Introduction

Before you ever hit the stage, the first order of business is to figure out what you are going to talk about and how you are going to express what you have to say when you entertain an audience.

Well, there are some very important aspects to consider BEFORE you even start the process of developing your own stand-up comedy material — aspects that can directly affect:

• The type of stand-up comedy material you decide to develop
• Your income potential as a comedian, relative to the type of stand-up comedy material you choose to develop (covered in detail in another lesson)

With that said, let’s get started.

Like many people who first venture into stand-up comedy, I was under the false impression that comedians just got on stage and started talking randomly about whatever popped into their brain.

I was unaware that comedians have specific routines that they develop, perfect, and perform over and over again.

It is very easy to make this assumption when you watch talented comedians perform.

It appears as if what they have to say is just the result of spontaneous thinking and verbalizing those thoughts at the moment they arrive.

Well, this is absolutely not the case.

Even the master of improvisation, Robin Williams, had specific routines he performed as a stand-up comedian. But his manic style made it appear as if he was making his material up as he went along.

I have watched many open mike comedians get on stage and just try to “wing it,” usually with disastrous results.

You will see this when you start performing, especially at open mikes. These folks will ramble on and on without apparent purpose or structure in what they are trying to say.

Ultimately, two undesirable things happen:

• The audience doesn’t get what they are talking about, and…
• The audience doesn’t laugh.

So don’t be fooled.

Unless they are responding to a heckler, dealing with an unexpected interruption, or experimenting with new material, they have performed the same material in their act hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times.

Professional comedians prepare material off stage and develop, hone, and refine it (as needed) in front of an audience.

Once the material has proven its ability to work consistently in a way that satisfies the comedian, it usually remains virtually unchanged (unless it is expanded upon; still, the previously finished material usually remains intact).

Going on stage without knowing what you will say and how you are going to deliver your stand-up comedy material is a formula for disaster.

If singers changed the lyrics and the music to a song each time they performed it, the audience wouldn’t recognize the song.

Stand-up comedy is an exercise in calculated repetition — developing material that works and performing it over and over again.

One of your goals, among many as a stand-up comedian, should be to capture this appearance of spontaneity when you perform. How do you do that? I will address this more later.

But first, you have to know what you are going to say long before you hit the stage.

In the next Training Module, we’ll work on how to develop a topic list — the starting point for determining the things you might want to talk about on stage.

But before we get into that, there are some other things you need to know first…

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Telling The Real Truth

When you are trying to determine what to talk about on stage, remember that as a comedian, you have the unique freedom to tell the truth — most specifically, the usually unspoken truth.

Maybe you’re thinking, “But wait! Everybody has the freedom to tell the truth!”

That would be nice if it were the case, but it isn’t.

Here’s what I mean…

We are conditioned from youth to behave in a certain way, to accept social norms and try to fit in the best we can into the world that surrounds us.

For example, it is not acceptable to tell your boss, “You’re a jerk. You can this job and shove it up your…” even though those words may identify your true feelings at the time.

It is far more acceptable to say, “I have found another employment opportunity that I can’t pass up.”

When your spouse asks if she looks fat in the clothes she is wearing, we don’t say, “Not to worry. You could cover a house with those clothes.”

No, we generally provide compliments in lieu of reality because the hard truth would result in an unbearable environment in which to exist.

As we wander through this thing we call life, each of us recognizes these hard truths about the people we meet, our experiences, and our observations.

Whether it is consciously or subconsciously, we all recognize the irony, contradictions, tragedy, and sometimes bizarre aspects of routine (and sometimes not-so-routine) everyday life.

But many of these thoughts are usually effectively suppressed by our social training in order to satisfy cultural norms.

This is why a comedian can spark such tremendous laughter over the most common things.

A stand-up comedian has the freedom to say things that most everyone has thought about, considered doing, or contemplated saying, but cannot usually verbalize because they feel bound by the social restrictions of being and acting like an “adult.”

When comedians say the things they do, they release the tension in the audience by identifying, describing, and commenting on the thoughts and actions we have all experienced and/or can relate to. How do comedians do this? With their stand-up comedy material.

Don’t get me wrong. Just like in life, you can’t just say absolutely anything you want and still have the audience love you.

But you can say almost anything you want, provided you don’t offend or turn your audience against you when you deliver your stand-up comedy material.

What’s my point?

My point is that you don’t want to let social boundaries interfere with your initial creativity when producing stand-up comedy material.

You can scrutinize your stand-up comedy material for audience acceptability or potential negative impact AFTER you have developed an initial version of your material.

Now, let’s discuss some other important aspects you should know before you begin the process of developing your own powerful stand-up comedy material.

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Making Fun Of Yourself

Don’t be afraid to poke fun at yourself in your act.

Doing that can give you more relate-ability when it comes to audiences. It makes you more human and more real in the eyes of the audience.

I used to have a huge gut when I first started performing (I still do). I would reference it in a very indirect way. Here is part of a bit I performed:

Well, it was painfully obvious that I was nowhere near a Soloflex body. And it would always get a big laugh.

Many comedians will make fun of their facial features or other physical attributes.

One comedian, Fred Greenlee has a facial profile that looks just like Ben Franklin. He talks about how he looks like one side of a nickel and it’s hilarious. Audiences are able to quickly recognize the similarities, and he uses it skillfully to his advantage.

Some people have made careers out of self-deprecating humor. How you feel about yourself can be a great source of material, especially if many of your audience members have had the same feelings about themselves.

No matter what you talk about when it comes to you, know that it is okay, as long as the audience can recognize what you are talking about and it’s funny.

