Introduction
Common sense would dictate that in order for an individual to have the best possible chance of success in their stand-up comedy or humorous public speaking adventures, they would want to use and apply ALL of their already developed comedy talent when they hit the stage.
So, let me ask you some easy questions about this:
- Did you learn to talk first or did you learn to write first?
- Did you develop the sense of humor/comedy talent that you have as a result of handing people written notes that contained what you wanted to say to made others laugh?
- And when you stopped in the middle of a conversation to write down your comments, observations, experiences, etc. and handed them to the person/people you were talking with — did they read those notes and then start laughing out loud?
- Is that how you discovered you could make other people laugh?
- Is the answer NO to these questions?
Well then, how on earth can that possibly be, especially since conventional wisdom states that you are bound by the imaginary law of stand-up comedy to “write” jokes in a literary fashion in order to generate the audience laughs you need to become a pro comedian?
The reality of the situation is this:
- You didn’t develop the comedy talent that you have right now as a result of writing notes for people you have interacted with over the course of your lifetime.
- You didn’t learn some sort of special writing skill in order to cause the people you have interacted with over the course of your life to laugh when you used your sense of humor.
- And you don’t stop and write anything to get the laughs that happen when you are in a casual conversation with anyone.
Yet, you are supposed to somehow be able to “write jokes”, fabricated out of thin air in order to craft a stand-up comedy routine that actually gets laughs?
That’s what virtually all the books on stand-up comedy (#ad) will tell you. That’s what you will be taught to do in virtually any stand-up comedy workshop or class you choose to take.
Now before I get into the specifics about what a MASSIVELY FLAWED approach conventional “joke writing” methodologies are when it comes to using your comedy talent as a comedian, please note:
IMPORTANT: YES, your stand-up comedy material should ALWAYS be written down. That’s because unless you are eating special mushrooms, you cannot see words and sentences as they leave your mouth, which means unless your stand-up comedy material is written down you can’t:
> Remove unnecessary words or sentences
> Rearrange your material for greater laughter impact
> Expand your comedy material
> Add or edit punchlines
> Map out your natural speaking rhythm and timing
> Determine how long you material will be when delivered
> And on and on…
But what I am referring to is NOT about trying to fabricate or otherwise “write jokes” out of thin air using literary writing methodologies that DO NOT WORK.
What I am specifically referring to is writing down what you want to say and express to an audience in a way that incorporates ALL of your already developed comedy talent.
Now let’s look at why typical “joke writing” as it is perceived by new comedians and taught by so-called stand-up comedy experts in books, workshops and classes is a recipe for FAILURE.
A Deeper Look Into Conventional Joke Writing
Let’s take a closer look at the whole conventional “joke writing” process that plagues new comedians wanting to excel in stand-up comedy today.
Let’s start with this — you DID NOT develop any part of the comedy talent you have as a result of writing. You developed it as a result talking and physically expressing your sense of humor when involved in conversations with others.
Not only that, “writing” is a completely different form of communication that is different in some very significant ways — ways that can keep a person’s comedy talent from making it to the stage, specifically:
Writing only involves words. Well, we have already established that the comedy talent that you have and use all the time involves much more than just words.
Because writing only involves words, many more words are needed to communicate anything.
The voice inflection, voice tone changes, facial expressions and body language that you use when you talk are additional means of communication that reduce the number of words you need to use when you talk to get your message across.
Writing is specifically designed to communicate with an individual reader using only words. Talking can be experienced simultaneously by one or multiple people in a way that can produce a synergistic laughter effect.
The very first lesson in my online course (which is free for all to review without having to sign up for anything) covers this topic sufficiently.
But let me recap so that there is absolutely no misunderstanding about what I have just presented:
- You learned to talk before you learned to write.
- Talking is a completely different form of communication than writing, even though both involve the use of words.
- The skill set needed for writing is very different than the skill set needed for talking.
- Talking is far easier than trying to write anything.
- You developed the comedy talent you have from talking and physically expressing your sense humor, not from any sort of writing process.
- The comedy talent that other people experience when you speak involves much more than just the words you choose to use.
- You use less words to convey your sense of humor when you talk than when you do when you write anything.
Keep this in mind as you continue:
Nobody gets “talker’s block”. And nobody seems to get “comedy talent block” when they are talking and using their sense of humor during conversations.
It’s the people who “write” that get “writer’s block”. Interesting, huh?
Which brings me to this secret:
Secret #5: You DO NOT have to be a skilled “writer” in order produce stand-up comedy material that generates the laughs you want when you hit the stage.
While there is much to know about creating, refining, structuring, honing and delivering a high powered stand-up comedy routine that gets big and frequent laughs…
Literal “writing” skill is simply NOT required (unless of course your audience is going to read your stand-up comedy routine – please refer to my previous reference about eating special mushrooms).
Before I continue, know this:
How you decide to approach comedy adventure is 100% your call.
But before you spend your hard earned money on any sort of “joke writing” process that involves a literary, designed for an individual reader approach and is NOT designed to be spoken and expressed the way you naturally do it already.
Stop and think about what I have presented here. Because if you don’t, you might as well spend your time and money trying to figure out how to change a flat tire on your car with a screwdriver.
However if you will sit through any stand-up comedy open mic night anywhere on the planet, you will surely see for yourself what happens when a comedian does not use and apply their comedy talent effectively — if at all.
