Best Stand-Up Comedy Tips

TIPS FOR WRITING STAND-UP COMEDY

PICK A POINT OF VIEW (POV)

An audience does not find a comedian who lacks a defined point of view interesting. Do not be afraid to stand up for your authentic point of view when talking with these people.

The audience is more likely to identify with your crazy reaction to the situation, and you'll end up creating a strong bond with them and getting a lot of laughs at the same time. In POV, it is important to stay on the safe side.

Always keep your POV in mind. See why POV is so important.

Here are a few great examples of perfect Points of View (POV’s).

FIND THE COMEDIC CONFLICT

Comedy is about conflict. Whether it's a comedian, a movie, or even a blooper video, there's always some form of comedic conflict. The art of writing is to create this conflict. Your writing will fall flat if there is no comedic conflict. By incorporating comedic conflict into your stories, you can create captivating stories that pack a punch.

TAP YOUR AUTHENTIC, FUNNY SELF

It doesn't matter if you are famous or not, the audience is there to see YOU. The more "real" you are with your audience, the more likely they are to respond to you. One of the most common questions I get from newsletter subscribers is asking why they can be so funny with friends but, when they try to turn it into a comedy routine, their material comes out lifeless and humorless. Being a great stand-up comedy writer is about understanding principles of comedy… it’s not about applying comedy techniques or formulas. It’s counter-intuitive, but actually it’s far easier to develop hilarious material without using techniques or formulas. Simply focusing on understanding core principles of comedy (the most important is Comedic Conflict) lets you’re authentic self (the one that’s funny with friends) come through in your material.

DON’T ATTEMPT TO BOTH WRITE AND ANALYZE YOUR MATERIAL AT THE SAME TIME

Trying to analyze how funny your writing is while simultaneously trying to write will only lead to frustration. Comedians will get writer's block every time they do this. In order to judge your idea, you have to dissect it and analyze it... but CREATING ideas is the opposite process. Creativity comes from the synthesis of ideas. The two cannot be accomplished simultaneously. How to fix it: Break down writing into writing for quantity (getting words, ideas, and joke premises on the page) and writing for quality (revising or tweaking your material until it makes people laugh). By doing so, you are able to concentrate on your immediate goal and separate the two tasks.

GET INTO FLOW

Various creativity researchers have shown that creative flow only occurs when you stop constantly checking yourself. Whenever you're in a creative flow, don't stop it by questioning or overanalyzing your material (trust me, it's easier said than done, but a valuable lesson nonetheless). Go with the flow. Make notes whenever you can. If you begin analyzing your comedy writing too early you’ll break the flow. It’s like attempting to run a marathon and turning around every 15 seconds to see how well you’re doing. You can always analyze later, so stay in flow while you have it. Learn more about getting into a creative flow while writing and performing comedy with Tapping Your Comedy Muse.

LEARN THE MECHANICS OF WRITING COMEDY

There are many principles of writing and performing stand-up comedy. Stand-up comedy has been around a long time and the comedians that have gone before you have figured a thing or two out. Don’t try to build an entire career by trial-and-error. Learn what works and what doesn’t early on and then apply those rules (but never be afraid to bend or break a few). It’s crazy how many comedians haven’t taken this part of their career seriously. When you understand how to apply the principles of comedy, writing and performing don’t just get way easier… but you’ll also be way more effective as a writer.

WRITE EVERY DAY

Don’t just write when you feel like it. Either have a set time to write every day or decide that, whatever happens, you’ll find time to spend at least 10 minutes writing… even if nothing great comes out of it. Writing every day gives you’re ideas time to develop between writing sessions. When you get back to writing the next day, you’ll have more ideas to work with. It also makes existing material more interesting by allowing you to break free of a single perspective on your material.

ALLOW IDEAS TO EVOLVE

You won't write your best material the first time. Great comedy isn't written... it's rewritten. Typically, comedians will write a joke that gets their point across to their audience and then test it out. From there, they repeatedly revise and test their joke out until they find the best way of writing and delivering a line. Many comedians do this 20, 30, or 50 times before settling on the final form of the joke.

DON’T JUST USE ONE WRITING STRATEGY

There’s a lot of comedy teachers that make writing comedy sound simple (i.e. “All you do is step one, two, and three… then repeat). Problem is, if you use any kind of a system to write material the audience is going to figure it out REAL quick (good luck building a 45 minute set). Instead, learn the principles behind those systems and ditch the system as quickly as possible. Using the same strategy as everyone else will get you the same results as everyone else (stuck doing open mics for eternity). If you had to bet between an amazing comedian using a system or an average comedian who understands the principles and has a strong POV… you should choose the average comedian… every time. (If you’ve read “Born Standing Up” by Steve Martin, you’ll understand how powerful this is).

