Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Justice.
Jeff, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After traveling the country as a comedy club headliner and moving to Atlanta in 1987 to get married, I would spend Monday nights at comedian Jerry Farber’s comedy club working on new material.
I started noticing amateur comedians doing things wrong like putting punchlines in the wrong place, being too wordy or improper delivery.
I started giving advice to some of them and noticed that those who took my suggestions were getting better.
About eight of them got together and asked if I’d put together a comedy course and teach them what I knew.
Armed with a half dozen sheet of paper photocopied from a how-to comedy book, I launched my first class. After the first group helped pack Farber’s club to the gills for a graduation night performance, some of the audience members asked me if they could sign up for the next session. I didn’t have a “next session,” so I took down their names and phone numbers and told them If I ever decided to do it again I’d call them.
What started as a onetime class to help out a few local comedians is now in its 27th year and has graduated over 2800 students from all walks of life. Not everyone who takes the class has the natural ability of a Richard Pryor or a Billy Crystal, but I guarantee I can help make anyone funny for four minutes.
The basic structure of the six-week class, which takes place Monday nights at the Punchline comedy venue, remains the same. Lectures make up about half of the first two sessions, including tips on how to properly handle a microphone and look professional. I spend the rest of those first two weeks on writing exercises.
On the third week, students return with two jokes each and I point out what works and doesn’t work and if it doesn’t work I help them rewrite it so it does. I even have a lecture on handling hecklers. That’s more of a survival skill. By the fourth week, the participants are up to six jokes and we’re starting to hone in on delivery.
It’s all about delivery. Just look at Steve Martin. Just saying “I’m a wild and crazy guy” isn’t funny. But Steve Martin delivering it like he did was hilarious.
During week five, the class is divided in half for final rewrites, fine-tuning the delivery and concentrating on memorization. The final gathering takes place on a Saturday at my home, where students perform as if they were onstage. The afternoon then wraps with a potluck meal.
The graduation performance takes place the following Monday at the Punchline in the Landmark Dinner on Roswell Rd, a hallowed hall for touring comedians. The event typically sells out as each of the students takes turns dishing out four minutes of stand-up comedy on the same stage where comics including Eddie Murphy and Jerry Seinfeld have performed.
My classes consist of everyone from housewives to executives to budding comics. Local author Hollis Gillespie, Atlanta radio icon Gary McKee, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and MindSpring honcho Charles Brewer are all alumni. And successful professional comedians who have taken the Comedy Workshoppe include Landry, Jamie Ward, Carlos Rodriguez and Angela Miller. But one thing you won’t see or hear is raunchy language.
I really stress clean comedy in my class, If you can go onstage for the first time and be funny and stay clean, you can do anything. It’s easy to go up there and curse, but if you do that, that’s all you’re going to do. If you’re going to be clean, you’re going to be better.
The Level I classes are held three times a year along with one Level II for the serious students who want to take their writing to the next level.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
About 17 years ago, I was wondering if I should continue teaching the classes. Were they really doing anyone any good? My corporate presentations on using Humor In The Workplace were going gangbusters and I thought that I should put all of my focus there. At the time I was at Blockbusters with my kids and as I thought this through I sent a prayer up to God asking if I should continue with the classes. Right then, a guy walked across the store to where I was. He said, “Jeff I saw you standing over here and I just had to come over and tell you that everything that’s gone good in his life is a direct result of me taking your comedy class and my life has been wonderful and I just wanted to thank you.” He shook my hand and as he walked out of the store I look up and said, ‘OK, God, I’ll keep doing it.”
When the recession struck in 2008 I was sure that was the end of my classes. Who would have extra money to spend on my classes when money was so tight? As it turned out the next four years were the best I’ve ever had. Classes were packed and I even added an extra one each year. I found that people were taking it because they wanted to be better speakers thus a more valuable employee, wanted to do something fun in their lives or just wanted to find out if they were really funny. Somehow it as a possible career change.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Jeff Justice’s Comedy Workshoppe – what should we know?
What separates me from other comedy teachers is that I truly care about every student. To me nothing is more rewarding then seeing someone enter my class wondering if they can really do this and six weeks later they’re on stage at the Punch Line in front of a packed hours knocking it out of the park! I guarantee my students that there is no way that I’ll let them go on stage and not be funny. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they succeed.
Besides my wife and kids, I’m most proud of becoming a Certified Speaking Professional.
Jeff is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), the highest earned recognition awarded by the National Speaker’s Association. Less than seven percent of speakers in the world have achieved this earned recognition. His innovative programs on appropriate humor in the workplace have been featured on CNN and CNBC.
Jeff is a funny speaker who has been featured in articles in: Time Magazine, Newsweek, Competitive Edge, The Daily News, TV Guide, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta Business Chronicle and many, many more.
This professional speaker has combined a degree in communications from Florida St. University and a career as a top stand-up comedian and improvisational actor to develop programs that are high in content and big on laughs.
Motivational Humorist, Jeff Justice, CSP is also the president and founder of “Jeff Justice’s Comedy Workshoppe”, the largest and most successful school for stand-up comedy in the country. His graduates include many business leaders including zillionaire Charles Brewer, founder of Mindspring, Sara Blakley, founder and president of Spanks as well as most of the top professional speakers in Georgia.
Under the heading of Presentation Skills Training Jeff offers Humor Coaching for humor-challenged business people. He guarantees he can help anyone become a humorous to funny speaker. Not only does he help business people add humor to their stories and presentations, he helps them hone their delivery to make it as powerful as possible. Jeff specializes in making unfunny people, hilarious and heard!
His seven humorous books have sold over 100,000 copies. His latest “Laugh More, Stress Less… (and avoid getting burned out)” will keep you laughing and empower you to deal with the daily onslaught of stress in your life by employing your sense of humor.
Appropriate humor is a vital management tool. Jeff believes that if you’re trying to manage others without using humor then you’re like the guy who cuts the grass at the cemetery. You have a lot of people underneath you but no one’s paying attention!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Caring about people, not letting them down and doing what I say I’ll do.
Pricing:
- The Comedy Workshoppe is $599 for the one night per week, six-week course.
- Jeff’s corporate keynote presentations and training start at $4000
- Private coaching $200 per hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JeffJustice.com, www.ComedyWorkshoppe.com
- Phone: 404-312-3404
- Email: Jeff@jeffjustice.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffjusticecomedy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jeffjusticeatlanta
- Twitter: Laughmaster
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jeff-justices-comedy-workshop-atlanta?osq=comedy+classes
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/funnykeynotespeakerjeffjustice/
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