Travels from Virginia, USA
Ronald Culberson's speaking fee falls within range: $5,000 to $10,000
“Do it well. Make it fun.” Ronald Culberson has lived by this motto and people have noticed as he’s brightened dark situations that most other people might find hopeless.
Ron began his career as a home care social worker for hospice patients. His hard work, positive attitude and ability to tastefully inject humor in a field of work that’s often considered bleak got him promoted to Manager of Counseling Services and later Director of Quality Service at Hospice of Northern Virginia (now known as Capital Caring). In addition to fostering a fun thriving work environment, he developed the organization’s first quality improvement and customer service program, which played a key role in staff training and the organization’s regulatory certification.
Ron has been speaking professionally since 1996, showing people how they can use humor in life and work while still staying focused on their objectives. Ron himself knows the mechanics of humor, chiefly “funny person + audience = laughter.” For this reason along with his valuable messages he receives rave reviews at conferences and multiple requests to return.
Ron Has Experience Doing Things Well Ron began his career by working with people at the end of their lives as a home care social worker at Hospice of Northern Virginia (now Capital Caring). After several years, he was hired as Manager of Counseling Services where he ultimately supervised 26 staff that included social workers, chaplains, and bereavement counselors. He worked hard to create a thriving department while at the same time creating an environment in which his staff had fun.
Finally, Ron served as Director of Quality Service, a senior management position. After being trained at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, he developed and managed the first quality improvement and customer service program for Hospice of Northern Virginia. This program was instrumental in training staff in customer service and preparing the organization for regulatory certification.
Nationally Known Humor Expert Ron is funny. Period.
But he also knows about the mechanics of humor. For instance: Funny + Audience = Laughter.
Ron has been studying and teaching about the benefits of humor since 1984. He believes that there is more to humor than a punchline and that when coupled with a foundation of excellence, humor can help us manage stress, reduce conflict, become more creative, improve problem solving, and ultimately achieve a higher level of productivity and contentment in life and work. He not only teaches this concept, his funny presentations demonstrate it.
Author and Keynote Speaker In 2014, Ron Culberson was inducted into the National Speakers Association CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame®. This prestigious award is given to individuals who excel in the following seven categories: material, style, experience, delivery, image, professionalism and communication. To date, 224 men and women have been inducted into the CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame®.
Ron has been speaking professionally since 1996 and has spoken to more than 140,000 people in over 1000 organizations. In 2001, he received the Certified Speaking Professional designation from the National Speakers Association which is their highest earned designation. Ron was also the 2012-2013 president of the National Speakers Association. He delivers programs for all types of organizations but has significant experience with healthcare, education, government, and other non-profit organizations.
Ron is the author of three books:
He is a contributing author for: Humor Me and Chicken Soup for the Nurses Soul II, and he also writes a blog for the Huffington Post.
Volunteer Service Ron commits a significant amount of his time to volunteer service. He has served on a number of boards and committees and contributed significantly to the following organizations:
Ron comments on the negativity in the world, pointing out that not only do people seem drawn to it, but that they try to “out-negative” one another.
“Somebody comes up to you and goes, ‘Man, I’ve had this cold for a week.’ [and you respond] ‘I had a cold for seven years once,’” Ron dramatizes. “We love to take it up a notch. I have a motorcycle. I tell people I have a motorcycle and you know what they want to tell me? Somebody they know died on a motorcycle. I don’t really need that information.”
Ron demonstrates storytelling’s tremendous power to communicate a message, describing a life-changing encounter he had as a child with a swollen dead pig on a family tubing trip down an Appalachian river.
“I realized as soon as I saw that pig that the current was taking me right toward it. My first reaction was involuntary, but we were in water, so that was okay,” he remembers. “My second reaction was to realize that my entire psychological well-being was contingent on me not hitting this pig. I’m thinking to myself if I hit that pig, I’m going to be the guy at future family reunions that people stand off to the side and go, ‘He weren’t right ever since he hit that pig.’”
