So how can you learn how to become a good stand up comedian and survive the already intense competition? You should realize that being a stand up comedian is not just all about talent you have to master other skills.
It takes understanding laughter, learning the process, studying comedy, learning your style, finding your comedic voice, developing material, rehearsing your routine, taking the stage, and building a stage presence to become a good and successful comedian.
Understanding Laughter
You think that you have talent in making people laugh, so why don’t you use this to your advantage and learn stand up comedy? Aside from taking this a step higher by becoming a professional, you can utilize what you have learned on personal events or parties when you made groups of people laugh.
Stand up comedians and public speakers often make the same mistakes. This could be because they stand up on stage and face a huge crowd. Public speakers address the audience to inform, whereas stand up comedians aim only to make the audience laugh. When you learn stand up comedy, it can be ideal if you also learn about the mistakes new stand up comedians and public speakers commit.
Stand up comedians believe laughter can be invoked only through good written material. Comedians write and follow routines. You may not believe it but in stand up comedy, it is very rare that comedians routines are spontaneous. Sadly, many beginners have the wrong impression that success solely depends on a good material but comedy is much more than jokes.
What you should realize is that presentation and delivery counts more. Even bad comedy material may be hilarious if delivered well by a skilled comedian. At the same time, funny material may suddenly turn boring and lackluster if delivered inappropriately. Remember that the crowd will not read your set or jokes. Instead, they will experience it visually and audibly.
Some stand up comedians discount the power of body language, voice variations, and facial expressions, which are key to a powerful delivery. Unlike public speakers, stand up comedians have more liberty to use the entire stage or use specific body movements when delivering material. You could jump, dance, or run around the stage during your act. There are so many things you could do just to be funny just through physical action.
Learning The Process
For beginners, it would be best to first determine competition. That would entail doing some ample and relevant research about the current market for stand up comedians. Look up to your favorite comedians as idols and inspirations. At the same time, consider them as your potential fiercest rivals. These comedians are headlines and often national or international comedians. As a new comedian, you can learn so much from watching those seasoned stand up comedians. Make it your goal to equal and eventually outpace them.
It may take years to master the art of making an audience laugh. Even headliners have bad shows, mess up jokes, or even get heckled. Learn all about stand up comedy now if you have the interest in making other people laugh. Do not go into stand up comedy just because you have nothing else to do. You have to be passionate about stand up comedy to be able to do well in it. People who don’t have a passion for stand up comedy will fizzle out and quit.
Studying Comedy
In order to study your idols you want to visit personal web pages of these performers. Aside from seeing their schedule, so that you can catch them if ever they perform near you. You can find many other topics on their site. Most of these professionals, especially the successful ones, give vital tips to those who want to learn from them. They can let you in about their techniques and you can also read about what they had to go through to get to the point where they are right now.
On most of these sites, you will also likely find sample performances or embedded videos that you can watch for free while you are online. If they have included their contact information, you can try to reach them by sending them emails to ask whatever you still want to know about their professional lives and about the craft that you are also interested to pursuing. In addition check out Netflix, Amazon, and other streaming services for stand up specials. Many comedians have something on streaming services.
You can also watch sample performances on video-sharing sites like YouTube. At this type of websites, you will find comedic acts of various performers from all around the glob from the ones that you know nothing about to people whom you admire in this field. As you watch these videos often, you will learn about their strengths, weaknesses and mistakes. You can apply all that you’ve learned when it is your time to perform.
In addition you may want to take stand up comedy classes. To learn stand up comedy, you have to learn the art of effectively displaying emotions. You may be truly sad and depressed. But you should learn to control those negative emotions are project a happy and cheerful disposition when on stage. It is hard to learn that ability. But most formal classes for stand up comedy intend to teach students stage presence, joke structure, and even set building for a final performance.
Along with studying videos or classes you should regularly visit local comedy clubs. There, you could watch other new and seasoned comedians. You could learn from them as well. As you aim to be a comedian, realize that to be as good as the current stand up comedians, you have to work very hard, if not harder, than those guys. As a tip, always focus on your material and on how you could deliver it in the finest and funniest way.
