How to Write a Funny Speech…

“Carol Leifer, the prolific comedian and television writer (S.N.L., Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, etc.), has many skills. One, perhaps unsurprisingly, is delivering funny speeches, a gift for which she’s now giving back, with a book titled How to Write a Funny Speech.” –The New Yorker

“An inspired piece of service journalism by the comedians Carol Leifer and Rick Mitchell…. Takes the reader by the hand, offering reassuring words and simple, direct and practical advice…. The most interesting pages reprint speeches by the authors with their notes in the margins. It’s like eavesdropping on smart comedians talking shop.” –The New York Times

Carol Leifer has been Emmy‑nominated four times for her writing on such classic television shows as Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show, Saturday Night Live, and the Oscars. She is currently a writer/co‑executive producer for the Emmy-winning HBO series Hacks and a writer/consulting producer for HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. She appears in Showtime’s More Funny Women of a Certain Age stand-up comedy special and was a writer for the NBC special “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter & Love,” which earned her an Emmy nomination. Among her many honors is the prestigious Writer’s Guild Award for her writing on Modern Family. Starring in five of her own comedy specials that aired on HBO, Showtime, and Comedy Central, Carol also holds the record (an unbelievable twenty-five times) for the most appearances on Late Show with David Letterman. She still finds time to perform at prominent comedy clubs, theaters, and universities, doing stand‑up comedy solo or appearing alongside such celebrities as Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Maher, and Jay Leno. Carol is also a popular speaker on the corporate circuit, delivering speeches for more than seventy-five organizations.