Most Requested Programs

Work, Laugh, Repeat
Perfect for any group that needs a humorous break from the serious side of business, live or virtually. Despite its therapeutic qualities, laughter is often absent from the business environment. Greg shows it is possible to laugh at work and about work, via a clean and heavily customized presentation. Audience members will put down their phones, close their laptops and laugh along with Greg as he good-naturedly discusses topics such as business travel, overused meeting slogans and his fantasy of heckling a motivational speaker.

Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines
In January 2024, while in the midst of a late in life divorce, corporate comedian and business humor speaker Greg Schwem was diagnosed with a malignant tumor lying flat on his colon. Divorce and cancer in one year. Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

Facing an uncertain outcome, Schwem was forced to adopt what he had been preaching to corporate clients such as Microsoft, Oracle and AT&T for years: Locate humor in the unfunniest of situations, during times when everything seems hopeless. With a laptop propped up on hospital pillows, Greg began writing...and writing...and writing. The result was Turning Gut Punches into Punch Lines, a hilarious, multimedia-fueled keynote speech that teaches audience members how to always be on the lookout for “the funny,” use humor to battle personal struggles, business challenges, or both, and emerge happier. It starts, Greg says, by admitting you are the “least interesting person in the room” and letting others provide the laughs.

Humor is Serious Business...But We Should Still be Laughing
In a hilarious, multimedia-intensive presentation, renowned business humorist and award-winning Chicago Tribune humor columnist Greg Schwem will make audiences of all ages howl with laughter as he explores the role of, and the need for, humor in a post COVID, return-to-the-office world. As companies struggle to answer the questions, “What is funny?” and “What is appropriate?” Greg offers a different perspective: There ARE no right answers. Instead, he feels all employees,from the new hires to the C-level executives, must formulate their own answers by working together, instead of running from one another. Only then will the result be a healthy and FUN work environment.

Performing live or virtually, Greg shows audiences that rules about workplace humor can be easily violated... even by those who create and enforce them; how to not be the office “humor cop” and how to “engage but never attack” those who you disagree with when it comes to humor. The ability to research his audience and tailor his content is why companies such as Microsoft, McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines and even The CIA have turned to Greg for laughs, and why HuffPost calls Greg “Your boss’ favorite comedian.”

But Humor is Serious Business... is hardly a straight stand-up comedy show. Greg challenges his audiences to envision how they can use humor to improve workplace communication, and how to motivate one another in difficult times. Greg reinforces his message with stories of company personnel who have used humor to create successful campaigns and turn their businesses around. As a cancer survivor, Greg will also share how humor helped him overcome devastating health news.

Rock, Roll & Laugh Your Way to the Top
Greg Schwem knows a thing or two about rock and roll. As a comedian who has opened concerts for stars ranging from Keith Urban, to Celine Dion, to Enrique Iglesias to (wait for it) KC and the Sunshine Band, Greg has seen how rock and roll is really a business. Like your business. In short? Every company and employee has "rock star" potential. Greg shows you how to achieve that potential in a highly
motivational presentation that combines hilarious comedy, live concert footage and a LOUD musical soundtrack featuring everything from classic rock to country to Lollapalooza. Topics include "Why Every Office Needs a Keith Richards," "Are you Team Taylor or Team Kanye?" and "Don't Let Your Company Become a Country Song."

Host/Emcee
A good emcee needs to multitask. He must keep the event moving, be adept at improvisation and work efficiently with all participants onstage. Greg Schwem has hosted everything from a one-hour awards ceremony for 200 BAE Systems engineers to a three-day conference for 6,000 McDonald’s restaurant managers, to a virtual webinar for IBM customers. He is equally at ease chatting with a company CEO live on stage, pronouncing (correctly) the names of awards recipients, or conducting humorous on-camera interviews with meeting attendees.