Chicago Magazine calls Greg Schwem “America’s favorite corporate funnyman.” The Chicago Tribune proclaimed Greg “king of the hill” in the growing world of corporate comedy. Indeed, Greg’s client list includes such corporate heavyweights as McDonald’s, Microsoft, Motorola, IBM, Verizon Wireless, United Airlines and Cisco Systems. If your company or association wants to laugh at today’s fast-paced business world, look no further than Greg Schwem and “Comedy With a Byte.”
A graduate of Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Greg never envisioned a career in comedy. Instead, he settled in Florida, becoming an award-winning reporter for NBC-owned WPTV in West Palm Beach. But the comedy bug bit Greg hard and he returned to his hometown of Chicago, where he honed his act in clubs. When he began inserting material about business and technology into his nightclub act, audience members approached him and said, “you really should come down to my office and tell those jokes.” Behold! Comedy With a Byte was born.
Greg’s show provides a hilarious look at today’s corporate environment and the latest tools used to conduct business. What sets Greg apart from other corporate comedians is his ability – and willingness – to customize material for his audience. When Greg hits the stage he already has perused the company’s Internet site, combed the internal message boards and even sifted through numerous PowerPoint presentations. “There is no such thing as too much information,” Greg says. “I know corporate audiences like to laugh at themselves so the more ammunition I get, the funnier it will be. Just don’t give me a 10-K report. There is nothing funny about that.”
Greg’s preparation always includes a conference call with company executives and, in some cases, an onsite visit. The personal touch strikes a chord with clients. “The fact that you came up to our facility beforehand to get a feel for our culture and how we operated proved to be very beneficial, “ said Skyline Display Sales VP Bill Dierberger. “I have never seen some of our corporate folks laugh as hard as they did.”
After a performance at the Multifamily Educational Conference, Marketing Director R.
Leigh Curry said, “My sides actually hurt by the end of your performance. Based on the
feedback I received from other attendees in the audience, it was a mutual feeling.”
Some customized material from past shows:
For Citrix Systems: I just looked at your breakout list. You’ve scheduled
‘Advanced Dial Plan Design’ AND ‘Troubleshooting Cisco Unified Call Manager and Call Manager Express’ in the same day? Ladies and gentlemen, spread the FUN out!
For the Society of Actuaries: You use something called “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.” Generally accepted? Does that mean you can fudge once in awhile? Try giving your kids a generally accepted curfew of midnight and see what time they come home!
Besides customized material, Greg entertains audiences with stories about tedious business meetings, Blackberry addiction, “frequently” asked questions and his embarrassing experience with the American
Girl Doll company.
Today Greg performs close to 100 corporate dates a year. In addition to corporate stand-up comedy, Greg emcees multi-day events and writes custom videos for clients. Back home Greg coaches softball for daughter Natalie, 12, and cleans up after daughter Amy, seven. In his precious spare time, he enjoys tennis, golf and any music from the Counting Crows, Coldplay and Death Cab for Cutie.
Video Preview
Speech Topics
Comedy With a Byte
Greg Schwem brings more than 20 years of stand-up comedy experience to the event. His performance takes a hilarious look at today’s work environment and the technology tools we can’t live without. Following shows, audience members often approach him and say, “thanks, we needed that” or “it’s always nice to laugh at ourselves.
Greg customizes each presentation through extensive Internet research, a questionnaire, and a follow up conference call with his client. That’s why audience members also say, “you really did your homework.” Besides clean customized humor, audiences hear material about “corporate” topics such as Blackberry addiction, meetings versus conference calls, “frequently” asked questions and PowerPoint overload.
Greg knows what makes corporate audiences laugh. He also knows what not to say on stage. Meeting planners and event bookers feel comfortable knowing Greg will deliver the goods without offending anyone. It’s why many clients ask Greg back year after year.
Eight Simple Rules for Survival
A humorous, yet motivational talk that encourages audience members to look inside themselves and see how they can perform more efficiently. Along the way Greg tackles the pros and cons of social networking sites such as Facebook, why using photos to tout your products can backfire and why Costco is superior to its main rival Sam’s Club when it comes to customer service. (Hint: It has something to do with death). Eight Simple Rules for Survival is ideal for sales groups.
Meeting emcee
A good emcee needs to multitask. He must keep the event moving, be adept at improvisation and work efficiently with all other participants onstage. That could mean company executives, other speakers or a large number of honored employees. Greg Schwem has emceed everything from a one-hour awards ceremony for 200 BAE Systems engineers to a three-day conference for 6,000 McDonald’s restaurant managers. He is equally at ease interviewing a company CEO live on stage or pronouncing (correctly) the names of awards recipients. No matter how lengthy or technical the program, Greg will keep audiences laughing throughout.
Video host
Ever wonder why YouTube is so popular? Video is a very powerful tool in delivering a message or just generating added humor to an event. Greg Schwem can develop and star in comedic videos for your event and make your employees and meeting attendees movie stars in the process.
Leadership seminar
A 90-minute seminar ideal for groups of 150 or less. Greg Schwem serves as moderator and uses a combination of humorous questions and inquiries that probe leadership skills that may already exist in employees. Among the questions: “Have you ever watched the Jerry Springer show start to finish?” and “Have you ever asked your child to fix something technical in your house?”
The answers are hilarious yet serve as springboards for a serious discussion on leadership qualities. During the exercise, attendees learn about each other. More importantly, they learn about themselves.
Partial Client List
Microsoft
McDonald’s
United Airlines
Cisco Systems
Southwest Airlines
IBM
Motorola
Verizon Wireless
Sprint
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
General Motors
GE Healthcare
Cardinal Healthcare
National Realtors Association
