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to laugh, and how you translate your gift into an
award-winning speech
I’ve always loved comedy. I grew up with
tons of comedians on TV all the time, which
probably influenced me a lot. I think our brains
like comedy because it’s often about hearing
something unexpected, which wakes us up and
intrigues. If I’m doing a presentation and there
are parts that are potentially boring, adding a
little humor is a good way to increase the odds
that the audience will remember those parts.
Humor helps engage the memory. I think I tend
to like humor that makes fun of institutions or
people that take themselves too seriously or that
juxtaposes things in a surreal way.
On the old TV show M*A*S*H, the surgeons
made fun of everything as a way of coping with
the horrors of war. I think comedy is like that.
The world right now can be a pretty scary place,
and comedy can be a great comfort to cope
with all of those things we can’t control. For
me, humor started out as a defense mechanism
as a kid, then evolved into my outlook on the
world—a helpful reminder to not take life too
seriously. Things are a lot less scary if you find
a way to poke fun at them and laugh a little. A
lot of my speech is about our bodies failing us
as we get old. That’s a scary reality! But being
able to laugh about a common shared experience
helps it be less frightening. We’re all going to
die, eventually, so rather than be terrified of
that, why not own it as inevitable and have fun
while we can?
This competition was not your first. What prompts
you to compete?
Big secret: Speech contests are fun! For a while
Toastmasters stopped having the Humorous
contests. I think the last time I competed was back
in 2013 or 2014. So, when I heard the Humorous
Contest was coming back, I was thrilled and had
to get in there. It’s so much fun to hone a speech
with different audiences and experience all the
creativity and laughter from so many other
talented contestants! Humor is as important
as exercise or diet for me. It helps my mood
and keeps me feeling buoyant as I navigate the
craziness of life.
Back to the biographical info—married? Kids? What
do you do outside of Toastmasters that makes you
feel complete
I’m married with a 14-year-old son. As I
mentioned in my speech, I became a father much
later in life than most guys do. I think that was
good in some ways, because I was a little more
mature and responsible than if I’d become a dad
in my twenties. I love the outdoors, and I’m also
a rabid science fiction and movie fan. My side
gig is writing crazy fantasy suspense novels, so
if you know any publishers looking for juicy
content, send ‘em my way.
VOICES! | MAY 2023 11