CONTINUALLY SWITCH AROUND MATERIAL TO CREATE A STRONGER, MORE CONSISTENT SET

Each joke within your set doesn’t stand alone. Some jokes work best paired with others or further away from others. Continually switch around the order of your jokes to find the right sequence. Usually, this means creating “bits.” Think of jokes as paragraphs in a book, bits as chapters, and your set as the whole book. Each bit has a common theme that makes it go well with other jokes. Continually restructure the order to find the best sequence. MY (NOT) HILARIOUS MISTAKE : I have several closers I love doing, but my favorite “clean” closer is about hitting an elk with a car. By the end of the show, audiences understand I’m very silly and lighthearted, so the audience always goes with me. One night I tried a new closer, so I kicked my “elk closer” into the opener spot. It didn’t seem like an important decision, but the audience took it completely differently. Since they didn’t know I’m lighthearted yet, they weren’t sure if I was trying to use shock humor or not. Instead of getting massive applause breaks, like I was use to for the bit… I got an audience full of people thinking “Oh my God… he likes hitting animals with his car!” It took me several minutes of different material before I finally got the audience back on my side.

DON’T WORRY ABOUT SPELLING OR GRAMMAR WHEN WRITING

Stand-up comedy is spoken, not written. The audience doesn’t care if you didn’t spell a word correctly cause they’ll never know. However, countless times comedians (I’ve been guilty of this as well) will think of a great joke, begin writing the setup line down, see that they didn’t spell something correctly, go back and change the spelling, and then… forget what the hell the joke was. Spelling can wait. A joke that isn’t captured on paper may never be seen again.

DON’T STEAL MATERIAL

You already know this one. But the consequences are too severe to leave it out. This will kill any relationships you have in the stand-up comedy community. What’s scary here is that no comedian is going to come up to you and tell you they know you stole a joke… they’ll either quietly decide to never work with you or they’ll talk behind your back. Either way, you lose. It’s not worth killing on an open mic and burning bridges you’ll need later in your career.

COMEDY IS ABOUT SELF-EXPRESSION

Don’t sit down at your computer and try to “think up jokes.” You’ll be very frustrated when nothing good comes to you. Instead, use your writing time to express yourself. Talk about your frustrations, your ex-girlfriend… whatever. Comedy gets it’s power from the audience’s ability to identify with you and your material. When you don’t express yourself, you’re just saying words on a stage and the audience won’t be able to identify.

DON’T REQUIRE PERFECTION

When you demand perfection when you write comedy, you'll end up hating your writing time. If you don't get the joke on stage, you'll never know whether it's funny or not. This is even true for famous comedians. A joke that's new by definition means you don't know what's going to happen. Accept that perfection is impossible and instead strive for excellence.

TIPS FOR PERFORMING STAND-UP COMEDY

DON’T MEMORIZE EVERY WORD OF YOUR PERFORMANCE

You'll end up sounding like a robot on stage if you memorize every word in your performance. This will happen for two reasons. First, your material will lose its feeling. You will no longer feel authentic to your audience. If you talk AT them instead of TO them, the audience will feel as if you are talking at them. In conversations with your friends, you aren't naturally memorizing words; instead, you are focused on the story you want to tell. Second, you'll forget your place during a performance if you memorize word-for-word. Breaking your concentration will derail you, and you won't be able to remember which word you were on since all you'll remember is a string of words... the whole thing falls apart from there. Instead, memorize what you want to discuss (the subjects) and speak about them. You more than make up for "perfect word placement" in authenticity and relatability.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT TO TELL THE AUDIENCE, NOT ON YOURSELF

You get stage fright when you focus on yourself. Focusing on the audience makes you feel passionate about what you're saying. One thing at a time is what the brain is wired to do. Focusing on your audience will allow you to forget yourself and drift into the moment (called "flow"). Then you will enjoy comedy more than ever before. Fear of public speaking will disappear. The audience will also feel your concentration when you focus on them. You will come across as genuine. They will care about you when you care.

