# Stories from the stage and taking the first step

- **Episode:** [225](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/225.md) (2025-08-21)
- **Type:** interview
- **Tags:** stories, keynote, first-step
- **Time:** 35:52–48:06 (start 2152s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/225?t=2152](https://truthliesandwork.com/225?t=2152)

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[35:52] Joel Zeff: I have many, many stories and I love when someone after my keynote comes up to me and says, Anne from accounting, that she jumped on stage with you. I never believed that she would one, ever volunteer, ever jump on stage, ever imitate a ballerina, a bull rider, and an astronaut on stage. She never showed any of that. And that surprised me. And that happens almost every time I present. Is that somebody jumps on stage and surprises— you didn't expect it. Because I just, again, create the opportunity. I'm very positive, very supportive. The audience is laughing and applauding. And what happens is the people on stage do more. They take more risks because they're receiving that positive support. That's an amazing chemistry. But every time I present, somebody says, I can't believe Anne did that. I can't believe Lisa did that. I can't believe Steve did that. And it's just about creating that opportunity. Um, one funny story that I, I wrote about in the book was my favorite introduction, and his name was Bob. His name was actually Bob. Uh, Bob was an older gentleman and, uh, he was reading the introduction. This is about 500 people in the, in the ballroom. I'm standing on the side ready to Jump on stage and have fun. Bob's got this sheet of paper. He's reading the introduction. One problem is that Bob is reading the introduction of the speaker from the day before, and his name was Scotty, and Scotty was a magician. And Bob is reading this introduction with gusto. We are going to just be amazed by Scotty the magician. And I'm like, what is happening? And no one in the audience, there's no murmur. There's nobody going, wait, we saw Scotty yesterday. Why, why, why is Scotty back? Nobody's saying anything. So I don't know if anybody attended Scotty's session or not. And I'm trying to get the, I'm trying to get the attention of the executive director and I'm pointing to the stage like, what's going on? He's not listening. He's got a million things going on in his head. He's not listening. And he's like, what? Things are good. Yeah, it's a good introduction. And so I'm trying, luckily Scotty the Magician's introduction was really long. I have a short introduction. So Scotty's introduction was long. So Bob was just reading about all the accolades of Scotty the Magician. And I realized my microphone was on. And I said, uh, I said, Bob, really loud. I went, Bob. And Bob just kind of, you know, startled. You know, I'm like, Bob, I go, you're doing an awesome job with the introduction. Incredible. Uh, one issue, just a small, small note. You're reading the introduction from the speaker yesterday, Scotty the Magician. My name is Joel. I'm the speaker today. Any chance you could read my introduction? The audience just cracks up. They're laughing. I mean, it's just, it's, it's, it's just pandemonium. And Bob is just completely startled. The executive director jumps up and it's kind of like a movie scene, you know, where the, like a comedy, like a Buster Keaton and papers are like flying around. And so the executive director's at the lectern and like papers are just flying around like a cartoon looking for my introduction. And he grabs it and he gives it to Bob. The audience is just dying laughing. And I, I'm still going. I'm just, I'm just
[39:33] Al Elliott: Yeah
[39:33] Joel Zeff: I'm just shoveling coal into the fire at this point. And I'm saying, I'm like, Bob, I could try to do magic, but I'm not good. I'm not good at magic. I go, I could try. And, uh, so Bob finally reads my introduction. The audience, it, it, what it did was, if this could happen every time I did a keynote, that would be great
[39:56] Leanne Elliott: Yeah
[39:56] Joel Zeff: Because it just created this immediate connection with the audience. And they were just, just ready to laugh and to have fun. And then I made a big point, uh, about Bob, um, staying in the game, which is a big message of mine, is that you don't give up, you don't quit. It's the only, the only thing improv won't allow you to do. It won't allow you to quit. And Bob did not quit. Bob did not just run off stage and like, well, forget it, that someone gave me the wrong introduction. He stuck with it and he read my introduction with just as much gusto as he read Scotty the Magician's. And I made a big point that, that I was very proud of Bob and the audience gave him a big round of applause. And I also said, Bob, I just want you to know one thing. It's not your fault at all. It's that guy's fault. Gave you the wrong introduction. That guy right there. That guy, that's his fault. Again, the audience laughs and just made this connection. I love, uh, it was just, you know, people ask me, you know, do you, what, what happens if things go wrong or something happens? I'm like, I'm just, I'm like a shark with chum in the water. I can't wait for something like that to happen. That's, these are, this, these are the magic moments. This will never happen again. And And the audience knows it's a magic moment. That's what we're after in improv. That's what we're after. We're after these magic moments that we create with other performers. There's no script, there's no rehearsal. And we're trying to find this perfect moment that just makes this connection with the audience, with the performers, that is just absolutely incredible, that we know is just happening. This lightning in a bottle that's just happening in this moment. And you know, it's happening, you know, when it's happening and it, you get, you know, little goosebumps and your hair stands up and you just know your whole physical body. You just know this moment is happening. And those are really the special moments. And I'm after those moments. I'm seeking them out every time I jump on stage for a client when I'm presenting a keynote and we're having fun, we're laughing. And we're creating these moments, but we're also, I think it's important to understand that we're talking about these really powerful messages that help us be great teammates and great leaders and great communicators. And these choices that help us find our guiding light, to be passionate, to create fun at work, to find success during change and disruption, that we're talking about these choices, but I just choose to talk about them through play and fun. Because I think people are more engaged, they're more open to the message, and they're going to retain the message because they're having fun, they're laughing, and that creates a very powerful combination
