Introduction

Let’s start this lesson with a couple of questions:

What would you say if I told you that you already have a large quantity of potential stand-up comedy topics, ideas and bulk comedy material to work with right now that have already been tested and has generated laughs?

What do I mean by already tested stand-up material? How is that even possible?

Here's a BIG secret you need to know - one that is completely ignored by the vast majority of so-called stand-up comedy "experts":

Important: Every single time that you use your sense of humor/comedy talent to cause one or more people to laugh, you are using stand-up comedy techniques specific to YOU to make that happen -- whether you are shooting the breeze with friends, giving a speech or delivering a stand-up comedy routine.

This means that you already have tested comedy topics, ideas and bulk material at your disposal right now that could be the basis for new stand-up comedy material.

Which leads me to this question:

Given the choice, would you rather work on producing comedy material for the stage that you have already used in conversations and gotten laughs with or would you prefer to try to make stuff up out of thin air and simply guess as to whether it might be funny to audiences?

Now I am going to predict that your very next question just might be this:

Wait a minute – aren’t there differences between getting laughs when talking with friends and delivering a stand-up comedy routine that gets laughs?

The answer is YES, but the differences are NOT what you think they are – nor should these differences stand in the way of you having a ton of great comedy topics to work with quickly...

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Dialogue Vs. Monologue

In this segment I want to focus on just one thing that is both different and similar when it comes to casual conversations and a stand-up comedy routine.

First let’s talk about this difference:

When you are engaged in conversations with friends, family, or coworkers and you use your comedy talent to make them laugh, you are usually (but not always) engaged in a dialogue.

Exception: If you are telling a story (even a short story) during a casual conversation as the only person talking and causing people to laugh, you are engaged in delivering a monologue.

When you are involved in casual conversation dialogues, someone else can offer a comment about something (the “set-up” information) and you provide your sense of humor reaction (punchline) when your sense of humor is triggered by that comment.

The only difference between this dialogue that generated laughs and stand-up comedy material that generates laughs is that the comedian provides both the set-up information and the punchlines.

That’s why they call a stand-up comedy routine a monologue.

Important: When it comes to the mechanics of laughter generated by talking and expressing oneself, there is NO difference – some sort of set-up information is involved and some sort of sense of humor reaction occurs to that set-up information.

So here are some important questions about conversations you have had over the course of your life:

• How many conversations have you had where you replied or commented to something someone said that caused that person or a group of people to laugh out loud? I’m going to say this has happened too many times to count.
• How many different stories (short or long) have you told over and over again about topics personal to you that caused a person or group of people to laugh out loud when you told them? I’m going to say you probably have at the very least a few of these.
• What are the differences between causing laughter to happen in any casual conversations you have had and a stand-up comedy routine that generates laughs?

Let's talk about these differences.

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The Differences

Some of the important differences between conversations that gets laughs and stand-up comedy material that gets laughs (besides the dialogue vs. monologue situation that I just covered) are these:

• Conversational content that causes laughter to happen can contain a large amount of additional information that is not funny (nor is it intended to be funny). Stand-up comedy material is edited/condensed/structured to generate 4-6+ laughs per minute.
• The set-up information and related punchlines that happen from casual conversations may contain references, experiences, observations, etc. that are easily known or recognized by family, friends and coworkers but may not be easily recognized by strangers or people who are unfamiliar with what you are referring to. Subsequently...
• Stand-up comedy set-up information and punchlines must contain references, experiences, observations, etc. that are easily known or recognized by an audience of strangers (people who don’t know you.) Otherwise, the audience won’t "get" what is funny when a comedian is delivering the material.

But as far as the “getting the laughs” part with spoken word, physically expressed communication – there is still some sort of set-up information and the related sense of humor reactions using an individual’s comedy talent involved.

Now here is the most exciting part of all…

I have said from the beginning that you have more potential stand-up comedy material than you would ever get stage time for.

Not only that, this pile of potential stand-up comedy material you have access to RIGHT NOW has already been tested by you and has proven itself to generate laughs.

In other words, there’s no need to “guess” as to whether or not “stuff” you had conversations about has potential as tightly structured stand-up comedy material PROVIDED that:

• What you said generated GENUINE laughs and...
• An audience of strangers could understand what you are talking about.

