A Humor Detector System Fall Cohort 2

Pain Point Detective

Five things audiences confessed before I wrote their inside jokes

  1. “I need to file seven forms to get a pencil sharpener.” State government IT manager.
  2. “How do I convince my kid that snaking toilets is cool?” Single-home plumbing contractor.
  3. “The insurance carrier ****** up my vacation.” Insurance broker.
  4. “If he reads me an invoice from bed one more time, I will divorce him.” Spouse and partner, contracting business.
  5. “The event planner said they could only afford half my fee. They flew a reality star in on private to talk about resilience.” Keynote speaker.

The bit: So I found that speaker some special representation. The Callback Brothers Speakers Bureau. We get called back. We make offers. They don’t refuse. Fully licensed. Mostly legitimate.

Half your fee is a bad day. It's also material.

Want to be funnier on stage? Start with what pisses off your audience.

A four-week sprint that turns your audience's frustrations into humor that plays like an inside joke, and opens the room to your content, your leadership, and your offer.

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How it works

Your audience writes the first draft.

  1. You want

    Laughs on stage. And they have to serve the business.

  2. Start with

    Every audience has a list of what's driving them nuts. Seven forms for a pencil sharpener. An invoice read from bed. Your job is to get the list.

  3. How

    Interview them using the Pain Point Detective method, and they hand you the material. You build it into humor with four plays and twelve comedic wrappers.

    4Humor plays
    12Comedic wrappers
  4. Result

    The room feels seen. That's when a keynoter gets rebooked, an executive gets buy-in, and a business owner gets the call.

Reach the end of the Sprint without a bit that works for your audience, and Chris writes one for you.

What you'll master in four weeks

Four weeks from their complaints and concerns to your opening bit.

Live coaching and custom AI tools, built around one real, upcoming audience you bring into Week 1.

Session What happens
Onboarding

Build your case file

Get set up with the AI tools and build a detailed workup of your one high-stakes audience, and exactly where you overlap with them. You come into Week 1 with a target for humor.

Week 1

The Detective Work

We stress-test your case file to find what actually keeps your audience up at night, and how it throws a wrench in their Tuesdays. Then we build your interview plan, including the Columbo questions that quietly surface the humor hiding underneath the pain.

Week 2

The Evidence

You bring back your interview transcripts. We verify your pain map against what your audience actually said, then introduce the eight places humor reliably lives, the four humor plays, and the 12 comedic wrappers: the moves that make a room feel seen from the jump and prime them for everything you say next.

Week 3

The Build

You pitch your humor plays for your specific audience and workshop them live with the cohort. You leave with a clear plan for the opening you're going to build.

Week 4

The Delivery

You perform your custom, humorous scripted opening for the cohort and get specific, actionable feedback you can use right away.

Meet your instructor

Chris McGuire

Chris McGuire, creator of the Pain Point Detective methodology

The Pain Point Detective

Chris isn't a speaker coach who dabbles in comedy. He's the writer and executive producer behind Emmy-nominated late-night shows, specials, and high-stakes annual events.

  • Ran the writers room for Arsenio Hall, Nikki Glaser, Jeffrey Ross, Martha and Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party, and the Comedy Central Roasts
  • Produced Howie Mandel and Hunter March on Netflix's Best Guess Live
  • 800+ episodes of late-night comedy-variety television
  • Creator of the Humor Detector System and the Pain Point Detective methodology

Chris has coached and ghostwritten for hundreds of speakers: Silicon Valley executives, military leaders, World Champions of Public Speaking, TEDx speakers, and Moth competition winners.

In April 2026, he was invited to deliver a keynote at Game Changers, a conference for professional speakers. He built the entire talk using the Pain Point Detective method: a custom intro video for that exact room, a humorous bit aimed straight at the audience's deepest frustrations, and a framework taught live as he was using it.

After his talk, NSA Legendary speaker Patricia Fripp set aside the speech she'd prepared and reorganized her remarks around what Chris had just demonstrated. That's what this program trains you to do.