There are many possible tools that could be used by people learning stand up comedy. Videos are the easiest to learn quickly. You can watch videos to learn more about styles of comedians. Determine which stand up comedian is close to your own style of natural presentation. When evaluating stand up comedians videos, make sure they getting at least four laughs every minute within the video. The more laughs there are in a video clip, the better.
While you watch videos transcribe the comedy material. You can now see a comedy act on paper. Take note that most materials do not actually read as funny. Why do people choke due to laughter when they hear a material from a comedian? The answer could be entirely in the delivery. Good material will not be funny if delivery is not good. Likewise, bad comedy material could possibly turn hilarious due to the presentation skills of a stand up comedian.
Count the total number of punch lines delivered per minute. You may look at the exact number of words that are used before every punchline is delivered. You may adapt the same rate or frequency. Study every punchline relative to the video material you have reviewed. When the analysis is done, treat the transcribed material as a good template for your own material. When you intend to write and develop your own material, try to pattern it after your template. You will be surprised at how much easier your writing will be.
It is a good thing if you also have the skills in writing comedic skits and scripts, but you must not stop there. Try to read the lines that you have written, which you think are very funny. You can record yourself while doing this or say it out loud in front of an audience. You will realize that when you speak what you have written, it won’t sound as funny as it seemed to be while you were reading it. The reason for this is that the manner that you talk is very much different from how you write dialogues and scenes.
Take advantage of the current available resources. Now, there is no excuse for any aspiring stand up comedian to falter. It may take time to find and develop your voice. But if you keep on the process, at least a hour everyday, you will certainly master the art of understanding what makes good comedy material.
Learning Your Style
When you are only beginning, you first have to concentrate on how you deliver your jokes and, of course, your confidence. These two go hand-in hand because you have to say your jokes in your most convincing way. You can only achieve that if you have mustered enough courage and confidence to face the crowd and relay your jokes to make them laugh. This is why style is very important.
As you find out more about how to learn stand up comedy, you will see that every comedian has a style and type of comedy. From observational to dark humor the spectrum of comedy is as big as the comedians who perform comedy. Stand up comedians can lack genuine interest about the material. This happens to stand up comedians who do not write their own routines. If you write your own material, try to write about subjects that truly interest you and that you are comfortable talking about. Try to have passion for stand up comedy. If you have the right interest and passion, you would see yourself not just mouthing words. You will be sharing your style with the crowd.
Comedians know that in reality it is a tough world out there. Logically, antics and jokes that were hilarious and truly funny in the past years may not be funny or even entertaining these days. Aside from the changing and evolving preferences of audience when it comes to humor, there just are too many other factors to consider. You need to learn stand up comedy that tunes in with the present humor and wants of audiences. having a style that fits you and pleases audiences is a large key to success.
Finding Your Comedic Voice
Public speaking is the top fear among people. Stand up comedy is about a thousand times harder than normal public speaking. Not only must you engage the audience but you have to elicit laughter. Not an easy task.
It will help to watch your favorite performers and learn from how they do their acts. You may realize that the pros use certain techniques to make their performances effective and funny. They may exaggerate a lot, use double entendre, distort their faces, and do many other things to hook their audience to what they are saying. Keeping an audience engaged and waiting for the punchline is what a great comedian does.
You have to learn how to verbalize the jokes through the use of proper body language, tone impact and voice inflection. These factors play a great role in making the whole act effective and funny that could help you generate laughter from those who are watching you perform.
Acknowledge the fact that some people are naturally born with good sense of humor. It is not possible for anyone to learn stand up comedy techniques and become magically funny in an instant. There is one good news about this though: most people have ideal sense of humor that only needs to be developed to be adapted for performing on stage.