Now answer this important question:

Which would you have more confidence in – comedy material that you have already used spontaneously that generated a laugh or laughs from an individual or a group of people or…

Comedy material that was “written” using a fabricated premise or a premise that does not activate your sense of humor that is coupled with fabricated “written” punchlines?

Seems like a no brainer to me. But there’s actually another advantage that you can have as well…

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Spontaneous Vs. Premeditated

When you are talking with people that you communicate with in the course of your daily routine and you say something that causes laughter to happen…

This is mostly a spontaneous affair, meaning that little thought is needed for you to use and apply your natural sense of humor/comedy talent to get the laughs.

Exception: Funny and entertaining stories that you have told over the course of your life are not as spontaneous, as they have proven themselves to get the laughs and are repeated accordingly.

Stand-up comedy on the other hand is NOT spontaneous, contrary to what many new comedians believe at first.

Comedians provide the appearance of spontaneity but they DO NOT usually just speak off the top of their heads so to speak. They know exactly what they are going to say and how they are going to say it.

That’s why it is called a stand-up routine. It is routine to the comedian.

Note: If you want to verify this for yourself, simply attend a professional stand-up show featuring the same comedians two nights in a row. You will see little, if any new material presented by the comedians.

Funny people have developed the confidence to use their natural sense of humor/comedy talent spontaneously because they have accumulated a track record of success at generating laughs.

And they don’t have to get a laugh every single time they use their sense of humor/comedy talent in order have ample confidence to use it.

Isn’t it the confidence that funny people have in using their sense of humor/comedy talent and getting laughs as a result that drives them to become comedians in the first place?

So let me ask you this…

Shouldn't you have confidence in the comedy topics and bulk comedy material that you want to work on to bring to the stage?

I ask that because now:

• You have the ability to select comedy topics from things that you have already talked about with ease and caused laughter to happen (has already been tested.)
• You have the ability to choose and prioritize these comedy topics extracted from casual conversations by the intensity of the laughter previously generated.
• Given the proper instruction, you should also have the ability to structure/develop any new comedy material from these already tested comedy topics for maximum punchline frequency.

Again, while there is no guarantee that your new comedy material will generate laughs – you tell me:

Why wouldn’t you have the most confidence possible in any new comedy material based on comedy topics that already fit you like a glove?

Well, you should have confidence! Not only that, you should have more initial (and solid) new comedy material ideas than you will ever have stage time for.

But it doesn’t end there…

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But Wait, There’s More

If you thoroughly grasp this most valuable secret:

Important: Every single time that you use your sense of humor/comedy talent to cause one or more people to laugh, you are using stand-up comedy techniques specific to YOU to make that happen -- whether you are shooting the breeze with friends, giving a speech or delivering a stand-up comedy routine.

Then you should also be aware that it doesn’t just apply to conversations or things that you have said in the past.

It also applies to conversations you have today and in the future with friends, family, coworkers or people you meet.

The key is is to make sure that you write down or record the details of any conversation you have when something you said caused laughter to happen.

Keep this in mind:

Not everything topic that you have talked about (or will talk about) that caused others to laugh will be suitable for stand-up comedy material.

I will address this directly in the next lesson with specific screening guidelines that you can use to narrow down the best potential comedy topics for your stand-up routine.

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Wrap Up

In my professional opinion, a major obstacle that every comedian must overcome is realizing that the comedy mechanics for getting laughs onstage are EXACTLY the same as getting laughs offstage.

It is the comedy dynamics that are different.

Comedy mechanics: All the processes that you already use naturally to generate laughs when you use and express your sense of humor when talking to others.

Comedy dynamics: Conditions that are specific to a stage performance that enhance the use of the comedy mechanics that you have already developed.

Also know this:

Audiences are made up of PEOPLE – people just like the people that you talk to everyday.

When you step on stage as a comedian, there are basically more people to talk to and they don’t know you like your friends, family, and coworkers that you usually talk to.

With that said, the next lesson that provides the screening guidelines you need to help you narrow down the best potential comedy topics for your stand-up act.

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