Scheduling Live Corporate Entertainment

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Planning an upcoming event can be nothing short of frustrating at times. After all, there’s so much to think about. Nowhere is that more true, though, when you’re trying to schedule entertainment for your next party or dinner. Even within that one part of your evening, there are so many different aspects to consider.

First, remember that the goal is to keep your guests having fun at all times. The last thing you want is for guests to be looking around anxiously wondering what might be coming up next. Good corporate entertainment will handle that for you, but you’ll want to make sure of that before you actually select your entertainment for the evening.

Second, keep in mind that your venue actually matters when it comes to entertainment. Not all bands would sound great in your warehouse, and if you’ve rented a theatre for the evening, you may want to check things out with your entertainment to ensure everything is organized properly to meet their needs. The right entertainer will work with both you and the venue manager to make sure their needs are met while keeping your guests happy too, but you don’t want to be stuck with that responsibility on the night of the event.

Finally, it’s important to note that most of the planning should actually occur on the part of the entertainer. Driving yourself crazy with all of the extra details is only going to add to your stress level, and that’s one thing you don’t need on your big night. Ensuring the entertainer you choose is part event-planner and part entertainer can go a long way toward making sure you get what you need.

Have questions that weren’t addressed here about planning your event? Sign up below to get Tom’s free report “Planning Your Corporate Entertainment – 5 Keys To A Successful Event“ to learn more about covering your bases on your big night!

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Politics, Corporate Entertainment and the Variety Arts

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Recently, Forbes magazine posted a story about a government agency who was seeking a specialized program by a magician for their event.  A Senator derided them for wasting taxpayer money.  Had the same agency hired a lecturer or speaker, the fee would have been triple what was offered to the magician for the same result, yet no one would have said a thing.

The Senator obviously had a preconceived notion of a magic show.  Based on the criteria the agency required, a magic show WOULD have been a waste of money.  However, if the event planner had found a corporate entertainer who was trained in providing a program that fit their needs AND could engage their audience through entertainment, the value provided would outweigh the expense of a traditional speaker.

This shows a genuine bias in the name of “politics” toward variety artists.  Variety artists are small business people who employ others, service a niche and pay taxes.  As you search for entertainment and sift through countless web sites and videos, you begin to realize exactly how large a community we are talking about.

A professional, corporate entertainer has only one goal for your event – success.  To that end, as a business, they should either tailor their act and material toward meeting your goals, or if they are not a match for your needs, help you to find someone that will be.

When you plan your next corporate event, keep corporate entertainers in mind as a great way to break up the PowerPoint boredom of the regular speaker.  Engage and energize your audience on a whole new level.  Contact our office to discuss your event and how we can help your event be a hit!

Nashville Corporate Entertainment

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Nashville may be the Country Music Capital of the world, but it’s also a great location for your next convention. Centrally located from almost everywhere in the U.S., Nashville has much to offer convention-goers. The Nashville Convention Center has 118,000 square feet of convention space as well as 25 meeting rooms. It’s just 8 miles from the airport, and it sits at the crossroads of three interstate highways. Located within walking distance of almost 20 different major hotels, all of your participants will have a great place to stay.

While convention-goers are here, they can enjoy many of the activities and events the city has to offer. From taking in an unforgettable show at the Grand Ole Opry to visiting the Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson, there are great activities for your participants or for the whole family if they’ve come to visit the city, too.  The Country Music Hall of Fame is a must-see, and if you want to play to the younger crowd, the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere has the largest volunteer-constructed playground in the world.

Sometimes the most difficult aspect of planning a convention, conference, meeting, or event, though, is ensuring your message is present throughout all of the sessions. Accomplishing that is a true feat, and making certain to plan a bit of fun that’s on-message is even harder. Fortunately, personalized corporate comedy can help. Personalized comedy is customized to your event, so working in keywords, personnel names, or even funny little stories those inside your company would know well is absolutely no problem. It’s the ideal way to truly reach participants while still hammering home that message. Whether you add it to a breakfast meeting, a breakout session, or even dessert after your keynote speaker, personalized comedy may be a great way to help participants take more away from your Nashville meeting or event.

Corporate Event Team Interviews

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A successful corporate event is like a puzzle.  Many pieces need to fit together in the proper order to create the big picture.  If a piece doesn’t land when and where it is supposed to, or worse yet, is missing, the image is ruined.

In the real world, those pieces are members of your team.  They are the caterer, the concierge, the venue staff, the entertainers, the presenters and speakers, the waiters and waitresses and your company staff.  Making certain you have the right people to fill those roles is a huge responsibility.

One way to ensure you have the right person for the job is an interview.

When a prospective client contacts me with the question, “How much do you charge?” Or “Are you available?”  I prefer to take a step back.  First, what are you planning?  Would my services actually be a good fit?  Let’s discuss your event, tell me about your plans, your company and your goals for the function.  Let’s see if I can envision myself on stage in front of your guests giving you the results you seek.