Recounting how he was able to swim to the shore to avoid the pig, Ron compares the river to our journey in life, noting, “We were by ourselves in those tubes. You are by yourself in life for the most part. You have to figure out how to maneuver; we all have to figure out how to maneuver, because if you don’t learn how to maneuver through the rapids in the slow parts effectively, you’re going to hit that pig, or worse yet, you will be the pig.”
If you want a speaker for your conference, meeting, or event who engages the audience with great content, inspiring stories, and hilarious humor, then Ron Culberson is the speaker for you. He has been captivating audiences for 15 years and has reached over 120,000 people in more than 1,000 organizations.
Ron has extensive experience with healthcare organizations, education systems, government agencies, and human services groups.
Do It Well. Make It Fun. Realizing the Power of Combining Excellence with Humor
In this hilarious program, participants learn how combining excellence with humor can lead to greater levels of success in life and work.
Managing to Be a Great (and Fun) Leader Great leaders are worth following. Period. In this powerful, yet funny program, participants will understand what it takes to be a great leader who creates an environment that attracts and keeps good people.
Genuinely Speaking How YOU can Make Your Message More Memorable
Great speakers capture the hearts and the minds of their audiences. Whether speaking to a group of 1000 or to your staff in meeting, your goal is to convey information in the most effective way possible. In this program participants will learn how to create congruence between their own gifts and skills and their message to make a powerful impact on their audience.
Making Any Process Work... Without it Feeling Like Work Everything you do is a process. Every process can be improved. Every process can also be made more fun. In this invaluable and fun program, participants will learn how to identify and break down processes so that they are more effective, productive, and enjoyable.
Anna columbus
May 8, 2019
Excellent, motivational, makes you laugh. He was very entertaining.I saw him on 5/7/2019 at a VNA event and enjoyed every moment of what he said. Great MESSAGE.
Speaker rating 10/10
“Your presentation at our staff retreat was superb. The most significant result is that staff communicates a different perspective about organizational change and their responsibility to treat each other well. There has been so much more laughter here and good will since your visit, Ron. You truly are an ambassador for not only humor but heartfelt caring, personal congruence and mindfulness.” Patricia Murphy, RN, MA, CEO, Hospice of Martin and St. Lucie
“It was obvious from your presentation that you had a working knowledge of our organization. We delighted in the way you wove wisdom in with your humor. You superbly related to each participant, making the material come alive to everyone who was fortunate enough to have been present to hear your delivery. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of your presentation was the human element.” Gerard R. Kelly, PhD, VA Community Liaison, US Dept. of Veterans Affairs
“Our entire leadership team agreed that this was one of the best workshops they had ever attended. Along with Ron’s adept use of humor (the room was full of laughter) he is a skilled teacher. This workshop was full of tools and strategies that leaders could immediately apply. Since the workshop, numerous participants have commented on ways they have found to implement what they learned. Unlike many trainings, where the participants emerge feeling enthused and renewed for the first week, this workshop has staying power.” Kate Davis, Director of Learning and Development, Montgomery General Hospital
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Do It Well. Make It Fun.: The Key to Success in Life, Death, and Almost Everything in Between According the Bell Curve, most people are average. But who wants average? Would you want an average car mechanic, an average meal, or worse yet, an average brain surgeon? Didn’t think so. But you don’t have to settle for average when success is only two steps away.
Based on the idea that excellence is the key to success in most aspects of life and death (in a pre-death kind of way)—Do It Well. Make It Fun. is a refreshing take on taking excellence to new heights.
In this entertaining, practical guide Ron provides an easy-to-implement two-step process that will lead to greater success in your career and your life: (1) Do it Well, and (2) Make it Fun. By applying this formula, you’ll learn how to spice up boring meetings, relax in stressful situations, neutralize interoffice conflict, add zest to dull relationships, make project management a bit more enjoyable—and more.
Drawing from life observations and experiences, Ron shares hilarious anecdotes and serious lessons he has learned from his years as a social worker, middle manager, and senior leader. Ron’s simple suggestions will help you take life fun day at a time to revitalize your routines, your relationships, and to achieve greater success.
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