A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom: Using Humor in Business Speaking [Paperback]

Michael Iapoce (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 1988 | ISBN-10: 0471636495 | ISBN-13: 978-0471636496 | Edition: 1

This is the first book to offer detailed advice on the effective use of humor in business situations such as presentations, meetings, or seminars. The author is a speech writer who has written for the CEOs of AT&T, Xerox, Monsanto, and the Bank of America. He has also written comedy for entertainers such as Rodney Dangerfield. Presents the basics of writing humorously in a clear, step-by-step fashion, and reveals invaluable tricks of the trade for creating one's own custom-tailored jokes using techniques employed by professional comedy writers. Also provides short one-line jokes arranged by subject, as well as longer, story-type jokes arranged by the meaning or the point that the story illustrates.

Product Details

• Paperback: 205 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 30, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471636495
• ISBN-13: 978-0471636496
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #806,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Iapoce is a comedy writer, a former stand-up comic (under the name "Mike Bizzarro"), and the author of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom: Using Humor in Business Speaking--2nd Edition." As a corporate humor consultant, his clients have included the Walt Disney Corporation, AT&T, the Oakland A's, Price-Waterhouse, and IBM. He has also written for entertainers such as Rodney Dangerfield, Robert Goulet, and Norm Crosby. He is currently a partner in Comedy Writing Pros--visit them at http://www.comedywritingpros.com. Michael lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife and two Afghan hounds.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! It even works for lawyers!, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom: Using Humor in Business Speaking (Paperback)

Few gatherings cry out for humor as loudly as those in which all the attendees are lawyers. Let's face it: they're usually the joke, not the jokers. This book can enliven a discussion on "subordinated debentures." It should be required reading for anyone on the infamous "partner track."

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book -- It got me out of a jam, November 27, 2000

By 

Peter Weverka (San Francisco, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom: Using Humor in Business Speaking (Paperback)

Struggling to put together a farwell speech for a fellow employee -- and not making any headway, I got a copy of this book. It helped me out of a jam. I made a darn good farwell speech (if I say so myself) by employing the tricks that the author of this book describes. (I also grabbed a handful of his jokes, all of which proved to be very funny to my audience.)

I recommend this book to anyone who has to make a company presentation of any kind that could use a dose of humor. What makes this book so good is that you can make jokes of your own that fit the occassion -- it isn't just a run of the mill joke book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Terrific!, November 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom: Using Humor in Business Speaking (Paperback)

Perhaps the best of its genre, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Boardroom" places the onus of boring corporate meetings on the speakers themselves. No one is too important to consider their audience, and Mr. Iapoce effectively nudges "suits" to loosen their ties and deliver their messages effectively. Its comedic tips are simply that: tips for catching the attention of listeners thus ensuring that one is "heard."

Buy this one and share it at the office!