What people say about Chris

"I hired Chris McGuire two weeks before I was supposed to walk onto a stage in front of 500 insurance brokers. He delivered two bits, both of them landed. The room was howling and everyone left happy. That doesn't happen without someone who knows where the line is… and knows not to cross it."

Sue Schick · CEO, Turning Point Healthcare Solutions

"Chris showed me that you don't have to choose between being taken seriously and using humor. The audience laughed throughout my keynote, and afterward I was invited to speak at another conference."

Rosanne Callens · Pain Point Detective Alum, Keynoter "Electric Leadership"

"Chris changed everything. I now consistently get more laughs in my speeches because I strategically place humorous lines that I know work."

Michael Davis · SpeakingCPR

"Chris' style is hilarious, high energy, and deeply human, and he was a fan favorite at Harvard Business School. I can't wait to have him back."

Christina Wallace · Senior Lecturer, Entrepreneurial Management, Harvard Business School

"In a few minutes of conversation with Chris, my presentation, which I had honed over years of delivery to thousands of people, was immediately taken to the next level."

Richard Bliss · Author and International Speaker

"Chris is the hardest working person I know in the industry, and you will not go wrong if you invest in him."

Darren LaCroix · World Champion of Public Speaking, CSP

"Chris is one of the best out there. A master of his craft, a true gentleman, and outstanding at helping people apply what he knows in their work. I always love working with Chris, and truly wish he were a full-time member of my team."

Robert "Cujo" Teschner · F-15C Weapons School Instructor, Author, Speaker, Lt Col, USAF (ret)

Pricing

Reserve your seat

$799For the 4-week sprint
  • Your custom, humorous scripted opening, built for one real audience and performed live for feedback
  • Access to the custom AI tools during the program
  • Video replays when you can't make a call live
  • Office hours when you need a humor writing partner
  • Member discounts on future coaching and programs as part of the Humor Detector community
  • The guarantee: finish without a bit that works for your audience, and Chris writes one for you
The next sprint is scheduled for

Fall Cohort 2

  • AI Tools OnboardingThursday 10/22
  • Working Session 1Thursday 10/29
  • Working Session 2Thursday 11/5
  • Working Session 3Thursday 11/12
  • Working Session 4Thursday 11/19
  • Complimentary office hoursOne session after 11/19, date TBD

All sessions virtual, live on camera. Start 4pm PT / 7pm ET. Run 90 to 120 minutes depending on cohort size.

Worth knowing

This is the same system Chris uses 1:1 with his keynote and executive clients, who pay $5,000 to $10,000 for a single engagement with him. The Sprint is the only way to learn it at cohort pricing.

Reserve Your Seat Email Chris with a question
Frequently asked questions

Questions

I'm not naturally funny. Will this work for me? +

Yes. You don't have to be a comedian. The humor comes from what your audience tells you, and you shape it into lines you can deliver in your own voice, with Chris and the cohort in the room. And if you finish without a bit that works, Chris writes one for you.

Is four weeks really enough? +

Yes. Four weeks is the format on purpose: you build one humorous opening for one real audience, using a method you'll carry into every audience after. The deadline keeps the work moving.

Can I run this on an audience I'm not booked for yet? +

Yes. Pick the audience you're going after next: the conference you're pitching, the client you want, the room you're trying to get booked in. You'll interview real people from that audience between Week 1 and Week 2, so choose one you can reach.

How is this different from the Humor Detector Story Program? +

The Story Program teaches you to build funnier stories across your whole talk. The Sprint teaches you to customize your material for a specific audience using their specific frustrations. They're complementary. Many Story Program alumni come into the Sprint with strong stories and leave with the ability to retarget them for any room.

What if I miss a session? +

All sessions are recorded. You'll have access to replays for the duration of the cohort. Office hours give you a place to catch up live with Chris if you fall behind, and the cohort size is small enough that you won't get lost.

What happens after the Sprint? +

You can continue into the Alumni program: ongoing monthly coaching at alumni pricing, with no new program to buy. Many graduates use this option to keep workshopping for upcoming gigs and to stay sharp between high-stakes engagements.

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