Audiences like to feel superior. Poking fun at yourself (or even those folks “outside” the room) makes the audience feel better about themselves, even if they can’t completely relate to or have not experienced what you are talking about.

One thing I know for sure:

Audiences are generally less willing to accept someone who is making fun of everybody else if he can’t poke fun at himself.

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Using Profanity In Your Act

Profanity is probably the most overused tool employed to add punch to a comedy act.

Before I retired from live performances, I didn’t have very much profanity in my stand-up comedy act — and I did not use profanity in corporate performances.

Here are the reasons why:

Funny material built solely around profanity cannot usually be “cleaned up” and still command the laughter you want from an audience.

But you can almost always add profanity to material to “spice it up” if desired.

If your act is dirty or profane, you will limit the places you can perform.

For example, you usually can’t take a dirty or profane act into the corporate entertainment environment (which just happens to be one of the highest paying environments for a comedian to work in outside television).

If you have an act that’s dirty and not funny, it makes your act even less funny.

I made the decision to become a stand-up comedian for two reasons:

• I wanted to make people laugh to the maximum extent possible.
• I wanted to make as much money as I could doing it.

Simple marketing dictates that I would want to have an act with the broadest possible appeal in order to be eligible for the broadest possible opportunities to perform.

My act was such that I can make it “squeaky clean” if I needed to with minimal effort. (Okay, so I’m lazy too.)

Plus, I’m not one to “run with the pack.”

You will find as you step into the world of comedy that there is a dirty act on every corner. I didn’t get into this business to be like everyone else.

I’m not telling you to have an act without profanity. You can have the dirtiest act on the planet. Plenty of comedians have succeeded with what is often referred to as a “raw” or “cutting edge” act, or “shock” comedy.

It’s your act; do with it what you desire.

What I am telling you is that:

Because of the proliferation of “dirty” acts, an audience almost always loves and embraces a “clean” or relatively “clean” act that is hilarious.

Having a clean act has become unique in and of itself and there are far more well paying gigs available for comedians with a clean act.

If you use profanity sparingly, you can really boost the zest and emotion you are trying to convey in your act.

A lot of people love ice cream, but if that was all they ate every meal, every day for 2 weeks, they would be ready for something else.

It is relatively easy to make a clean act dirty. It is almost impossible to make a dirty act clean.

I have known comedians who have developed two completely different acts — one for the comedy clubs and another for other types of venues in which a dirty act would be inappropriate.

This way, they have the true freedom of expression when they are performing in true comedy venues, yet can still entertain effectively outside those venues.

Some final thoughts on using profanity in your act:

Profanity can be a wonderful tool for the comedian when used sparingly for maximum impact (in the comedy club market — not in the corporate or other higher paying markets). Use it wisely.

Whether you use a lot, a little, or no profanity, it’s completely your call. It’s your act.

If you really want to find out how funny your baseline material really is, take out all the profanity and see what happens.

Now, let’s talk about one segment of your audiences that you MUST always consider when developing your stand-up comedy material, no matter what type of material you choose to develop…

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Playing To The Women

If you want large, consistent laughs, I recommend that you ALWAYS slant your material in favor of the women, especially if your topics include the intricacies of relationships.

That is not a sexist remark in any fashion. It is a secret that professional comedians have known for years.

As a general rule, women represent responsibility and maturity in our society. They represent motherhood.

By and large, they tend to represent a more conservative view when it comes to many issues. When things go wrong and you’re a man, you can bet that there is a woman there to tell you how stupid you really are.

What I am about to say is my personal opinion; it is not the politically correct thing to say. It’s based on experience and represents no one else’s views but my own.

The majority of audiences in almost every venue are comprised of couples, whether they are married, dating, or whatever.

And women just happen to have that one thing that most men lust for.

Let’s say you are on stage and you are totally whacking the women — putting them down or making fun of them in a derogatory way.

I can assure you, the women won’t laugh.

I can also assure you that most of the men won’t laugh either, because if they do, that means that they are in agreement with you.

It also means that they may be excluded from that one thing when they get home.

By the same token, if the women are laughing, the men will laugh too without hesitation. Why? Because the men can laugh without fear of jeopardizing exclusion from that one thing.

If you have any questions on this issue, the real person to ask is Andrew Dice Clay.

Here’s a guy who was the highest paid comedian in the U.S. for 2 years. It appeared that his material and persona on stage was the exception to the rule.

But his material was so offensive to women that not only did he fall from grace very quickly, but the man couldn’t get work in a diarrhea commercial. This lasted for years. He has worked for well over a decade to change his image with some success.

I actually have personal experience in this arena. When I was first divorced, I was bitter like many are from the experience. I talk about my life in a fairly open and personal way on stage.

Unfortunately, I let some of that bitterness creep into my material. Fortunately, It only took me three shows and an absence of laughter to realize I needed to let it go and let it go quick… I did.

I’m a professional. I cared about my audiences and I cared about the level of laughter I would get when I performed.

Almost every comedian has some sort of relationship material in his or her act.

Whether you are a male or female comedian, don’t be afraid to approach the sometimes extreme differences between men and women.

The topic is chock full of hilarious comedy material. But you had better slant your material (at least to some degree) in favor of the women.

If you don’t, I want to wish you the greatest success at being a plumber, banker, receptionist, or whatever else you want to be.

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Wrap Up

There’s a lot to know about stand-up comedy material as you make your way through the lessons in this Training Module.

But here is what I want you be aware of at this juncture:

While I don’t want to hinder your initial creativity when you begin developing your stand-up comedy material…

I do want you to be aware that there are factors that can not only affect the type of stand-up comedy material that you ultimately develop, but can also affect:

• The audience response that you generate
• The variety of gigs you can perform at
• Your income potential as a comedian

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