Videos

See how IrishmanSpeaks Conor Cunneen has:

Energized

Educated

Entertained audiences from

HARLEY-DAVIDSON to HELSINKI, from

MEMPHIS to MALAGA.

When finished viewing video clips below, check Conor’s Chicago Humorous Speaker of the Year speech on Customer Service in San Quentin Jail.

(Warning! This audio has been know to reduce event planners to uncontrollable fits of laughter, followed by a hugely productive day.)

WATCH

* Choose the ‘tude 3 min. 40 sec

* The Brand Experience 4 min. 23 sec

* Secret of Conor’s brogue 1 min. 25 sec

* Goofy Harley-Davidson Intro 5 min. 7 sec

* Change featuring really Baaad Poetry 1 min.

* Vision (featuring a famous black drink) 3 min. 1 sec

CONTACT IrishmanSpeaks

Are

Is your brief to find a Motivational Keynote Speaker that you can depend on and do a great job?

“Working with Conor Cunneen has been a pleasure both for our company and our clients. Conor is a great speaker who obviously knows the importance of a good and well planned speech according to the wishes of our clients.”

SpeakersForum, Finland.

IrishmanSpeaks Conor Cunneen has Energized, Educated and Entertained audiences in USA, England, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Scotland, Spain.

Is your brief to find a Keynote Speaker for your Financial Services Conference who will get the place rockin’ and encourage better production?

Is your brief to find a Motivational Keynote Speaker on Leadership and Marketing that you can depend on and do a great job?

“Sound business practices wrapped in Irish wit. Conor Cunneen’s delivery may be from the Emerald Isle but his message is as practical in today’s business environment as if delivered from Wall Street itself (just a lot less stuffy!). We want to hear more!” Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance

Is your brief to find a Keynote Speaker who is professional and good to work with?

“As the person who coordinates all of our speakers year after year, I want to tell you that you offered a very welcome breath of fresh air in booking and executing our keynote speech. Getting information from you was easy, you followed through on your commitments every time and you were an inspiration to our customers.” Major Insurance Corporation (further details available on request)

Is your brief to find a Humorous Inspirational Speaker that will have your audience saying “Yes, we can” and you saying “YES, I did.”

“I have never heard a keynote speaker with the double whammy combination of humor and substance which I heard from you today”. MHM

Conor is an award winning humorist whose accolades include Chicago Humorous Speaker of the Year for a speech-would you believe-on Customer Service in San Quentin Jail

Conor Cunneen is interviewed by Ray T. Sharpe, from London, England. Ray is a web marketing specialist with his own successful company, Wincustomers, based in the USA.

Q: Conor, you’ve been described as “An Irish Dilbert,” and “James Joyce meets Tom Peters.” How would you describe yourself?

Put simply, I am a keynote business speaker and a humorous, motivational keynote speaker with a powerful Brand Promise to Energize, Educate, Entertain and Easy to work with.

I do position myself as “James Joyce meets Tom Peters” which is a phrase I picked up on one of my evaluation forms. It sums up my style accurately I think as I provide very solid substance on general business and motivation issues combined with a large element of Irish wit and humor. I have also been described as “An Irish Dilbert,” as you suggested which again does accurately portray my presentation style when clients want me to tailor my speech to a more humorous side.

Q: Is it difficult to balance substance and humor?

Yes and no. It comes with practice and dedication and believe me I do practice a lot and am dedicated to my craft. As a keynote business speaker and humorist, or as a humorous keynote speaker, I think I have two objectives to achieve. One is to convey good message on business issues, leadership, marketing, motivation. This brings me to my second objective. The best way for me to deliver memorable presentations in my opinion is to intersperse a large dollop of Irish humor – humor which is relevant to the message. That is probably the most difficult part. I think most speakers can throw a joke into a presentation, but I try to ensure that my business humor reinforces the message I’m challenged to get across.

Q: You are a motivational humorous keynote speaker who has a wide range of topics including cancer.

Yeah! If anyone is ever searching “keynote speaker – cancer,” I’m a pretty good answer. I’ve had thyroid cancer many years ago back in Ireland and prostate cancer last year. Having had a thyroidectomy and a prostatectomy, I now tell audiences I am now a humorous keynote speaker with a unique Irish condition “There’s not much left -o-me.”

Q: You’ve developed a keynote speech around your cancer experience.

Yup, I have. Before I went in for my prostatectomy, my wife advised me I had to purchase a new pair of pajamas for the hospital. So as a result, I proudly marched into hospital bearing pajamas with the Monty Python legend “It’s just a flesh wound.” I’ve since created a keynote of the same title. It is a fun, upbeat keynote showing how we can overcome obstacles with the right attitude and is ideal if some event planner is searching for a “keynote speaker – cancer” or “keynote speaker – healthcare.”

