president-obamaI have to say that it is great to have a President with a noteworthy sense of humor—so much so that President Obama has been warmly referred to as the Comic-in-Chief.

Whether you approve of the man or not, there’s no question that he’s funny at a high level and can entertain an audience in possibly the most visible, serious and constrained environments possible.

For those who are aspiring to become stand-up comedians, there’s actually quite a bit that you can learn from President Obama if you know what to look for.

President Obama recently spoke at the 2009 Annual White House Correspondents Dinner. While he was billed as the “opening act”, he managed to get huge laughs from a capacity crowd attending the star studded event.

I want to cover some important points about the President’s comedy at this event:

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The most important thing to note is this…

Having the “star power” that a President commands is NOT enough to get big laughs and entertain an audience like President Obama can.

If you don’t believe me, just ask the last President. :-)

I found a video clip of the President on YouTube during the election campaign entertaining an audience with stand-up comedy (once you see the clip below, you can only call it stand-up comedy).

Pay close attention to how the President “acts out” a situation he says he encountered on the campaign trail:

Again, no special “character” was needed to get the big laughs. But his delivery and sense of timing is fantastic.

Like I said, there’s a lot to learn from President Obama when it comes to delivering high impact comedy material when appropriate.

It’s not my style to get into politics on this blog. But I will recognize folks who are funny no matter what level they are at, including the President.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

About the Author/Founder of The Stand-up Comedy Professional

Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and author of the content made available in the Comedy Pro Membership Program available on this site.

Over the past decade, Steve has established himself as a leading, globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development, delivery and entertainment business strategies for comedy entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

For more information about Steve, please check out the About The Author section on this site.