Ross Shafer
Six-Time Emmy Award-Winning Comedian, TV Host, Business Author, Relevance & Customer Experience Expert
Ross Shafer
Six-Time Emmy Award-Winning Comedian, TV Host, Business Author, Relevance & Customer Experience Expert
Check Fees And Availability for Ross Shafer
Biography
Ross Shafer is a six-time Emmy Award–winning comedian, network TV host, keynote speaker, and business author who has rescued 23 companies from bankruptcy and worked with more than 3,000 corporate clients worldwide. On TV, Ross became a household name as host of The Match Game (ABC), The Late Show (FOX), and Almost Live! (NBC). His comedy roots and quick wit make him a trusted emcee and entertainer for Fortune 500 events, where he blends humor with business strategies that drive change.
As an author, Ross has written 10 best-selling books, including Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, No More Customer Friction, and RATTLED. His WOW vs. POW method has revolutionized customer loyalty by showing that eliminating frustrations is more powerful than flashy perks.
Ross’s influence extends to Apple, Microsoft, Hilton, Toyota, FedEx, Adobe, Charles Schwab, and United Airlines. In 2025, he joined Joel McHale and Jaylen Brown to honor his longtime friend Bill Nye at Nye’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony—a full-circle moment, since Ross coined the name “Bill Nye the Science Guy.”
Whether delivering a funny and unforgettable keynote, hosting your event, or writing game-changing business insights, Ross Shafer helps organizations stay relevant, build loyalty, and thrive through change.
Speaker Videos
Funniest Change Mgmt Keynote Speaker
Funniest Motivational Keynote for 2026
Funny Sales Keynote Speaker for 2026
Demo Reel
How to Motivate Your Teams
Success is Your Responsibility
Why Has URGENCY Replaced Service?
America's Funniest Leadership Keynote Speaker
Speech Topics
“WOWing” Customers Doesn’t Guarantee Loyalty
Companies spend millions trying to “WOW” customers, then lose them over a missed callback. Ross shows why loyalty comes from everyday promises kept. Customer expectations have changed. The surprise-and-delight moments still get the applause. But reliability gets the repeat business. Ross has written and produced 16 Human Resource training films on the customer experience, and four books on the subject. Customer engagement was the core engine behind his mission to rescue 23 companies from bankruptcy. His WOW vs. POW method shows why loyalty comes from everyday promises kept, and why a single missed callback can undo every grand gesture that came before it.
Your audience leaves knowing:
The difference between a WOW moment and a POW habit, and which one keeps your customers coming back.
The small, repeatable behaviors customers notice most.
How to measure loyalty by what customers do, not what they say on a survey.
How to Humanize Your Brand with Sales Stories
Facts tell. Stories sell. Ross teaches sales teams to turn features and data into short, true stories buyers remember and repeat. Most salespeople are never taught to tell a story. Ross spent years writing and hosting network television, where a story that doesn’t land gets canceled. He teaches sales teams to turn features and data into short, true stories that buyers remember and repeat, through both structure and emotion. This keynote is funny and fast, and attendees can start using the techniques the next morning.
Your audience leaves knowing:
A simple structure for a sales story that can be told in 60 seconds.
How to find the stories hiding in plain sight that win customers.
How to make your brand feel like real people, not a logo.
How to Stay Human in the Age of AI
AI is changing how people work. It won’t change how customers choose you. Ross shows leaders how to keep their culture human while the tools change underneath them. AI won’t change how customers choose you. Because people know AI can make mistakes, your customers will choose to trust your humanity over something a machine generated. Every organization is asking the same question: what happens when the machines get smarter? What happens when they’re about to figure out inference? Ross shows leaders how to keep their culture human, how to keep teams engaged and how to keep customers loyal, all while the tools change underneath them.
Your audience leaves knowing:
Which parts of their job AI makes more valuable, not less.
How to keep the human touch customers will pay extra for.
How leaders spot when the culture has stopped keeping up, before customers and top talent leave.
Multi-Day Emcee & Comedy Headliner
Ross runs multi-day conventions like a live broadcast. Speakers introduced, schedule on time, energy up, all in a fun and harmless comedy tone. A genuinely different set of skills for this job. As an award-winning network TV host for ABC, NBC, FOX and USA, Ross is adept at moderating executive, celebrity and world-leader panels. He’s also a natural at getting audiences involved. During multi-day conventions he is acutely aware of continuity, and he attends breakouts so he can ad-lib intelligently when everyone reconvenes. From introducing speakers to keeping the schedule on pace while keeping the energy up, Ross does it all with a fun, harmless comedy tone.
What Ross handles:
Introducing speakers and keeping the schedule on time.
Moderating executive, celebrity and world-leader panels.
Ad-libbing from the breakouts, so every general session feels connected.
Testimonials
Related Speakers
)
Emmy-Winning CBS Sunday Morning Correspondent, NOVA Host & Former New York Times Columnist
)
Las Vegas Headliner, Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, Emcee, Entertainer & Philanthropist