Q: What is SHEIFGAB? SHEIFGAB is an acronym I developed which outlines the key letters of Eight Building Blocks to better Teamwork, Collaboration and Productivity. These Eight Building Blocks are

S – Structure (your life) H – Help (others) E – Environment (change it) I – Improve (yourself) F- Family / Friends G – Goals (set and achieve) A – Attitude (determines your success) B – Brand / Behavior

I work hard to ensure my audience retains ideas from my presentations. If I were to give my audience those eight building blocks without providing an acronym, many will not remember them. But I also do something else. To make the word even more memorable, I tell my audience that in the Irish language, the word SHEIFGAB means “Do It” or “Make It Happen”. Hence the title for a very well received presentation – “Get out of that Bed and SHEIFGAB the World”

Q. SHEIFGAB does not mean what you initially said it means? Ha! That’s correct. At the end of the presentation, I clarify that SHEIFGAB does not have any meaning in the Irish language and I tell a humorous story against myself, but the concept of SHEIFGAB the World, to “Do it” and to “Make it happen” is really powerful and generates enormous positive reaction.

In addition to that Brand Promise, I have a personal mission for each event. It is to Get Asked Back or Get Referred Business. The best way to ensure this happens is to exceed client expectations, which is not easy to do. However, as I research, develop and rehearse my presentations I regularly ask myself “Will this get me a return engagement? You might think that is pretty mercenary. It is, but I’m in a business as well as my audience. “Will I get repeat or referred business?” is a message I put across when speaking to sales personnel. Sure, the current sale is important, but the mindset of the sales person should be on the next connection with the customer. The sales person should be thinking “if I handle this properly, I will get more business.” It is a mantra, I try to relate to. Customer retention in speaking is as critical as in any other industry.

Q. Be honest, does the Irish brogue help in this business?

Ha! Does it what? It is a real brand differentiator for me, but it only helps for the first few minutes in any keynote. In addition to offering that unique “double whammy combination” which my client referred to, I can also be different because I deliver good, well researched content humorously in my Irish brogue. I do not present myself in a stage Irish fashion, but Ireland does entrance people. Thus, I often use images from my homeland which is most definitely a warm, welcoming, magical, mystical land.

Q. You are an award winning speaker? Yes, I won the Chicago Toastmasters Humorous Speaker of the Year title and have won other awards. I like competition speaking because it forces you to think through every line, every thought and how well those thoughts relate to each other. Ultimately it allows me to develop good content for my speaking career.

Q. What was the speech that won you the Humorous Speaker of the Year title? The speech was on customer service in San Quentin prison which is a bit of an oxymoron. I titled it Capturing the Guest and have now developed it into a key note using the speech itself, while also illustrating companies such as McDonald’s, JetBlue, Dell, Hyundai and many others.

Q: What is SHEIFGAB? SHEIFGAB is an acronym I developed which outlines the key letters of Eight Building Blocks to Get and Keep You Motivated. These Eight Building Blocks are

S – Structure (your life) H – Help (others) E – Environment (change it) I – Improve (yourself) F- Family (communicate with) G – Goals (set and achieve) A – Attitude (determines your success) B – Boss (Boss here refers to a Bruce Springsteen anecdote. Music fans will know Springsteen is referred to as “The Boss”)

Q. SHEIFGAB does not mean what you initially said it means? That’s correct. At the end of the presentation, I clarify that SHEIFGAB does not have any meaning in the Irish language and I tell a humorous story against myself.

Q. As well as having an unusual name, you are unusual in that you make a specific Brand Promise? Yes, and I strongly believe in it. I have a strong marketing background and believe branding is a critical business tool. As a speaker, I am The Brand. My Brand Promise is QCHE which means that I offer Quality, Content, Humor and am Easy to work with. In addition to that Brand Promise, I have a personal mission for each event. It is to Get Asked Back. The best way to ensure this happens is to exceed client expectations, which is not easy to do. However, as I research, develop and rehearse my presentations I regularly ask myself “Will this get me a return gig?” Customer retention in speaking is as critical as in any other industry.

Q.What differentiates you from other speakers? Tim Malloy of McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd – one of the leading intellectual property law offices in the country said in a testimonial letter “ I have never heard a speaker with the double whammy combination of humor and substance which I heard from you today”. I research and read, research and read around my clients business and can craft quality presentations appropriate to each audience which is what the best speakers in this industry do. In addition to offering that unique “double whammy combination” which Tim referred to, I can also be different because I deliver good, well researched content humorously in my Irish brogue. I do not present myself in a stage Irish fashion, but Ireland does entrance people. Thus, I often use images from my homeland which is most definitely a warm, welcoming, magical, mystical land.

Q. You are an award winning speaker? Yes, I am current holder of the Chicago Toastmasters Humorous Speaker of the Year title and have won other awards. I like competition speaking because it forces you to think through every line, every thought and how well those thoughts relate to each other. Ultimately it allows me to develop good content for my speaking career.

Contact Humorous Motivational Business Speaker Conor Cunneen Today