The interview or consultation call allows us to determine if we both can be successful and enjoy the process of working together.   Making certain you have the right people on your team is always more important that simply filling a spot on your budget.

When you are planning a corporate event and need entertainment, please take a moment to contact my office and arrange a free consultation.  If I am not the corporate comedian for you, I have an extensive list of contacts in the corporate entertainment market.  It would be my pleasure to help you find the right piece to finish your puzzle!

Successful Events with Corporate Comedy

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One of the most successful ways of making a corporate event fun is to invite a corporate entertainer. Good corporate entertainment makes an event unforgettable and helps it to stay fresh in guests’ memories. Moreover, it allows you to let go off your worries while you enjoy your time and helps increase your productivity when you come back to work the next morning. If you need an engaging performance for your forthcoming event, a corporate comedian is usually an excellent option.

So, where’d you find a corporate entertainer? You can ask your friends or business acquaintances who may have organized similar events. They can refer you a few names to start with. You should clearly understand this fact that corporate comedy is different from casual performances. There are many things you would need to check before the corporate comedian executes them. Although it’s a place of celebration and joy, this is still a corporate gathering so you must stay within limits.

You should find an entertainer who has experience with events and corporate audiences. What you should expect is a fine balance between respect and humor. Satires and puns should be tolerable unless they target an individual or a specific group of employees.

Besides being respectful, the corporate comedian must be able to present creative and novel ideas in comic idioms. Years old jokes won’t work here. Your guests have seen and done it all.  They know many things and have seen or heard diverse performances from top comedians. The corporate entertainer needs to target their comedy to get the laughs you expect.  So make sure that you hire a corporate comedian who is creative and original.

Office comedy has always proven to be successful with corporate groups. This is something that is easily understood and enjoyed by the audience. Generating a unique way to look at the work environment always brings loads of laughter that carry back into your guest’s daily lives.

When you are planning to hire a corporate entertainer, check out Tom’s video or contact our office.  If Tom is not right for your event, we are happy to put you into contact with a corporate entertainer or corporate event planner who can help make your event a success.

Corporate Activities Ideas

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Different events call for different activities, and coming up with fun ideas to put on the corporate calendar is often difficult. Fortunately, there are several good choices that will not only keep your participants entertained, but excited about your corporate culture as well.

Here are a few good choices.

One good way to build the team using a little relaxation, is to do something active with your whole group. Golfing and office work seem to go hand-in-hand, and taking the entire group out for eighteen holes is a good way to create some bonding. If you’d rather go with something a bit less traditional, consider rock climbing, indoors or out. Indoor rock climbing facilities are a great way to build a bit of camaraderie, while outdoor rock climbing offers a great combination of fun, excitement, and natural beauty all at the same time.

Looking for something a bit less taxing? Consider a few games of bowling. Rent the entire bowling alley out for your team, and have a good time putting together a tournament to see which of your employees holds the best scores. You may be surprised at your winners’ list in the end.

If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional, a happy hour event or even a cocktail party after hours is a good choice. A banquet or a simple dinner party is also a great idea. As you plan for an event like this, keep in mind you’ll want some entertainment during or afterward, too. One good choice is to select a corporate entertainer, like a corporate comedian, who can personalize their routine to meet your needs. By adding in the right keywords, or even the names of some of your staff members, you can help guests truly connect with the theme you’re trying to reinforce.

Chicago Corporate Entertainment

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Chicago hosts thousands of conventions every year. It’s an easy location to reach from throughout the U.S., and it boasts a number of convention centers that are perfect for almost any event. One of the most prominent is the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Boasting 840,000 square feet of exhibition space as well as parking for up to 8,000 cars, it’s the ideal location for almost any type of event. A skyway connects this venue to three different hotels, and it’s located just a few miles from the airport.

While guests are in Chicago, they can enjoy any one of a number of activities. The Museum of Hummels is actually located inside the convention center, and it plays host to a thousand different figurines, including one that is eight feet tall. Outside the convention center, guests can visit the famed Shedd Aquarium, where they’ll see 32,600 different animals inside, or visit the lake-front Navy Pier where they can shop, eat, or catch a local sight-seeing cruise to appreciate the beauty of the city from the water.

One of the toughest parts of planning a convention in Chicago is creating an itinerary for guests that ensures your message remains at the forefront of their minds throughout each day. One excellent way to do just that, though, is to consider adding personalized comedy to your day. Whether you schedule it over morning pastries or during one of your breakout sessions, a personalized comedy routine is the ideal way to engage your guests while still putting your theme at the forefront of their minds. A good corporate entertainer can incorporate the right keywords, topics and even personnel names to help connect with your guests. At the end of the day, they’re likely to remember the laughter and fun that incorporated the theme, making your event a winner.