[42:51] Al Elliott: Absolutely. They're given lots of choices, but they're making the right choice, which is the name of your book. When's it out? Tell us
[43:01] Joel Zeff: That was That might be the brown liquid talking. Um, make the right choice, lead with passion, elevate your team, and unleash the fun at work. Everything that we talked about on the podcast, I talk about in the book in much greater detail. Each chapter has lots of ideas, games that you can play to create fun at work, things that you can do to find, to help you discover your guiding light, to focus on your fun. To be a better teammate, a better leader, a better communicator. And I hope you have fun along the way when you read the book. We're talking about these great messages about creating opportunity and the importance of positive support and staying in the game, being more present in the moment, helping the people around you be successful. But I tell stories and I want you to have fun. I want you to laugh because that's what I'm all about. If I create that fun and energy for you, the reader, I think you're gonna be more engaged in the message. And the book's available everywhere internationally
[44:03] Al Elliott: So if someone's listening, they go, this sounds amazing, Joel. I really wanna be the person you are telling me I should be, but it just seems like a huge gap between where I am now, which is something of a wallflower, to where I wanna be, which is the person who introduces fun at work. How do I start?
[44:22] Joel Zeff: Everybody has to take the first step. And once you take the first step, then you take the second step and the third step. And you know, the baseball player, the football player, they weren't great the first day they touched a ball. So you have to take that first step and a week goes by and 2 weeks go by, a month goes by and everything that you're putting into it adds up. And I think it's just about taking that first step. You, you might make mistakes. It's okay. We want to minimize them. We want to learn from them. Improv embraces the mistakes. We want, we don't be afraid to make that mistake. Don't be afraid to take that risk. That's what improv is about. We want you to embrace and take that first step. And just like with everything
[45:12] Leanne Elliott: Yeah
[45:13] Joel Zeff: It gets easier, uh, after on the 2nd step and the 5th step and the 10th step and the 100th step, it gets easier and you become more comfortable and you, uh, become more confident, but you have to take that first step and you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can Google fun at work or ideas to bring joy at work. And, um, you know, There's a million articles will jump up, a million podcasts. And so I think it's just making that first step important. That's the first step is creating that positive support, creating opportunity, helping the people around you be successful. And asking your team members, what makes you happy? What makes you fulfilled? What can I do to bring that to to you? And you're going to be surprised what the answer is. And you're going to be surprised how easy it is for you to give them that opportunity to create that happiness, to create that fulfillment. And believe me, fun's a big part of all of that
[46:19] Al Elliott: Uh, if people want to go and learn more about you, is it joelzeff.com?
[46:23] Joel Zeff: Yes, that's perfect. And anybody, uh, mention, uh, Truth, Lies, and Work podcast, mention Al, uh, send me a note through my website, and I will send you a free chapter of my book, Make the Right Choice. So I'm gonna send you a chapter about change and embracing change and being more open and flexible to change and finding success during change and disruption. It's a beautiful PDF with lots of photos of me looking goofy, and, uh, would love to send that free chapter. Just send me an email through the website and, uh, mention the awesome Truth, Lies, and Work podcast. By Al Elliott
[47:00] Leanne Elliott: That was Joel Zeff. Let's wrap up with our top 3 takeaways for leaders who want to bring this genuine fun and energy to their teams. And of course you do. Lesson 1, you knew this already, regular listener, fun isn't about ping pong tables, it's about fulfilment. Ask your team what makes them happy and create opportunities for that
[47:19] Al Elliott: Yeah, lesson number 2 is master your positive support and appreciation. Like Joel says, if you can't give appreciation, you shouldn't even be a manager. Think about everyone you interacted with today. Did you give them the appreciation they deserved?
[47:31] Leanne Elliott: And lesson 3, celebrate the ta-da moments. Whether it's finishing a project or helping a colleague, acknowledge it to make it visible
[47:40] Al Elliott: As we said at the top, Joel's approach isn't about forcing enthusiasm. It's about creating the environment where people can bring their authentic energy to work
[47:48] Leanne Elliott: You can find Joel at joelzeff.com. That's J-O-E-L-Z-E-F-F.com. zeff.com and mention Truth, Lies and Work for a free chapter off his book
[47:58] Al Elliott: So that is all for today's summer edition. Keep celebrating those ta-da moments, and we're gonna see you next week
[48:04] Leanne Elliott: Ta-da!
[48:05] Al Elliott: Bye-bye