My own experience: I had a pretty big break-out. My "largest audience record" was around 250 people after several years of struggling. I spent three months getting back to my old level of laughter after rebelling against the old way of doing things... then I blew up. I went from thinking 250 people were a lot to doing an auditorium of 400 people. After opening for Kyle Cease a few weeks later, I performed in the finals of the Great American Comedy Festival for about 400 people... and then worked with Kyle in front of more than 1,000 people. When I began telling the audience how I felt, instead of trying to be perfect on stage, my stage fright disappeared.

TALK TO THE AUDIENCE, NOT AT THEM

THEM. You're not on TV. It's live. Make the audience feel like they're there with you. The audience will respond to you more positively if you speak TO them. It signals to the audience that you are just on stage "saying words" if you launch directly into memorized material. The audience will lose interest. Even if you do get laughs, you won't connect with the audience and will be forgotten quickly.

PERFORM SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK

You will be more successful if you perform several times a week. By performing frequently, you can test out ideas you have while writing much faster. Perform more than once a week if you're going to rewrite a joke 50 times before getting it right. In addition to revising your material, it helps you become more comfortable on stage.

FIND A HOME VENUE

Home venues are places where you feel very comfortable performing. You can never predict what an audience will be like when performing on new shows. Having a home base allows you to take risks, try new jokes, or learn how to interact with audience members. Having performed at that venue a few times, you don't have much to prove to the audience or fellow comedians. You are free to express yourself freely.

CREATE A SET LIST

While you're on stage, you should carry a set list with you (or on your stool) so you're reminded of the topics you want to talk about. Even if it is not necessary, for new comics, it is comforting to have a back-up in case they forget what they want to talk about. Keep your set lists to one or two words per topic. Write the joke out and you'll end up reading it to the audience. Here's a wonderful trick that will keep you from forgetting material.

JUST BECAUSE YOU GET A LAUGH DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE “DONE”

Getting a laugh doesn’t mean you have a finished joke. It means you have the basis for a joke. After a joke gets a laugh, your job is to figure out how to maximize the laughter for the next audience by revising the joke. Try taking out words that aren’t necessary or adding other words/phrases in. Test. 

DON’T PICK ON AUDIENCE MEMBERS

There are audience members out there that are scared to death of a comedian talking to them. If you pick on one of them the audience is going to empathize with them. If the audience perceives you as being mean to an audience member they’ll turn on you for being a jerk. That said, keeping it lighthearted is a great way of building rapport with the audience.

BALANCE WRITING AND PERFORMING

When comedians balance their writing and performing, they are most effective. Performing on 20 shows will waste a lot of your time if you spend 20 hours writing. Your audience won't want to hear the ideas you spent a lot of time on. Write it down and get it out there as soon as possible. You'll be able to write even better next time... and then your next performance will be even better... and so on.

DON’T TAKE IT OUT ON THE AUDIENCE. IT’S NOT THEIR FAULT NOBODY SHOWED UP.

We understand. After spending hours writing and practicing, you show up to an open mic and there are only three people in the audience. Disappointing. This is why comedians don't stake everything on one show. Many of them perform 2-5 shows a night. Since there is another show coming up soon, they don't get mad. It's easy to phone it in if you're upset there's not enough audience. In those cases, staying home would have been the best option. Incorrectly telling a joke won't allow you to learn whether it works. You will also miss out on working with crowds (a skill that will come in handy later in your career).

OPEN MICS ARE FOR TRAINING. USE THEM TO LEARN YOUR CRAFT

It is common for aspiring comedians to think that open mics are places where everyone spends hours and hours before the show making sure everything is perfect. This is not true at all. An open mic is a place to practice. Nothing more. The audience doesn't owe you anything if they didn't pay to see you. Though it may sound selfish, it actually results in a much better performance. Instead of repeating the same jokes, you'll stretch yourself and possibly come up with original material.

DON’T SPEAK FORMALLY

School has taught you to write in a formal way. Writing complete sentences, including introductions and conclusions, is what you were taught. People don't communicate that way every day. If you talk to a friend, you'll only say half a thought and pause. You'll speak informally. There will be gestures. The way people communicate verbally is this way. It seems awkward and inauthentic to get on stage and act as if you're part of a school debate team. Be aware of how you and others around you speak naturally. You should mimic that.

TIPS FOR MARKETING YOUR STAND-UP COMEDY

GET GOOD. THEN GET SEEN

Get to the point where you can go out on stage and consistently get laughs. You cannot market yourself if your performances are inconsistent. Take the time to develop a solid set and gain stage experience. Perform on shows that are above your experience level to avoid damaging relationships. It's not a big deal to bomb an open mic. People who paid money to attend a showcase are bombing a show big time. There's no way he'll want to work with you again, even if you've improved since then.

