By Harry Freedman

I make my living as a funny fake motivational speaker, aka corporate comedy put-on, aka funny fake industry expert, aka Corporate Comedy Shape Shifter.

Doing a corporate comedy put-on is by it’s very nature,  uncomfortable. The first time I did one for a hospital in Brooklyn, I literally walked the streets outside beforehand trying to calm my nerves. I was about to try to convince 200 doctors and hospital administrators that I was a healthcare advisor to the governor. And, get them laughing at the same time. That was 37 years ago. The video from that show got me ten more jobs in the next six months.

Now, having done over a thousand funny fake motivational speeches for almost every possible industry, I have a very different mindset. Even though I still get a little nervous, I’ve been through so many crazy experiences, I’m pretty sure I can handle just about anything that’s thrown my way.

Here’s a few shows that had moments that even I did not anticipate.

DINNER AS A CORPORATE COMEDY SHAPE SHIFTER

Early in my corporate comedy career, I performed for The Canadian Leasing Assn. while pretending to be from Revenue Canada, which is the equivalent of our IRS. I’ve sat at hundreds of meals before speaking while in character and I’m pretty good at responding to questions. But in this case, the guy that hired me was drinking and he was also a practical joker. So he came right out and invited everyone at our table to hit me up with questions about Revenue Canada.

I verbally danced and deflected and somehow got through it. My contact was loving every minute of it. After about 15 minutes of watching me squirm but with my cover was still intact, I pulled out the microcassette recorder that I kept in my pocket and said “I’ve now got you all on tape and you will all be audited first thing tomorrow morning. Then I put it on the table and said, “Excuse me while I go use the restroom. But please feel free to speak freely while I’m gone.” That got whole table laughing including the guy who hired me.

My speech went well and afterwards I said to my contact, “If I hadn’t been able to handle that, you’d have lost your entertainment for the night.” He laughed and said, “I just wanted to see what you’d do.”

A CLUELESS COMPANY EMCEE

Before every one of my funny motivational speeches, I send the client an introduction with a fake bio that gives no hint that I’m a comedian. Well, one time the guy introducing me announced me as “the comedian” and read off my actual comedy credits and blew my cover before I even got up.

My first feeling was panic. And then my adrenaline kicked in. I had about 30 seconds to figure a plan. When I hit the podium, I quickly announced that the host had mistakenly introduced me as the comedian, when I was in fact a new consultant hired to discuss ways to help the company grow. I said, “I was told the comedian is on his way, and if it’ll help, I’ll try to be mildly amusing but there are some important issues I do need to cover.”

I then went into my put-on and the audience bought it, mostly because I acted quickly and decisively to address the moment. So without the audience knowing the full truth of the situation, they automatically empathized with me as a speaker who had been put in a bad spot. As i got them laughing, they did eventually realize I was the comedian, but just not in the way they had expected.

THE BOAT SHOW

Another time I was doing a show on a harbor boat and the microphone went out. My experience has been when there is a technical issue, the audience usually gives you a bit of leeway but it still breaks the flow of the show. I’ve had times where assistants ran up to try to fix things, and I’ve had times where I just yelled out the rest of my act. But in this case, there was a PA intercom mic hanging behind me. And though the sound was far from perfect, I grabbed it and pretended to be a tour guide humorously describing the scenery on each side of the boat. It worked, and when I went back into the rest of my funny fake expert material, I was able to end the show on a high note.

After so many years of performing as a standup comedian and a funny motivational speaker, there’s not much that can faze me.

THE OUTDOOR POOL SHOW

But not every situation is winnable. I got hired by a car company to perform outdoors at night. I asked them to put the tables close together and close to me to maximize the laughter. My client, nice as he was, had for some reason come up with a plan of his own and was not to be deterred.

When I got outside I found a stage over Ten Feet High, about 100 feet from a large swimming pool that had 3 small tables in front of the pool, 3 tables on each side, and 3 tables on the far side of the pool. I was about 100 to 250 feet away from my audience and they were about 100 feet apart from each other.

I did the best I could and actually did get some laughs from the nearest table 100 feet away. But the folks on the sides and back of the pool could barely hear me and might as well have been on mars. Later that night,  the client apologized and said, “yeah, maybe I should have listened to you on that.”

That was a lesson to me as well. Now, I never go up without doing everything in my power to make the conditions as favorable as possible. I don’t expect perfection. But I’ll try to explain to every meeting planner the conditions that will help me and all their other speakers have the best chance of success.

SOME RECENT FUNNY FAKE EXPERTS

In the last few months, I’ve been a fake Ai Genius for the largest semi conductor manufacturer in the world, (TSMC) a real estate expert for the California Real Estate Assn, a fundraising expert for the NY State Aging association, an Hvac expert, a Tennis Pro, a doctor, a new relative from 23 and me for a birthday roast, and many more.

I enjoy doing a wide range of shows from my corporate funny fake expert, to doing roasts and straight standup comedy.

Over the years I’ve been profiled in the NY Times, Int’l Herald Tribune, Miami Herald, had numerous articles about me in Long Island’s Newsday, and many other publications. And now after all that time, I’ve finally hit the jackpot. I was recently profiled in Pulse Magazine from Hofstra University. (see photo above)

SOME 2026 REVIEWS

Good evening “Dr” – I wanted to take a moment to say a heart felt “thank you” for your amazing keynote at our annual Leadership Institute. As you are aware, this was an amazing group of individuals that desperately needed some levity, and you provided exactly that. I so appreciate your time and attention for a message that felt very personal, and very knowledgeable regarding the audience and the work that we do. It was such a pleasure working with you, and again, I so appreciate your willingness to bring laughter to my network.  Becky Preve – Executive Director, Association on Aging in New York

5 Stars! (The Bash) Harry was great in every aspect. Very professional and at the same time easy to deal with and communicate with. He performed at our company event and everyone truly enjoyed the show. We need more people like Harry.    Ognen N. – Tenafly Tennis Academy

5 Stars (Gigmasters) Our active senior center hired Harry for our comedy night. He was excellent. He was communicative, arrived early, read the audience and got a lot of laughs. We would recommend! – Ann Gregg

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