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Denis Grignon

Bilingual Corporate Comedian & Speaker; Host & Emcee

Bio

Denis Grignon's brand of comedy works above the neck, not below the belt (and he can do it in two official languages!) He's an extremely versatile comedian who knows how to research his audiences, drawing on his experience as a former journalist.  +

He continues to contribute radio documentaries for the CBC as well as writing feature articles for major magazines and newspapers, including the Toronto Star. A masterful MC, a disciplined writer of funny scripts, Denis knows how to enliven any event – whether it’s at a corporate conference or on a tour of military bases in Afghanistan where he’s entertained Canadian and international troops.

Grignon has earned enthusiastic praise for everything from hosting language summits and writing awards shows - which have been hosted by the likes of Steve "Red Green" Smith and members of the Royal Canadian Air Farce - to his own hilarious digs at politics and corporate culture.  It's one reason his clean and clever comedy is seen regularly on the Comedy Network.

The Globe and Mail says he’s "wonderfully relaxed," while the Ottawa Citizen describes him as “a sharp and likeable comic who respects an audience’s intelligence.” The Voice of the Farmer, meanwhile, said his comedy is "a refreshing change." You’ll find him hilarious.  --

Show Description

VIRTUAL / LIVE:

Corporate Shows  +

Knowing the audience is paramount for a standup comic—at least, for a smart and conscientious one. And when it comes to empathizing with corporate culture, Denis can relate. He spent 10 years as an on-air staff reporter and documentary producer with CBC Radio, where he is still a frequent contributor. His writing has been featured in the Toronto Star, the National Post as well as numerous periodicals. Heck, he’s even contributed feature articles for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s magazines . He’s insightful enough to know what his audience wants…and funny enough to deliver it.  --

Agricultural / Rural Shows
(Shows for Rural Audiences ie. Farming, Feed Supply, Food Industries, etc.) (See testimonials at bottom of page)  +

Denis is no clueless city boy. In fact, he’s not a city boy at all. Though his work often takes him downtown, his home town is in rural Ontario. Indeed, there aren’t a lot of standup comics who have to feed the ducks and shut in the laying hens before they head out to do a show. Rural audiences react enthusiastically to a brand of humour that’s just as likely to be inspired by a classified ad in a small-town newspaper as by headlines in the Globe and Mail--

Stand-up Comedy & Host-Emceeing
A smart comic emcee who moves seamlessly between both English & French +

Sure, Denis Grignon can – and does – perform his standup comedy routine to urban and corporate audience. But he’s equally at home performing to rural audiences – largely because he’s a rural guy himself. Indeed, much of his act – its material but especially its tone - reflects life beyond the big cities. After all, how many comedians have to head home after the show to shut the chickens in? A true crowd pleaser for any audience, Grignon can make the CEO laugh as heartily as the woman who sells the best corn at that outdoor market.  --

EVERY SHOW is researched & customized for the particular audience.

New for 2021!
Sales SeminarSet up. Segue. Sell.
A seminar on perfecting that sales pitch

A successful sales call isn’t that different from a successful standup comedy performance. Jokes are the product. The delivery is the pitch. The audience is the customer. +

This fast-paced presentation draws on Denis’s experience as a professional comedian and seasoned journalist to give participants practical, immediately applicable strategies for fine-tuning that pitch—and making the sale.

Not only will participants leave Denis’s unique one-hour seminar with fresh new insights and tips for success, they’ll be buzzing about the short standup comedy interludes that kept them interested and drove it all home.

Set-up. Segue. Sell. opens with a carefully chosen five-minute comedy routine that subtly introduces ideas Denis will refer to as the session unfolds. Denis highlights four key areas where his extensive experience as a standup comic and journalist enables him to provide a uniquely valuable perspective on creating and presenting a truly effective pitch.

1 - Know Your Voice
The hardest thing for a comedian to do is develop a unique point of view and approach, rather than striving to be something they are not. The same is true with sales: No matter the setting, people respond positively to authenticity.

2 - Use thoughtful conversation techniques
Asking good questions, listening carefully, and incorporating what you hear are powerful tools to engage any kind of audience. A comedian uses these strategies to prepare for a performance; a journalist uses them to craft a story; and a salesperson can use them to connect with a customer.

3 - Choose your material carefully
Sure, comedians—the disciplined ones, anyway—make it look easy. It isn’t. A good standup spends hours and hours honing a premise, choosing specific words and deciding how and when to use them. A comedian doesn’t just make it all up on the spot, and neither should a successful salesperson.

4 - Developing stage presence
Disciplined standups—and salespeople—use effective gestures, pauses, tone of voice, posture and eye contact. Being aware of distracting habits helps keep nerves under control and ensures the audience—and the customer—is focused on what’s being said, not how, thanks to some quick and easy fixes. --

Denis Grignon is represented by K&M Productions. For more information, fees, & booking Denis Grignon, contact us.