BE REMARKABLE

You won't get the YouTube views, the Twitter followers, or whatever else if you're not worth talking about. It goes back to “Get good. It's not just about having high-quality material that makes you remarkable. It doesn't mean that you will be remembered or become a fan just because you made the audience laugh. The purpose of being remarkable is to become "sticky" in the minds of your audience. A highly creative approach is the best way to achieve this. Make their memories last. You won't remember that you were 5% funnier than the other comedians, but if you give them something new and interesting, they'll always remember you.

BE AROUND THE SCENE. NOT AN OUTSIDER

You'll feel more comfortable around other comedians if you're seen more often. You are likely to be denied a slot on their show if you are an outsider. If they've seen you perform several times and like your material, they'll likely come to you when they have the chance.

DON’T BE A JERK

Whether it's fellow comedians, bookers, audiences... don't be a jerk. You'll regret it. The easier you make it for people to work with you, the more likely they are to want to work with you. Your career will be more successful as a result.

NETWORK

Stand-up comedians rely heavily on networking for marketing. You will only get paid jobs if you know the right people. You can perform on an open mic and be invited to perform on a showcase or paid gig by a fellow comic. A recommendation will get you into a comedy club faster than the best promo video. Talk to other comedians. Make your network work for you.

USE YOUTUBE EFFECTIVELY

DO NOT PUBLISH EVERY SINGLE SHOW ON YOUTUBE. Make sure you have at least a few YouTube videos before you post them (publically). Sharing them privately is fine. However, bookers will find you and do their research. If they want to book you for a big show and the first video they find of you is from your first performance, they are not going to book you.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA

The internet is your best friend. Get to know all the comedians in your area. Comedians will often post which shows they're performing at, so you can get an idea of what to see in the future. Offline networking is also facilitated. Your name will not be a stranger... even if it's just online... but someone they've heard of.

BE PROFESSIONAL

There are many horrifying stories about comedians acting out. It might surprise you to learn that bookers for professional venues (A-list venues) actually rank professionalism above humor. Comedy clubs can choose any comedian they want... they can replace you if you aren't a professional with someone just as funny. An A-lister who forgets to show up at a Comedy Club is much more likely to be late than a B-level comedian who shows up on time. A professional is on time, doesn't act like a jerk, and is easy to work with.

START AN OPEN MIC IN YOUR TOWN TO GET MORE STAGE TIME

It depends on where you live whether there are many shows to perform at. If that's the case, book fellow comedians on your own show. Having your own show not only helps you network with other comedians (you now have something valuable they want), but you can also control it. The choice is yours whether to be the emcee, book yourself in an ideal spot, or take the night off. It may even pay off.

BE UNIQUE

Give the audience a reason to remember you after the performance. You're going to be more successful as a comedian if you're unique. One common characteristic of comedians who achieve ultimate success is that they are unique. Since before comedy even existed, and it will continue to be true long after stand-up comedy disappears. Audiences are attracted to originality. Once you reach a minimum level of quality, uniqueness becomes much more crucial to your success.

TIPS FOR BECOMING SUCCESSFUL IN STAND-UP COMEDY

BEING FUNNY IS A REQUIREMENT TO GET INTO COMEDY, NOT AN ADVANTAGE

As a comedy teacher, I’ve heard again and again about how “naturally funny” my students are. Here’s the cold hard fact… everyone in stand-up comedy is funny. That’s why they chose this industry in the first place. Nobody has ever said “I’m not funny at all. I’ll be a comedian.” It’s like assuming that you’ll be a successful entrepreneur because you have a business license. It’s a requirement to start. Sure, some people are funnier than others, but don’t rest on your natural sense of humor. Nurture it by studying comedy and applying what you’ve learned.

LEARN YOUR CRAFT

Learn stand-up comedy inside and out. No matter what level you’re at, there’s always something to learn. The most successful comedians are those that don’t rest on their laurels. Search for every opportunity to learn more about what creates success in stand-up comedy. The stand-up comedy industry is an amazing one. You won’t find a job half this fun or interesting or one that is so easy to start and yet never gets old. How many comedians have you heard of that retired? They don’t. As they age, their material evolves with them. There’s always something new and interesting to explore.

