York, PA Clean Corporate Stand-up Comedian and Funny Keynote Speaker- Comedian Shaun Eli
About Me
I was born in New York City but then the teachers went on strike when I was a kid so we moved to the suburbs. I went to college at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and when I graduated I moved back to New York. I worked in corporate America for a couple of decades and started performing stand-up comedy in 2003. In 2009 I left my day job and I’ve been a full-time comedian ever since.
My comedy is clean and it’s reasonably friendly and it’s not too sarcastic. I mainly make fun of people and things that deserve it, like how my cell phone company shouldn’t put someone else’s name on caller ID when I call people, or my former employer that wasn’t grateful for the zillions of dollars that I made them. These are just a couple of things I talk about on stage, and even then not always. I have over two hours of clean stand-up comedy material, almost all of which is optimal for corporate and charity events. And if it’s a corporate event I may know a little bit about your industry. I went to Wharton and I worked in business for twenty years before becoming a full-time comic. I also have friends, and they talk about work. I listen and I pick up stuff.
About my shows
As a comedian I’ve been profiled in The New York Times and my group The Ivy League of Comedy in the Philadelphia Inquirer. My jokes have been published in all sorts of newspapers and magazines and have been in the opening monologues of three late-night TV hosts. If you want more details on that read my biography. It’s not funny. But my stand-up is.
If you want to see what I’m like on stage watch my stand-up comedy videos.
I do shows for corporate and industry events, for alumni groups, for charity fundraising events, and also at theatres and comedy clubs. I also do shows for houses of worship and law firms and even some private parties. Because rich people can have almost anything they want.
Funny Keynote Speaker
I can be either a live funny keynote speaker or a funny virtual keynote speaker. I’m not a motivational speaker. I won’t get people riled up but I will get them laughing for my entire time on stage. If I tell my story about fighting a parking ticket in Philadelphia I may get people excited to fight for justice. Okay, parking ticket justice. Hey, everybody’s got to start somewhere. If you’re looking for a funny keynote speaker I’m your guy. So if you want to call me a corporate keynote speaker that’s fine with me. As long as I get paid to make people laugh I’m happy. And you will be too. I’m not some random humorous keynote speaker, some guy with a few jokes thrown into a serious talk. My only goal is laughter.
Your audience will arrive full of enthusiasm for my keynote speech because I can provide you with video of me on stage that you can share with them in advance. They will depart happy and grateful and will be talking about the event for days if not weeks.
I have hours of material so I should be able to link my keynote address to the theme of your event, company or industry. With a business background I may understand your industry quite well, especially if it’s banking or finance (I was a banker for 20 years before becoming a full-time stand-up comic), accounting (my father was an accountant and I have accounting jokes and stories), advertising or marketing (I majored in marketing at Wharton), insurance (I was an actuarial assistant for a couple of years), aviation (I’m a licensed, instrument-rated pilot) or boating (former rower and dragon-boat racer and I have a rather useless New York State boating license).
Also law. Though I’m not an attorney lots of people seem to think I’m one. I served for 17 months on a federal grand jury, I have at least one pro-lawyer joke and I am 1-0 representing myself in New York State Supreme Court. I sued a home improvement contractor and beat the heck out of a trial attorney using the two most powerful weapons in my arsenal: humor and sarcasm. I also wrote an article for the New Jersey Law Journal on attorneys who became comedians. And in addition to not being an attorney I’m also not from New Jersey.
I love answering audience questions after a keynote speech. It gives me the chance to be spontaneously funny, to learn about what audiences are curious about, to tell stories that are fun and funny but don’t necessarily fit into either a stand-up routine or keynote speech. Audiences love it too. It’s like a backstage pass.
One thing to note: I speak. I may pace a bit. I tell jokes and very funny stories. I don’t use Powerpoint. I don’t need slides. Just a good sound system with a hand-held microphone (not a mic stuck to a lectern). Proper lighting also helps.
Back before I was a comedian I was a banker and was chosen to be the keynote (closing) speaker at an international conference on risk management. The speakers before me were from more prestigious companies. They had a lot of data to present and used a lot of slides. This was a bit anxiety-inducing until I realized that their extensive, detailed data and slides were a drawback. It was too much detail and was both rote and confusing. I was the opposite- I presented a case that was both interesting and easy to understand. Nobody was distracted or confused during my talk. I was the one who drew the most questions because I held their interest. And yes, they invited me back to be the keynote speaker again the next year.
How to hire me
Well, that’s pretty easy. You call or write and we talk and work out the few details. Whether you represent a corporation that wants a clean stand-up comedian, a charity working on a fundraising event, or a synagogue or church or other house of worship, just email Shaun (at) Brain Champagne dot com, or call or text me at (914) it’s-funny (914) 487-3866. Questions? Ask away!