But Wait A Minute…
Probably one of the biggest disconnects that an individual can have when it comes to using one’s already developed comedy talent as a comedian can be revealed in this question:
Isn’t the comedy talent needed for a stand-up comedy routine different than the comedy talent that is used when talking with friends, family, coworkers and people we meet?
The comedy talent a comedian uses onstage is THE EXACT SAME COMEDY TALENT that they use offstage (that is, if they want to get big and frequent laughs when they deliver a tightly structured stand-up routine).
Now there are certainly some differences between talking with people offstage and delivering a stand-up comedy routine onstage to an audience.
Some of these differences include, but are not limited to:
Whatever a comedian chooses to talk about and express to an audience needs to be known or easily understood by an audience of strangers, not just friends, family, associated or co-workers.
There is a measure of premeditated brevity (and preparation to deliver that brevity) required in stand-up comedy in order to deliver an average of 4-6+ punchlines each performing minute.
This premeditated brevity also allows time for the associated laughter in any given performing minute. This measure of brevity is generally not an aspect of casual conversations.
Casual conversations tend to be a dialogue, whereas stand-up comedy is a monologue.
A measure of stage skill and experience is required for stand-up comedy. We don’t engage in everyday conversations standing on a stage, holding a microphone, addressing large numbers of people with bright lights shining in our face, etc.
But when it comes to the comedy talent part, it’s exactly the same — on a comedy stage, from behind a speaking podium or in casual conversations. The sense of humor that is formulated and applied is the same. The way that sense of humor is physically expressed is the same.
The very best way that I know of to describe the use of a person’s already developed comedy talent for the stage is to understand a cooking process known as a reduction.
A reduction is when you take a sauce and simmer it to remove excess water and to boost the flavor of the sauce. The sauce contains the exact same ingredients before being simmered as it does once it has been reduced.
But the only difference is that there is less water, more concentrated flavor.
At its core, a stand-up comedy routine involves the same comedy talent that is used offstage. The difference is that there are less words, more punchlines and laughter.
The Last Secret
Here’s is the last secret that I want to cover before I get to some final thoughts:
Secret #6: MOST comedy material that is developed, structured and designed to be spoken WILL NOT READ funny like material that is written and designed to be consumed by an individual reader.
One of the more tragic aspects of the whole stand-up comedy joke writing hoax is the blatantly false notion that if comedy material reads funny on paper, it will be funny on stage.
To be fair, some stand-up comedy material that is designed to be spoken and physically expressed will actually read funny when it is read.
But the reality is that much of it will not read funny.
Do you know why? It’s pretty simple actually…
The written word is designed to be consumed by an individual reader and only involves words.
The spoken word not only involves words but it also involves the physical expression aspect (voice tone, body language, etc.) which reduces the number of words needed to communicate the same things.
But more importantly…
Spoken words are expressed in a manner that gives them meaning, emphasis and flavor that is simply not available from reading the “written” word.
And since we tend to talk differently than we write…
Some comedy material that has been written down and that will generate laughs when it is spoken actually won’t make much sense (or “read” well) when you read it.
That’s usually because too many words are missing or not used in the proper “written” way of conveying a message for reading consumption.
But don’t believe me — here’s how you can verify what I am saying for yourself.
Just go to YouTube and find any stand-up comedy video of the funniest comedian that you know of.
Transcribe just one minute of that video (it will only be about 80 words or less) and have it available on your phone (write yourself an email, use a memo app, etc.).
Note: YouTube videos uploaded starting in 2014 already have a transcript – just click on the 3 dots in the lower right corner of the video and click Open transcript.
That transcribed stand-up material should “read” funny, right? Especially if it is shown to someone who is unfamiliar with that comedian’s routine.
But since you have already viewed and know the routine you have transcribed…
When you go to work or meet with someone after work, pull out your phone show someone the one minute transcription of that bit and see if they laugh out loud like the audience in the video did.
The other thing you can do is find anything that you think “reads” funny, have it available on your phone and simply show it to someone else then watch how they react.
If the hoax information about stand-up comedy material “reading” funny will cause big laughs – then the people you show these “written” comedy pieces to should burst out laughing, right?
NOTE: If you do this and get asked if you are feeling OK or if you need medication – don’t be surprised.
Wrap Up
How you approach stand-up comedy is 100% your call.
It’s not my place to dictate how that should happen — there are already plenty of so-called “comedy experts” that are more than ready to do just that with information that is just flat out wrong.
That’s why one of the things that I do is ask people to verify things for themselves and don’t just believe at face value what I have to say.
If you want to verify anything that I have presented here, you need only sit though ANY stand-up comedy open mic night armed with a writing utensil and this heading like this on the top of a 3 x 5 card or a piece of paper:
Killing | Not Killing
As each NEW or non-established comedian performs, put a tick mark under killing (getting big and frequent laughs) or not killing (aka flopping).
What you will find no matter what open mic you attend in any country on the planet, is that the overwhelming majority of tick marks will be in the Not Killing category.
Is this because the people who are attempting stand-up comedy don’t actually have enough comedy talent?
While that is certainly the case on occasion, the most common foundational reason most new comedians flop (and continue to flop until they drop out) on stage is this:
The actual comedy talent that they have is either not making it to the stage or it is being massively watered down by an inability to properly prepare and deliver their comedy talent for audiences when they hit the stage.
What I have provided in these comedy talent lessons should have provided you more than enough information to understand the “why” aspect of this issue.
It should also provide you with a very solid foundation for understanding the information in the next lesson.