Get 'em laughing and then hit 'em in the feels.
As a full-time speaker at conferences, retreats, trainings, and more, I leverage a unique blend of relatable storytelling, comedy, and profound insights to leave attendees laughing, inspired to act, and deeply moved.
After nearly two decades of engaging audiences through my comedy and speaking work, I have mastered the art of using humor as a tool to create an environment where walls come down and meaningful messages get through.
With a professional background in counseling, education, and successful entrepreneurship , I bring years of research and a few too many real-life case studies to my talks. From top leadership to early career employees, my messages to become curious, lead imperfectly, and foster community resonate at all levels and build stronger individuals, teams, and company cultures.
If you’re looking for someone to keynote your event, lead a workshop for your team, or be a frequently witty and always fresh emcee, let’s be friends!
PREVIOUS CLIENTS
Most Requested Speeches
(All speeches are available for in-person and virtual engagements)
Leading Imperfectly: The value of being authentic for leaders, professionals, and human beings
Hey Superwoman, take off your cape. Hey Batman, take off your mask. Hey decision makers, put away your ego. Let's talk about who you are personally as a leader and as a partner. As humans, we can't learn things from people who are perfect, we can only learn things from people who are imperfect. So, it is time to own who you are so you can be real to others and lead through your faults. This deep but hysterical session will leave you feeling introspective about the person you show to others and recognize the rapport and trust building power of authenticity in your communication and relationships. If you're looking to master the art of courageous feedback and authentic relationship building, this is the session for you.
We also have a version of this program titled “Leading Through Uncertainty: Using authentic leadership to navigate ambiguity” that focuses on communication, the need to do what’s right (rather than the need to be right), and how true leaders emerge through the ambiguity.
Choosing to Care:
How curiosity creates community in the workplace
No organization wants its people to be apathetic—toward the work, the people, or the community. Community ignites loyalty and drives retention in both in-person and hybrid workplaces, and is built with one simple thing: curiosity. Curiosity is the opposite of apathy. Events are ideal opportunities to authentically connect, reflect, validate, and innovate. In this hysterical and motivational keynote we will talk about how to ask better questions, change the way we hear people’s stories and insights, and adapt the mindset of curiosity. Let’s stop the apathy and the assuming and start learning about each other because curiosity creates community.
Find Your Third Place: A work/life balance conversation that’s actually helpful
Hold the eye rolls, this is a conversation about balance that is both realistic and worthwhile! The truth is, work cannot run our lives AND work Is not the only source of our balance issues. In this session James offers an alternative to traditional methods (things like, find one hour of your week and hold it sacred) and, instead, uses the “Third Place Principle” as a way for us to gain more control and purpose. We all crave more balance, and this introspective session will help audiences understand how a Third Place can add more stability at work and home, create more impactful stories, and, most importantly, generate a more fulfilling life.
IMPROV Your Teamwork and Communication
Improv comedy and leadership? There are more similarities than you may expect. This session is grounded in the teachings of improvisational comedy from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. In this session attendees will learn four basic rules of improv comedy (yes, and…; know your teammates; ask better questions; and commit don’t comment). To illustrate each point and how it relates to their roles as professionals, attendees will get up, play improv games and debrief them. The session is super interactive and will work on knocking down people’s walls to make them more comfortable in high pressure communication/problem solving moments.
Note: you do not have to be funny to come to this session. Also note: this session will not make you funny if you are currently not… but it will make you a better teammate and communicator!
Commit Don’t Comment: The secret to managing and retaining talent
Great teams require great coaches. And great coaches are deeply committed to their talent. Mediocre leaders talk ABOUT their people, not TO their people and. This creates mistrust and a lack of loyalty. In this powerful session attendees will learn where they fall on an innovative supervision spectrum and identify ways to balance team performance and team dynamics. This humor and content-rich talk will give attendees tools to boost retention and deepen trust.
Customized Keynotes, Workshops, Webinars, and Emceeing
No situation is the same, and we all have unique challenges, fears, and problems we’re trying to overcome. I can help. If you’re looking for a way to connect your teams, but not sure what it looks like, let’s hop on a call so we can brainstorm together. And if you have a meeting idea but want someone to help meld your content and bring a little comedy and laughter to the table, I’ll flex my skills as an emcee. Whatever the situation, I’ve got your back and I’m here to help.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“The initial calls with James showed his energy, authenticity, and effortless communication style. He took time to understand the objectives of the session and also focused on details like the composition of my leaders so that he could best articulate his message. James helped with the pre-work, facilitated the session, and joined us for an evening event where we could relax and enjoy time together. He was a champion throughout.”
AMERICAN EXPRESS // David Fabricant, Senior VP
“James was a breath of fresh air for our company who is suffering burnout from all the uncertainty of the world. His energy was incredible and really got the crowd engaged and few people’s faces even started to hurt from laughing so much! It was nice to have a company event that didn’t feel corporate at all, James is as authentic as they come.”
AFTERPAY // Liz Russell, Workplace Operations Manager
"That was better than expected. Don't get me wrong, I knew it was going to be good, but that was incredible and exactly what we needed."
IMPACT XM // Jared Pollaco, CEO
“From your initial research into our company, to working with us during your presentation as we communicated our wants and needs, you navigated your workshop to make it a productive and fun success…Your personal stories and delivery combined with your discussion of our office were instrumental in capturing staff’s attention and developing rapport and inspiration. Concepts has taken a wonderful step with you during your workshop with us. Your ideas on authentic leadership, appreciation and communication have sparked a new way of thinking for our company.”
CONCEPTS OF INDEPENDENCE, INC // Anthony G. Caputo, CEO
“I loved James’ talk at the GE Women's Network and the feedback has been extremely positive. I really appreciated him tying back into the first speaker – it really helped the day feel more cohesive.”
GENERAL ELECTRIC // Sarah Gray, Lead Project Manager
“Absolutely bring James on board, he’s relatable and his messages will ring true in any industry. Also make sure to build in time at the end for people to ask questions and spend time with James, because that was invaluable.”
METAL TOAD // Jenny Berkedal, Director of Employee Experience
Here’s what I bring to the table…
Customization
Every team is going through something different right now, and that’s why, before any engagement, I spend time personally on the phone with multiple members of your organization to get a well rounded understanding of the talent and pain points that exist. I like to know even the silliest little details, because it generates trust from the audience when I speak about tangible problems they’re facing. And for me, that trust is invaluable.
Personality
My background in improv and stand-up comedy helps me riff with audiences, making your team feel more comfortable and building rapport that comes quick and easy. Often audiences come into these keynotes and workshops closed off and disengaged. I love this challenge when I speak: I use humor to open everyone up, which makes space for us to have the genuine, raw, honest conversations that we all need.
Interactivity
Whether we’re in-person or virtual, my presentation style is very interactive and inclusive. No one likes a talking head, even when it’s as attractive and bearded as mine. Our conversations will be thought-provoking, filled with self-awareness, and laced with comedy, which means your team will stay engaged from beginning to end. And it’s with this level of engagement that the words and concepts transform into action and results.
Results
During our time together your team will break down barriers to solve current work environment (and life!) issues, learn how to share negative and positive feedback, understand the benefits of being an active member on a team, and discover and apply the principles of being an authentic leader. They’ll also leave with a good old-fashioned dose of motivation and inspiration. Now more than ever is a time to invest in and care for the humans on our teams.
Get in touch with me.
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Or if you’re ready to talk about your event let’s hop on a quick call - you can schedule a time on my calendar here.