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to laugh, and how you translate your gift into an       that, why not own it as inevitable and have fun
     award-winning speech                                    while we can?
        I’ve always loved comedy. I grew up with

     tons of comedians on TV all the time, which             This competition was not your first. What prompts
     probably influenced me a lot. I think our brains        you to compete?
     like comedy because it’s often about hearing                Big secret: Speech contests are fun! For a while
     something unexpected, which wakes us up and             Toastmasters stopped having the Humorous

     intrigues. If I’m doing a presentation and there        contests. I think the last time I competed was back
     are parts that are potentially boring, adding a         in 2013 or 2014. So, when I heard the Humorous
     little humor is a good way to increase the odds         Contest was coming back, I was thrilled and had
     that the audience will remember those parts.            to get in there. It’s so much fun to hone a speech

     Humor helps engage the memory. I think I tend           with different audiences and experience all the
     to like humor that makes fun of institutions or         creativity and laughter from so many other
     people that take themselves too seriously or that       talented contestants! Humor is as important
     juxtaposes things in a surreal way.                     as exercise or diet for me. It helps my mood

        On the old TV show M*A*S*H, the surgeons             and keeps me feeling buoyant as I navigate the
     made fun of everything as a way of coping with          craziness of life.
     the horrors of war. I think comedy is like that.
     The world right now can be a pretty scary place,        Back to the biographical info—married? Kids? What

     and comedy can be a great comfort to cope               do you do outside of Toastmasters that makes you
     with all of those things we can’t control. For          feel complete
     me, humor started out as a defense mechanism                I’m married with a 14-year-old son. As I
     as a kid, then evolved into my outlook on the           mentioned in my speech, I became a father much

     world—a helpful reminder to not take life too           later in life than most guys do. I think that was
     seriously. Things are a lot less scary if you find      good in some ways, because I was a little more
     a way to poke fun at them and laugh a little. A         mature and responsible than if I’d become a dad
     lot of my speech is about our bodies failing us         in my twenties. I love the outdoors, and I’m also

     as we get old. That’s a scary reality! But being        a rabid science fiction and movie fan. My side
     able to laugh about a common shared experience          gig is writing crazy fantasy suspense novels, so
     helps it be less frightening. We’re all going to        if you know any publishers looking for juicy
     die, eventually, so rather than be terrified of         content, send ‘em my way.




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