Corporate Event Themes

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Corporate Event Themes
3 Ideas That Will Make Your Event Stand Out

With each corporate event, your company organizes; it is building its brand. It is important that each event is unique, yet conveys the company’s image in a positive way. To ensure your next corporate event stands out from the thousands of corporate events that take place every year, add a little personal flavor to each event.

1. Choose a meaningful venue – most corporate events are planned outside of the work environment to add a fun dimension.  No matter if it is a local location, or an exotic locale, the ambience will add to the perception of the event.  People love to travel to a place that has tourist significance. Choose a place that is a unique offering or a top tourist destination and at the same time has a meaningful tie-in for the event you are planning.

2. Choose a meaningful theme – customization makes an event unique. You want this event to build your corporate brand.  The right theme will help to promote the company’s vision and mission to its employees, clients and partners. Choose a theme that sends a message to all the participants about who you are and where you are headed. Be unique, be bold, and be innovative.

3. Choose meaningful entertainment – entertainment makes corporate events memorable and adds immensely to its value. People are used to having long drawn meetings, conferences, workshops and seminars.  Entertainment adds to the relaxation of the guests and provides you with another opportunity to present your message in a unique and unforgettable manner.  Corporate entertainment can make your event an unforgettable experience simply because you have thought beyond the demands of the event.

Among the wide palette of entertainment available, choosing the unique and unexpected can be a major plus.  Ventriloquism is a popular form of comedy, but because there are only a handful of professional ventriloquists, it is rare to see this form of live entertainment.  Invite corporate comedian ventriloquist Tom Crowl to present a personalized the program to your corporate audience, and create an innovative way to gift your guests with a fun evening.

Contact our office today to discuss how Tom can team with you and help make your corporate event stand out!

Energizing Morning Sessions:

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Your guests are having an “Out Of Office” experience.  They have traveled to your event location and while excited, may be tired.  Some are connecting with old and new friends, making the call of the local nightlife stronger.   Long hours and travel fatigue are usually a fact of life for workshop, seminar and conference attendees.

Operating on caffeine and energy drinks doesn’t always keep people alert for a full day of workshops and seminars.  As they stumble into breakfast and engage in morning greetings, the energy level isn’t always conducive to the events you have planned.  There has to be a better way to pull them into your schedule and get everyone psyched for the information you offer.

Launching Your Morning Sessions Using Laughter:

Laughter operates on different levels to refresh the human body.  The physical act of laughing pulls oxygen into our systems and exercises muscles.  Ever wonder why your stomach hurts from laughing so hard?  You just had a workout – and laughter workouts are invigorating!

Laughter also releases endorphins and serotonin into our systems.  Endorphins are a brain chemical known for its feel good effect.  Serotonin fuels our systems to create an optimistic and content feeling.

A shared laugh brings people together, creating a group experience that builds camaraderie.  As they see each other throughout the day, those memories come flooding back and renewed laughter keeps them energized for your entire day.

Personalized Comedy Produces Incredible Results:

Taking the power of laughter a step further, personalized comedy provides better results for clients.  Targeted material that relates to the attendees’ experiences always grabs attention and provides them with a unique view that makes information memorable.  It is another method of getting your message across and making the morning an exciting kick off.  Energize your morning sessions, breakfast or breakout with comedy that motivates everyone for an incredible day!

Tom Crowl is a corporate comedian that provides personalized comedy programs for companies and associations.  In addition to morning shows for breakfasts, seminars and conferences, he also provides after dinner programs for banquets.  To find out more, contact our office to discuss your event.

Fun Corporate Entertainment

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There are times you want staff and clients to enjoy themselves and associate your company with family and good times.  Creating a caring community that builds camaraderie is a major part of keeping morale high and clients involved.

One of the best ways to bring people together is by providing a shared experience of laughter and fun.  There are many ways to do this.  As a corporate entertainer, Tom has taken part in bowling parties, golf outings, rock climbing, happy hours and scavenger hunts.  Each provides a unique out of office atmosphere that brings people together.

When  you want more control over the experience, dinner parties and banquets are advised.  The key here is to create a relaxed atmosphere in a slightly more structured environment.  Because everyone has experienced a dinner party or banquet, providing corporate entertainment that makes your evening stand out needs to be a top consideration.

Just as you budget for delicious food, you don’t want to skimp when it comes to the evening’s entertainment.  A corporate entertainer that isn’t appropriate, or a program that bombs, can destroy your planning, hard work and event goals.

We aren’t going to tell you a corporate comedian ventriloquist is right for your corporate event.  We don’t know that and won’t until we take a few moments to talk with you.  When you schedule a corporate event consultation with Tom, his only goal is to determine your needs and see how he can be of assistance.  If he isn’t right, Tom has the ability to put you in touch with people who can make your event a success.