As you learn your own comedic voice you may struggle. Watching comedians you want to emulate will help. However this does not mean you should assume the personality of another comedian. Have confidence in yourself and in your natural sense of humor. It is more ideal to be unique. Do not worry that the audience might not appreciate your voice yet. Instead, be confident this will help make people laugh.
Lastly, as you learn stand up comedy, try to develop the right attitude so that you could truly make it in the business. Believe in your talent and set aside any form of sensitivity. The audience may dislike you at times. But you should learn how to get used to it so you could do what you have to do— make people laugh. Finding your voice is not easy and sometimes is painful but once you have your comedic voice things will fall in place.
Develop Material
It is possible to learn stand up comedy in as fast as you could if you are a genuinely funny person. You just need to embrace several new concepts, which include learning joke writing strategies that are common today. The most import thing to learn is how to craft an effective setup and punchline. If you can master writing a one line joke you can build upon that skill to create story jokes, long bits, and sets.
While you are still trying to learn stand up comedy, you should experience life to the fullest. Learn various things, go places and see the sights. Try to observe how other people react to things and be always updated about the news around you and all over the globe. All these will help you produce better, funnier and relevant jokes.
You should always be updated about news around the globe. Most of the time, comedians get their materials from famous personalities, like politicians or actors, even ordinary people who are making it into the headlines. You can either imitate them and inject humors to what they are going through or you can try to tell your version of the story in, of course, funny way.
Use paper only as one of the tools that would aid in the structuring and formatting of a stand up comedy act. Try not to just read the material. Deliver it as if you are speaking naturally, not reading a written memo. It is a good practice to write your materials based on observations and fresh ideas. However, remember that some jokes could be funny only when read from paper. Some could be boring and dull when performed on stage. Delivery is always an important factor.
You should strive to focus on determining what you like to deliver or talk about on stage. React to what you say and see how the audience reacts. Act as if you are talking comfortably to your own circle of friends. Being a naturally funny person, you can use stand up comedy strategies to make people laugh. Identifying a specific comedy technique (exaggeration, double entendre, rule of threes, etc.) can possibly help any funny person do well on stage but the best jokes work when they appear to be natural. So try to find your voice and style as soon as possible.
Rehearse Your Routine
To be constantly effective, rehearsing jokes and timing will help you learn deliver jokes and punch-lines more naturally. Many new stand up comedians fail because of lack of necessary focus. Seasoned and committed performers prioritize making people laugh over earning a decent and hefty living.
Practice makes perfect, as the cliche goes. When you learn stand up comedy, have the proper resolve to do what it takes to excel in the craft. Focus on your delivery as it would be the key to attaining success or failure. Always aim to deliver your jokes in the most interesting manner for your voice and style.
As you develop or write your own material, strive to practice or rehearse delivery. As mentioned, delivery counts. It could make a lousy material hilarious and a funny one disastrous and boring. It would be best if you develop funny material and at the same time strive to deliver it in a very lively and funny manner.
Now that you are set about what you want to achieve, what do you need to do to learn the act? Here are some tips that you can adapt to help you in the process.
There are many resources that you will find once you begin your search about how to learn stand up comedy. It doesn’t mean that after reading all these, you will be able to hone the craft immediately. It takes time and lots of practice before you can even try doing this in front of a big audience. It will help a lot if you really have the talent and you are naturally funny. If this is the case, these pointers will help you in starting out with what you want to become.
Help yourself to remember things. There are many incidences and experiences that you will witness everyday, which you can use on your comedic acts. If there is anything that strikes you as funny and memorable, make sure that you write it down while you can still remember what happened and what made you laugh.
To achieve this, it is very advisable that you bring notebook or recording device wherever you go, if you have a phone use a note taking app. You never know when you will see something that is worthy to include on your list, so you have to be always prepared with something where you are going to collect all these funny incidents.
Taking this material in its raw form will help you learn how to say it out loud to hear where you stumble over words, or run on too long. Comedy works best when the setup and punchline come quickly one after another.
