What did I learn from doing Standup Comedy
Learnings from my first attempt to perform standup comedy.
Doing standup guarantees you one thing: a room full of people staring at you, laughing — or, in some cases, reconsidering their life choices for being there. Bottom line, it would be funny one way or another:)
In this article, I’m going to share the unexpected, fun, and challenging moments of what it’s like to purposefully try to make other people laugh.
Learnings
The first obstacle you have to face in doing stand-up comedy is the writing part. While it seems difficult to come up with jokes, there are some techniques that could help you come up with plenty of authentic material.
Write down topics that you are passionate about — things you love, hate, fear, or feel strongly about. These can range from broad subjects like family, politics, or the universe, to specific ones like shopping for bananas, mean coworkers, or your grandpa’s new girlfriend. Choose topics that evoke strong emotions, whether it’s curiosity, anxiety, envy, or amazement. In comedy, the best material comes from topics you’re truly passionate about, so pick things that really move you. There are no bad topics if you care about them.
Writing Formula: “I feel ______ about ________ because…”
Once you have your topics, you can start exploring by using this formula. Being passionate about a subject, helps you develop material. Write your feelings about different things, people, places, and experiences in life. For example, you can say, “I love the American healthcare system because it reminds me to make responsible choices if I don’t want to become broke.” or “I hate prison because I look bad in orange”.
That formula will help you establish a basis to then build upon subjects that you truly care about and could go and explore further.
Once you have enough material you can start reading it in front of your friends, classmates, or your support group, and get their feedback on where you can elaborate more. For example, you may have 5 topics and 10 lines per topic of how you feel about it and why. Once you collect feedback there, you can dive deeper into these topics.
For example, if the focus sentence is “I love old people because they have no filters”. Go deeper into that. Say more. Any stories where you met someone like that? Be specific, compare, and contrast that with maybe other age groups. Etc.
Rule of 3s
Normal, normal, weird — if you make a list of things, the 3rd item can be absurd or something unexpected. The first thing sets a premise, the second reinforces that premise, and the third is the punchline.
Quick list form example: My favorite comedies are Dumb and Dumber, Mr Bean Holidays, and Titanic. Yes, after that I know what ice-breaker to use to start conversations!
In paragraph form: I find visiting a hospice interesting because it allows me to have conversations about how life used to be in the past; just the other day while I was talking to a grandma there, I was learning how people used to communicate without the internet, how complicated was to travel to places, and how their biggest fear was catching polio, instead of a cold from the office air conditioning…
Contrast
Comparing two or more things that have differences you can talk about. Common ways to create contrast are: “When I was a kid we did X, nowadays, kids do Y… When I was single I was doing X, now that I’m married I am doing Y… etc. Atheists do this, Religious people do that… etc.
Comedy stems from observation. Everything can be a joke when you try to understand how we got where we are at. Contradictory feelings about subjects undermine expectations, create surprise, and highlight absurdity. Introducing opposing ideas amplifies the ridiculousness, enhances irony, and delivers a punchline that releases built-up tension, making the humor more impactful and relatable. You can connect it with the formula above.
For example:
“I love old people because they have no filters to what they say, they don’t beat around the bush; they show their feelings immediately, whether they like you or not, you will know.”
“I hate old people because they frequently repeat the same stuff and they do things slowly, sometimes even on purpose!”
If … is true then what else can be true
If you hear a comedian saying, “What’s next?” after complaining about something, they are using this technique. This allows you to view your stories and ideas from a perspective where you can be creative to reach at your own entertaining or even exaggerated conclusions that would ideally make people laugh.
Examples
Basic Premise: In a world where social media influencers exist, there must be people who follow them religiously.
Step Up: In a world where social media influencers exist, should we also assume that their followers take life advice from someone whose biggest achievement is perfecting a duck face?
Double Step Up: In a world where social media influencers exist, should we expect the next Nobel Prize to be awarded for the best hashtag campaign? Because, you know, #WorldPeace starts with #GoodVibesOnly.
Other premises: Music celebrities, went from Mozart to Elvis, to Taylor Swift; what’s next?! Republican party went from Lincoln to Reagan, to Trump; what’s next?!
This way of thinking is a useful exploratory tool and can take you and the audience on an unexpected journey. While it might not always bring the funniest joke, it would allow you to explore topics from different perspectives, and entertain your own creativity.
Use callbacks
Using callbacks in comedy is effective because it rewards the audience for paying attention, creating a sense of connection and inside humor. It builds momentum, enhances the impact of earlier jokes, and brings cohesion to the set, making it feel more polished and satisfying. Callbacks can also make a punchline feel sharper by revisiting familiar territory in an unexpected way.
Delivery
Personalizing a story
Stories that you are the protagonist, always have the potential to be funnier than just describing stories or events as an observer. I found that to be true because it creates a direct connection with the audience. When you are the protagonist, your reactions, emotions, and unique perspective add authenticity and relatability, making the humor more engaging and impactful. The potential for laughter is much higher when the audience can see themselves in your shoes or when they feel like they’re sharing the experience with you.
Showing your good intentions
Nothing is off limits as long as your intentions are clear that you are going there as an explorer. You can talk about dead babies in the trash if you want, as long as you are well-intended. You want to come across as a comedian who delivers a point, not like a complainer, arrogant, or the kind of person who takes god’s job as a judge.
By positioning yourself as an observer, you invite the audience to laugh with you, not at someone else, creating a shared experience. This approach also allows the joke to be more relatable. The goal is to critique, question, or mock a situation/people, but not ridicule people. Even if you do that, you might get heckled anyway sometimes because comedy is not for people who want to be liked by everyone. Heckling is sometimes a part of it, and people get offended. As long as you have and show good intentions, you did your part. Comedy can be like hot sauce, some people like it, and some people’s taste gets offended by it anyway :)
Take sharp turns!
The element of surprise can bring laughter. If you are driving a bus, the passengers won’t appreciate a sharp turn. However, if you are a comedian, people love it!
In the first 20 seconds of this video, Louis CK goes from a “thank you” to talking about abortion.
P r a c t i c e
This is how you mitigate stress, feel comfortable with your material, and sharpen your delivery. The smoother the delivery, the bigger the laughs you will get. Practice in front of a mirror to see your reactions, and hold something that looks like a microphone (hairbrush, toothbrush, shaving machine, a carrot… ). You can reach out to friends that you think their feedback would help and practice in front of them too. Take a video of yourself, record, and repeat. This will help you get what you want to say on time, and also view yourself from a different perspective — better for self-evaluation and feedback. Even if you think you remember everything, think that you might forget when you are in front of a big audience, so do not underestimate the value of practicing.
Conclusion
To end it with a comparison, being a comedian is like the opposite of being an entrepreneur. Enterpreneurs think forward, and comedians think backward. Entrepreneurs ask themselves “What’s next?”. Comedians ask “How did we end up in this situation”.
Doing a standup was a great experience. I find that standup comedy helps you practice public speaking, resilience, and creativity. Also, it can push you out of your comfort zone. I found it to be a beautiful journey with lots of laughing, learning, and new friendships formed along the way.
I am thankful to my classmates Philip, Angie, Melissa, Abraham, HellDog, and Alex, who made this learning experience enjoyable, shared their feedback, and jokes along the way. Special thanks/credit to my teacher Jeff Jurgens for teaching us all these cool theories, supporting us in setting up our first stand-up comedy gig, and offering to pay for therapy after hearing my material — Rule of Three:)
If you are in Gainesville and want to give it a try here is more information: https://www.communityimprov.com/classes