actually provide nine lessons on public speaking based on Twain's speaking and on his writings.
Connor:Twain was a wonderful public speaker, spoke all over the world.
Connor:And you could make a claim he was the most successful professional speaker ever, given that he spoke in Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa during his life.
Connor: And this was in the: Connor:So I've wrote a book on what Mark Twain can learn you about public speaking.
Connor:And believe it or not, the nine lessons key spelled the acronym Mark Twain.
Keith:Interesting.
Connor:I mean, what are the chances of that kind of thing?
Connor:Okay, so.
Connor:And then I.
Connor:The other few books I've written, I do a lot of work helping people in job search.
Connor:It's not an income stream, it's just a real passion of mine.
Connor:And I wrote a book on staying sane, motivated and productive in job search.
Connor:And that's something I still do a lot of.
Connor:And it's also helped me to develop my speaking skills and my ability to be able to find little messages that can motivate people who are having difficult times.
Connor:And I can take those messages then and bring them to the corporate scene and to all the conferences where I'm speaking.
Keith:And you have another book I see behind you why Ireland never invaded America.
Connor:Looks like I do.
Connor:Yes.
Connor:That's where I put that note somewhere.
Connor:Oh, yes, this one here.
Connor:All right.
Connor:This one actually is a book I wrote.
Connor:That was my first book.
Connor:It's out of print now, unfortunately, but that was basically a story about.
Connor:I wrote a business fable and I settled in Ireland about.
Connor:Not in Ireland.
Connor:His US cousin comes over to Ireland.
Connor:He's having difficulties in the US marketplace, and they talk through how they can build their business.
Connor:I just give an example on that and how you can actually listen to comments and use them.
Connor:I wrote the book.
Connor:I was down in Quigley's Irish Pub in Naperville a few months after the book was launched, and I met a friend there, and he said, connor, I love your book.
Connor:Now, the book is done in story form and good humour and, I think, good insights at the same time.
Connor:He said, connor, I love your book.
Connor:Read one chapter of it a night in bed.
Connor:My wife reads one chapter of it a night in bed.
Connor:It's ruined our sex life.
Connor:So after he said that, I started using that when I was doing promo stuff on the book.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:And I said, then use the line.
Connor:So as a marketing person, my question now is, should I say about this book, this book is better than sex.
Connor:Okay, Right.
Connor:So I.
Connor:I'm at a conference then, where the people gave me a lot of support pushing the.
Connor:The book.
Connor:And I knew the mc, so I was talking about the book and I used those various examples.
Connor:My wife was in the audience.
Connor:The MC says, connor, you know when you remember you said the comment, this book is better than sex.
Connor:Your wife was nodding in agreement.
Connor:So, I mean, that's the example.
Connor:Not one of those lines that I create, but I recorded them and I captured them and I'm able to play them back.
Connor:And that's what I mean about you don't have to be funny to be funny.
Connor:You need to take the laugh acronym, Listen, recorded, captured.
Connor:You build up that repository of funny comments and quips, you put them into your drawer key, and sometime when you're doing your next sermon, you just take it out and say, I need.
Connor:Oh, I could use that little comment or quip in my presentation to reinforce the point.
Connor:It's not for me.
Connor:I don't want to be funny just to be funny.
Keith:Right.
Connor:I want to make the point and use.
Connor:Use humor to reinforce the point.
Keith:I love that.
Keith:I gotta ask you this question, my favorite question I ask of all my guests, what do you want your legacy to be?
Connor:I want my.
Connor:On my headstone in Boot Hill.
Connor:Just three words, he done good.
Keith:Sure.
Connor:Right.
Connor:And I've tried to live by.
Connor:I mean, we all mess up, but I would like people to say, yeah, he done good.
Keith:See, I told my wife I want on my headstone.
Keith:I told you I was sick.
Connor:Yeah, you know, that's another example.
Connor:Just mention it.
Connor:I've actually done a search on funny headstones.
Keith:Right.
Connor:Okay.
Connor:And I know I don't use a lot of PowerPoint at all, so I don't think I've actually used the funny headstones in any of my presentations.
Connor:But when I have been doing a presentation on adding humor to your presentation, which is one where I actually do have to use headstones because I'm doing kind of instruction, one of the comments I say to people is, do a search for a Go the G and laugh Google search for funny headstones or humorous comments about dead people or something like that.
Connor:And again, you can drop that in possibly sometime during your presentation.
Keith:Right.
Keith:That's great.
Keith:So, Connor, what do you want?
Keith:Where can people find your books and find out more about you?
Connor:Right.
Connor:The brand is Irishman speaks.
Connor:Keith, where did that come from.
Connor:Huh?
Connor:All one word.
Connor:Irishman speaks.
Connor:The website is irishmanspeaks.com all one word.
Connor:I'm on Twitter, or X as they now call it LinkedIn.
Connor:I'm on Pinterest, I'm on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Irishman Speaks, all of those.
Connor:And if they want to contact me, my website might be the best one to contact me.
Connor:My books are on sale on Amazon or I've also got a website called the Shamrock Shop, the ShamrockShop.com or some of my books on sale.
Connor:But the best way might be to go to Amazon.
Connor:But my promise, if someone does want me to present to them or facilitate or do a keynote, is that I leave them with a smile in the face, with a spring in the step, with memorable, actionable takeaways to remember to pick up the aerosol and not the shaving foam in the bathroom.
Keith:Well, Connor, thanks so much.
Keith:Thanks for being on the podcast and providing such humorous content today.
Connor:It's been a pleasure, Keith, and very best with you and the great work that you're doing.
Keith:Thank you.