Taking The Stage
They say it is harder to make people laugh than to make them cry. There is truth to it. Humor is relative and it varies from one person to another. You may seem funny to some people but not to others. Thus, it is just amazing how many stand up comedians are able to make most, if not all, of people in a crowd laugh. Doing so may look easy. But as you hold the microphone and stand up there for your show, you will certainly realize that you have nothing but the mic, your racing heartbeat, and your prepared material.
Another great tip that can help you give your confidence its needed boost is by going on open mics. When you get there prepare your set and wait for your turn on stage. Next thing you know you’ll be standing in front of an audience holding the mic, and giving a performance. You should be doing open mics frequently as they help you get the hang of stand up as you move up levels,which include performing to a larger groups or at bigger venues.
Many stand up comedians fail to sufficiently and adequately rehearse prior to any stand up comedy act or presentation. Even seasoned and veteran stand up comedians take time to rehearse delivery of comedy materials. You should strive to do the same. You can not rehearse your set only in your own head. If you opt to do so, do not expect great results. If you rehearse your material well, delivery will be smoother and you will be more likely to have the desired audience reaction.
As you practice your act and performance, you will also develop your own techniques that will help you become better with what you are doing. When you are still starting out, it will be best if you are going to practice how to deliver your jokes in your most natural way. Do not focus yet on what techniques would you like to apply on your jokes because it may appear as if you are trying too hard. Instead, you should learn how to relay your messages with the audience as if they are your friends. Remember your main goal is to make them laugh.
Stand up comedy can be punishing. You should make sure your audience is having a fun time even if you are not actually feeling good. Whether you are sick or healthy, happy or sad, or lively or sleepy, it would be your ultimate job to make people laugh. The crowd in every performance always varies. You may be facing a hostile crowd, or a bored crowd, or even a drunk crowd. As you learn stand up comedy you have to remember that while on stage you should remain focused.
It is just normal for any stand up comedian to feel nervous. This is not unique to beginners. Even seasoned comedians feel nervous in every performance. However, good stand up comedians are able to make use of this nervousness to their advantage. They usually attest that the best way to overcome pounding heartbeats is to make people laugh. You would be surprised how your nervousness and jitters will subside when you see the audience laughing.
Build A Stage Presence
One of the most important things that you need to take care of if you want to learn stand up comedy is your confidence on stage. This is the only way that you can face the audience to deliver your act as effortlessly as possible. If you think that you are funny and that you can create humorous lines in a jiffy, do not let your shyness get in the way for you to dream of becoming a comedian. To get you started, here are some tips that you can follow in order to overcome nerves and even shyness on stage and develop a stage presence.
People will watch you because they believe that you have the talent and that you will be worthy of the price that they have to pay to see you perform. They want to see a real person on stage who is telling their views about certain people, things and happenings through their own humorous view. They will easily get bored if after they have seen you for a few minutes and cannot get who you are. Be yourself on stage. Know your style and comedic voice. These are key.
For example, if you are going to relay some funny incidents about gay couples, some people might get offended, if you don’t explain that you are in the same situation or you have experience. Not addressing who you are can kill your set. You need to constantly inject insights about yourself to be able to continuously form a connection with the audience watching you perform.
If you still haven’t experienced what it’s like to perform in front of an audience who do not know anything about you, you need step out of your comfort zone. Its a good experience to try out some jokes to your family and friends every once in a while, but if you really want to know how it feels like to be on stage, you have to go on stage. This is why open mics are important. You can start by frequenting open mic sessions at various bars. Before you go to the place, prepare and practice what you want to tell to an audience. Once you are there and you have the mic, give it your best.
In any kinds of jobs or challenges that you will choose to face in life, it is not enough that you are witty or you know a lot about what you are doing, or in this case, you are naturally funny. To learn stand up comedy, you have to develop your personality and learn ways to boost your confidence , so that you can give your best whenever you’re asked to perform. Studying, rehearsing, and refining is the only way to get better at stand up comedy. As long as you do the process over and over you will continue to grow and become a better comedian.