What Clients are Saying

On behalf of the Faculty of Education at Western University, I wanted to express a heartfelt MERCI to you for gracing us with the gift of comedy on a cold autumn evening (Nov. 9th, 2023). The students, staff, teachers, and community members who attended your performance all left satisfied, and a little bit lighter from the laughter. We appreciated your good-natured character, your intuitive ability to read the room, your immense patience as we ironed out our own logistics, and your knack for incorporating content that would be relevant to our specific group. As we know, students can often be the toughest of critics, but comments heard throughout the halls over the next few days ranged from the descriptive “He was REALLY good!” to the creative “He was REALLY funny!” Most of all, they valued the opportunity to laugh and let loose at the end of a long semester. We will absolutely keep your name in mind should we or our colleagues be in need of a relaxed evening of bilingual comedy! Thank you again.

–Faculty of Education & Department of French Studies Western University, London Ontario Canada (2023)

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On behalf of the Faculty of Education at Western University, I wanted to express a heartfelt MERCI to you for gracing us with the gift of comedy on a cold autumn evening (Nov. 9th, 2023). The students, staff, teachers, and community members who attended your performance all left satisfied, and a little bit lighter from the laughter. We appreciated your good-natured character, your intuitive ability to read the room, your immense patience as we ironed out our own logistics, and your knack for incorporating content that would be relevant to our specific group. As we know, students can often be the toughest of critics, but comments heard throughout the halls over the next few days ranged from the descriptive “He was REALLY good!” to the creative “He was REALLY funny!” Most of all, they valued the opportunity to laugh and let loose at the end of a long semester. We will absolutely keep your name in mind should we or our colleagues be in need of a relaxed evening of bilingual comedy! Thank you again.

–Faculty of Education & Department of French Studies Western University, London Ontario Canada (2023)

We recently hired standup comedian Denis Grignon to perform at the banquet portion of our national conference in Toronto. Denis had the task of connecting - in a humorous, non-offensive way - with our delegates from all across the country. That he was able to, periodically, switch from English to French was impressive and did much to allow our Francophone members to feel included. But equally impressive is how Denis included so much egg-related comic material in his routine, which he weaved throughout the rest of his 45-minute act. His own farming background, surely, helped. But Denis also arrived a day early to our conference so that he could attend some of our meetings. That research - as well as the investigative phone calls he made to us leading up to our conference - paid off. He was able to provide us with a show that felt unique to egg farmers - in both languages.

–Harry Pelissero, General Manager Egg Farmers of Ontario

You were sensational! Your stories create a nostalgic fuzzy feeling & remind us of our childhood.Your background in farming & especially pork production was evident throughout your show. We're grateful that you took the time to do some research on what we do.The jokes you wrote & performed for us were especially fun!!

–Ontario Pork Congress

A large number of our guests were farmers and the humourous farm and life experiences you related really connected with the audience. Your acute observations and attention to details were very evident in your delightful presentation.

–Northumberland Agriculture Association

You were just hilarious. For 45 minutes we all forgot about our daily troubles. That is a real tribute to your talent – to enable farmers to forget about their problems.

–Norfolk Soil & Crop Improvement Association

You really made a great effort to focus your relaxed humour on every day life in rural agricultural communities. It was obvious you knew your audience.

–Orangeville Agricultural society

The group really enjoyed your sense of humour, your delivery and ability to communicate with them in the business of agriculture.

–Bayer Crop Science

During our annual conference, which included delegates from all across Canada - including several whose first language is French, we had Denis Grignon perform at our Gala dinner event at the Delta Guelph.
 
Denis's job was to make us all laugh. And he succeeded admirably - at times in both languages, even. He also made a genuine effort to custom write jokes based on what our association is all about. There, too, he managed to find much hilarity in...aquaculture! (Though, granted, some of it came at the expense of a certain politician from the Toronto area).
 
No doubt he was better able to connect with us and what we do because of the research he did beforehand into aquaculture. We especially appreciated the part of his research that involved calling us a few days before his performance in order to get a stronger understanding of the event. He was professional from days before the event until he walked off stage to applause.

–Conference Coordinator-Aquaculture Association of Canada

Not only were you funny, but you managed to find humour in both the banking industry and farming that allowed you to strike a familiar chord with us. You managed it without sounding parochial or like an episode of Hee-Haw; it was still sophisticated (and clean) comedy that we could relate to. I'm not sure how many performers - if any - can do that.

–TD Canada Trust, Agriculture Services

You tailored your opening remarks to our participants and to the event and you included appropriate humour. Responsible to introducing each of our eleven presenters, you used appropriate biographical and career comments as well as personal humorous anecdotes where possible. You made people whom many of the participants knew only as titles sound human, friendly and real. Your closing wrap-up remarks, thanking all those who participated and attended and congratulating the winners provided exactly the right ending to our ceremony.

–Public Works and Government Services Canada

I have only received positive comments about your show. In fact, one of our staff commented on the fact that you spoke French and were able to swing back and forth between both languages and still keep everyone laughing. They thought that you were extremely talented! Thank you for your intelligent and funny performance. I should mention that I was very impressed by the time you put into researching our organization and becoming familiar and aware of some of the important and 'hot' topics.

–Canadian Institute of Steel Construction

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