FAIL FAST

You will need some trial-and-error to become proficient at stand-up comedy (though learning the principles of great comedy will cut your learning curve in half). Getting stage time will help you learn these lessons as quickly as possible. You cannot expect your career to boom by performing once a month. Perform new material. Change your delivery style. Have fun with it. The possibilities are endless. Bombed jokes or bits aren't failures, but bombed jokes or bits you spent months thinking and worrying about are. You will make faster progress on stage if you learn your lessons quickly.

DON’T MOVE TO A MAJOR MARKET JUST BECAUSE

Discovered doesn't have to be in Los Angeles or New York (see "Get good. Then get seen"). In these cities, new comedians often move in the hopes of being discovered soon (which never happens, since the rent is usually horrendous). Instead, they find that there are so many comedians doing the same thing that it is impossible to stand out. If people are asking you why you are still staying, you should only move when you have honed your craft.

LEARN FROM PEOPLE THAT ARE WHERE YOU WANT TO BE

It is because they are doing something right that they are ahead of you in this industry. By learning what it is, you can duplicate it in your own career and achieve similar success. Watch how these comedians deliver their material, market themselves, and write it. You can learn a great deal from them on how to do it yourself. It's not about copying them. It's about analyzing them to find out how to succeed in comedy.

LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE

In comedy, you can't simply put your head down and expect to get promoted on a regular basis. There is no shortcut to success. You can work for years in a normal job and get promoted. Comedy is different. Getting ahead in stand-up comedy requires a big picture view. Spend all your time writing joke after joke and never get anywhere if you get lost in details. Take time out and look at your current career trajectory.

BE CAUTIOUS IF YOU WANT TO BE A DIRTY COMIC

Being a dirty comic is not wrong. Nevertheless, it may limit your booking opportunities. In comedy, corporate gigs are among the highest paying ones. And guess what, they don’t hire dirty comics. They want clean, family-friendly entertainment… and they’re willing to pay through the nose to get family-friendly. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to write 20 minutes about having drunken sex at the zoo.

DON’T BE A LOOK-A-LIKE

The world already has a Chris Rock and a Jerry Seinfeld. They don’t need another one. If you are a look-alike, your best chance (even if you work really hard) is to be seen as a wannabe. However, you have to start somewhere. A comedian you like is probably a good place to start. That's fine. Take your lessons and then develop your own persona. In your career, you'll go through two stages: emulation and creation. It starts with you emulating comedians you love and testing out ideas... and then you'll discover what works for you specifically so you can move into your creativity.

DON’T GET CAUGHT UP IN STRATEGIES. WORK ON YOURSELF.

Comedians often want to know how other comedians write their comedy or what actions they should take to market themselves. As if there were one simple action that could solve all their problems. Do you underutilize YouTube for marketing? I don't care! You probably don't have just that issue holding you back from performing on The Tonight Show. At the same time, you should realize that strategies are just that - strategies. What matters is who is executing the strategy.

BENCHMARK COMEDIANS THAT ARE AHEAD OF YOU

Start comparing your career to the comedians who are where you want to be. At first, this might leave you a little dissatisfied, but it will pull you in the direction you desire. Once this is achieved, you just need to be consistent in taking action. You won't be satisfied with getting a few laughs on stage when you benchmark comedians who are killing it. Your game will go to a whole new level.

WORK ETHIC APPLIES TO COMEDY TOO

Since he has worked hard, Seinfeld is one of the greatest comedians of all time. The comedian studied comedy more than anyone else. The comedian got on stage the most. The comedian wrote more than anyone else. In his career, how many "naturally funny" comedians did he blow past? Many. Talent comes naturally. Hard work and natural ability are unstoppable.

STUDY THE MASTERS

The great thing about the “masters” is how many videos you can find of them. Watch their comedy and analyze it. Break it apart and understand what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. Then apply those principles to your own comedy writing, performing, and marketing. This is what we do in the Faster & Funnier Comedian Breakdown Videos. Take 5-10 examples of perfect writing, performance, timing, POV’s, openers, heckler takedowns, etc. and highlight exactly what skills their applying and why it’s so effective.

MASTERY BEGINS WHERE YOU ARE

To master stand-up comedy, you must master the individual skills that go into quality writing and performances. Divide your large goals into smaller ones that you can practice and master. Learn lower-level skills, such as joke structures, and then move on to higher-level skills, such as building rapport with the audience and utilizing comedic storytelling techniques. 

If you need assistance with this, the Faster & Funnier Writing Course is already set up this way. This course will teach you everything you need to know about each type of joke, give you concrete steps to write each one, and then teach you what you can do to improve them all. There are five different levels within the course, which allows you to focus on the most important skills at any time.