Boston Herald

LaCroix combines comedic, corporate

by Anna McCart
Sunday, February 24, 2002

"Hi, I'm Darren, and I'm a speech-a-holic," is one of Darren LaCroix's opening lines.

LaCroix's the 2001 World Champion of Public Speaking, the first New Englander to win the Toastmasters International award in a contest that dates back to the 1930s.

But the food-chain store owner turned comic and pro speaker says he isn't a natural. Being funny and comfortable in front of people was something he learned.

Now he shares his knowledge at his Humor Institute, teaching the business community how to add humor to its bottom line.

At 35, the recently self-employed Auburn, Mass., native now does a mix of stand-up appearances, scheduled keynotes, corporate training and international speaking appointments. His Humor Boot Camp and Speakers Boot Camp give him plenty of opportunities to promote his video, audio Training sets and book, "Laugh and Get Rich - How to Profit from Humor in Any Business" - now translated into three languages.

LaCroix says he's come a long way.

"In high school, I was voted most likely not to be funny," says LaCroix, whose picture now hangs in the local club, The Comedy Palace in Worcester.

And friends that have seen LaCroix's work from the beginning wonder how he ever made it this far.

"Now, as I look back, I see he had a lot of determination," says Bob Lynch, LaCroix's friend since high school.

Lynch saw LaCroix's act when he was bombing at stand-up clubs in the early '90s.

"We were in a restaurant once and he wasn't doing too well. Then he said,'those are my friends over there,' " recalls Lynch. "I thought: Oh no, don't introduce us now."

While struggling to make it as a stand-up, LaCroix's day gig was working part-time as a salesman at Bose Corp. in Framingham. This job allowed him to spend time on stage and travel to speech competitions on his vacation time.

Being a good speaker has everything to do with how much stage time you get, says LaCroix. The more chances you have to speak - and fail - the more chances to learn what works.

"I would drive two and a half hours to Portland to get five minutes of stage time if I couldn't get something locally that night," says LaCroix.

When a friend told him to join the speaking organization, Toastmasters, to get more time on stage, LaCroix joined four of the clubs. "I thought: Now I can quadruple my failure rate!"

The youngest child of a systems analyst and a wedding cake decorator, LaCroix said his parents weren't thrilled when their college-educated son wanted to be a comedian.

"I had virtually no support, that was my toughest hurdle," admits LaCroix.

"Most people do what they do because somewhere along the line, someone said, 'You're good at that.' That wasn't necessarily the case with Darren," says Rick Segel, LaCroix's friend and co-author.

Failure drove him on, LaCroix says.

"Anyone who has accomplished anything has fallen on their face," says LaCroix, who sprawled out in a pratfall before an audience of 15,000 last August at the speech contest.

To beat out the 22,000 contestants from 14 countries, LaCroix spoke from experience, Segel said.

"Darren's greatest asset, and the reason he won, is because he did a talk about himself. He doesn't give up. He's resilient, resistant," says Segel.

The stage isn't the only place LaCroix found failure.

Fresh out of business school, he bought a Subway sandwich store in Auburn, Mass.

"I took a $60,000 debt and doubled it," said the MBA graduate in his award winning speech. "I turned Subway sandwiches into a nonprofit organization."

LaCroix pulled himself out of debt and is now profiting from a theory that finding humor in even the most boring situations can help individuals and businesses be understood and listened to.

Fredrick Marckini, CEO of iProspect in Arlington, bought into LaCroix's idea.

The head of the search engine marketing firm hired LaCroix to coach him on a presentation he was giving at Harvard.

Marckini was impressed with LaCroix, he says, and hired him to train his staff.

"Our staff is presenting all the time. That's one of the most critical skills they can possess," said Marckini.

"If they can't get their skills clear and communicate and present these 'ah ha' moments . . . when those moments,happen the campaigns become much more effective."

Humor in business is more important than ever, said LaCroix.

In their book, LaCroix and Segel explain how humor in business goes beyond advertising. Training, employee relations and customer relations can all be aided by adding humor.

After more than 10 years of reading books, taking classes and getting stage time, LaCroix quit his job at Bose three months ago and turned his humor business into a full-time job.

Next month he'll present in Taiwan and the month after that in Oman, but LaCroix said he doesn't want to work his life away. After years of working days, doing stand-up routines at night and spending his vacation time at speaking events, LaCroix said he's going to spend more time with his friends.

Their idea of a relaxing afternoon is setting up stunts for their public access cable television shows. It's a new stage for LaCroix, and he's starting with campy productions of - would you believe - comedies.

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