One of the most tragic lines I have ever heard a stand-up comedy teacher use with a student was “Your material is great—now all you have to do is make it funny.” I submit to you that it’s hard to learn stand-up comedy using that kind of advice.

That’s like telling someone who wants to play the piano that in order to be great at it, all they have to do is grow another finger.

It’s seems to me that comedians and speaking professionals—both new and experienced—would benefit from understanding at least some of the mechanics that they use automatically to generate laughter during casual conversations. Why?

Because the mechanics for generating laughter are EXACTLY THE SAME whether you are talking to friends, giving a lecture, performing a stand-up comedy act or writing a funny movie. Differences lie primarily in the delivery structure, not in the mechanics of how laughter is generated.

Common sense would dictate that if you really want to learn stand-up comedy, you should understand why and how you are able to make others laugh. Then you can apply that understanding to anything you want to do when it comes to laughter generation.

So, let’s talk about the how you really use the element of surprise to get laughs in everyday conversation. This is important because you are going to use the exact same laughter mechanics for the stage or podium.

Now if you ask a stand-up comedy teacher about the element of surprise, you’re going to get some stock information about how the punchline of a joke provides an unexpected twist at the end, blah, blah, blah. Again, I submit to you that it’s hard to learn stand-up comedy using that kind of generic information that is readily available from any dictionary.

Please note that this sort of information is academic at best and won’t help you accomplish much of anything when it comes to understanding the mechanics of generating laughter–more importantly, how YOU generate laughter when you talk with others.

If you get information like I’m about to present from any stand-up comedy teacher, then you know that they got that information from me. :-)

You can easily observe the information I am going to present about the element of surprise by simply being self-aware or by observing others who say something to generate laughter and knowing what to look for.

Anyone who has generated laughter from another person or a group of friends has effectively used the element of surprise without even being aware of it. Those who are considered naturally funny people use the element of surprise more often.

The element of surprise is a result of three primary conditions that are in play simultaneously…

Note: This article is one of 7 password protected articles included in the Comedy Writing Starter Package. For access details, click here.

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I firmly believe that if individuals truly understand what it is that makes them funny in the first place, then they will have a much, much easier time utilizing and structuring their own unique sense of humor for the stage or podium.

What better way to learn stand-up comedy than by recognizing and capitalizing the comedy skill that you already have and have already used effectively for years? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny For Money

About the Author/Founder of the SCP Blog


Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and is a globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development and presentation strategies -- for entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

Please check out the Featured Articles page for direct links to articles on this blog for pro comedians, comedy entertainers, and speaking professionals.

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