Reprinted from:

March, 1988

The NSA/San Diego program for March features a long-awaited humor workshop by Bob Ross. The workshop will include segments on the analysis of humor (what is funny and why), writing, finding, collecting, rewriting and delivering humor and how to use it in the business aspects of our work. He will cover such things as personalizing, switching, localizing and reversing humor, as well how to work humor into your presentation, use cartoons and what to do if your humor doesn’t work.

April has been proclaimed humor month, Bob tells us. (It includes April Fool’s Day and the deadline for filing you income taxes.) You’ll want to get ready for this by attending the workshop where you’ll take away a lot of humor as well as ideas on how to use it in your presentations. As one famous speaker said recently, "You don’t have to use humor in your talks . . . unless you want to get paid." Come join us for a program packed with fun and laughter, and one that will benefit you greatly in your speaking career!

When Yamaha Music Corp. celebrated its 100^th anniversary several months ago, they decided to do it with a high priced bash at the Hotel Del Coronado. There was some disappointment then, when the emcee announced that it had come time in the otherwise entertaining program to hear a lecture by a musicologist.

And it didn’t seem to help when the emcee explained that the speaker happened to be the world’s foremost authority on the Monoreed and the Zonaphone. In fact, nobody had seemed to have heard of either of these musical instruments from a place in Northeastern Africa called Mudland. The Mudlandians, the speaker revealed, were master craftsmen. In fact, he told the audience of Yamaha’s sales-related staff that he was urging the marketing department to adopt the slogan: "Yamaha – the quality of Mudland." Amused puzzlement swept the audience. Dr. Ross went on to explain, (for the benefit of spouses present, he said) the historical importance of the Monoreed and the Zonaphone. It was two Italian brothers, Giuseppe and Garbanzo Piano, he revealed, who while each playing one of these ancient instruments, discovered the compatibility and invented the famous instrument which would later be named after them.

By this time, The audience knew it had been had. Their speaker was San Diego humorist Bob Ross, doing one of his put-ons. Bob went on to disclose several other esoteric items related to music history, such as the fact that break dancing originated when two street kids were trying to steal hubcaps off a moving car.

Bob has been a banking expert for American Express, a nutty American college professor for International Business Schools in Toronto, Canada, and has played numerous other roles in his humorous put-ons.

Bob also writes and coordinates celebrity roasts and does emcee work. In 1986, he and Gary Beals wrote the comedy for the roast of popular 1050’s singer Frankie Laine. It was a benefit to raise funds for the Ileitis & Colitis Foundation and Bob and Gary donated their time on behalf of our NSA Chapter.

Bob has been studying and performing humor for several years. He has a new program called "Humor At Work." In it, he explains how to use humor, fun and enjoyment to stimulate productivity in the workplace. During the month of February, he conducted that program for six different companies and organizations.