Do you think you are funny and humorous enough to make people laugh? If you have what it takes to be the next Steve Martin, you could do certain measures to be funnier and to do well in your craft. You could outpace David Letterman or Ellen de Generes for this matter. If you intend to learn standup comedy, take note of several tips that could help make you succeed in your endeavor.
Standup comedy is ironically a serious business. It is practically and logically harder to make people laugh than to make them cry. Thus, most experts assert that comedians are more talented than dramatic actors. In standup comedy, you could instantly feel the wrath of punishing and impatient audiences. You certainly want to generate laughter, but instead, you could get boos and hisses. Here are some guidelines that could help you do well as a standup comedian.
Identify with the audience
First of all, know your audience very well. If it is impossible to analyze the demographics as accurately as possible, strive to analyze the crowd using first impressions. Before you perform your standup comedy antics, learn to identify the crowd. It would be easy identifying priests, nuns, soldiers, and children. Deliver jokes and antics that are appropriate for your audience. For instance, you should not throw adult and malicious jokes if your audience is composed mostly of children and young people. You should not throw sexist jokes if there are many women in the crowd or you may bear the grudges of feminist advocates in the audience in an instant.
Then, identify with the audience. As mentioned, you need to make sure the standup comedy material is very much appropriate for the audience. Applying common sense would help you a lot during the act.
Stay away from outdated jokes
Analyze your jokes very well. You may be tempted to use old or recycled antics. Beware when you intend to do so. Some jokes are just overly used by standup comedians. Throwing them around would not make good impressions among your audience. Besides, you may not possibly equal the level of effective delivery conducted by other standup comedians who delivered the same joke.
You should also filter the overall content of your standup comedy jokes and antics. If your audience mostly comprises of people in their early 20s, you should not deliver jokes about celebrities who are from the distant past. Not all young people may know Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn. They may not be able to relate to the Beatles. Instead, you may deliver jokes about Tom Cruise or Justin Timberlake. For sure, they could easily relate to your antic.
Practice makes perfect
Practice or rehearse your delivery. You may do so in front of a mirror. To get instant feedback, you may rehearse your piece in front of a confidante or a trusted friend. Listen to what he or she could say about your performance. Do not take criticisms negatively and personally. Instead use them to improve yourself. As you learn standup comedy, make sure you spend more time rehearsing your delivery.