Becoming a Stand-up Comedian: Where Do You Start?

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Develop jokes, craft your style, and build your fanbase as a comedian

Co-authored by Kendall Payne and Jennifer Mueller, JD

Last Updated: November 21, 2024 Fact Checked

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Gathering Material

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Building Your Set

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Breaking Through As a Comic

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Q&A

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Tips

You're the funniest person in your friend group—every time you go out, you have everyone in stitches. But can you do the same standing on stage in front of a bunch of strangers? Stand-up comedy is definitely not for the faint of heart, but if you think you've got what it takes, read on. We talked to writer, director, and stand-up comedian Kendall Payne to find out everything you need to know if you want to get started in stand-up comedy.

Top 5 Tips for Becoming a Stand-Up

Jot down everything you see that you find funny.
Combine funny stories and anecdotes to create layered jokes.
Develop an authentic performance style that seems relatable.
Get in front of a mic as often as possible.
Don't be afraid to bomb.

Section 1 of 3:

Gathering Funny Material for a Stand-up Set

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1
Write down every funny thing you see. Use a small notebook or the notepad app in your smartphone to write down things you see or hear that might be useful in a joke later. It doesn't matter if you don't have the full-fledged joke yet—just write the thought down immediately and you can flesh it out later. The best way to brainstorm ideas for jokes is "living life," according to Payne. "A lot of people overthink when they're trying to write comedy. I think especially when you're starting out, you just want to write what you know... and keep it simple."
- Payne explains how it works: "Let's say I'm riding my bike and I see a guy with a bird on his shoulder riding his bike past me, that's a really funny thing to me. So I might stop riding my bike, jump out, grab my phone and just jot down 'riding bikes with parrot on his shoulder' and then move on. Then when I go back, I have all these random ideas."
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Pull anecdotes together to build jokes. As you skim through your notes, look for ways that stories relate to each other in surprising or unexpected ways. This is one of the best ways to write a joke—lead your audience in one direction, then hit 'em from behind with the surprise punchline.^{[1]
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- For example, you might have a note about terrible traffic and another note about the bad date you went on one night. You could combine them into a joke about how even though you hate sitting in traffic you would have preferred it to sitting through that date.
- Payne asks herself, "Okay, now let me see if there's actually something here, if there's actually a joke here, if there's actually a story here, and what can I do with it?"
- At the same time, Payne warns you to keep things simple: "If you have one thing that you think is funny, don't pile it on with 10 other things that you think are funny. Just hit that one thing that you think is really funny. And hit it again and heighten it."
- It's also a good idea to write several punchlines for the same joke or the same setup. That way, you can stay flexible and switch things up every once in a while to keep things fresh.
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3
Watch other stand-up comics. You can learn a lot about timing, transitions, and performance from established comedians who've spent a lot of time on stage. Watch stand-up specials online and go to live shows as well—watching a performance live in person is a lot different than watching an edited recording.
- Watching comics live helps you learn ways to handle hecklers or cope with crickets. Specials aren't likely to include a comic performing to a dead room.
- Keep in mind when you're watching a produced special, you're essentially watching a highlight reel. If that's all the stand-up comedy you see, you might come to believe that there are comedians out there who never bomb—and that's absolutely false.
- If you really like a particular comic, though, it can help to limit how much you watch them. Make sure you're not being too influenced by your favorites—folks won't become fans if they only see you as a poor imitation of an established act.
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Read up on current events and cutting-edge technology. A lot of humor comes from what's going on in the world around you, so if you're going to be a stand-up comedian, you have to stay up to date. Beyond that, what's going on provides the context for your jokes, which can help you tell if it's a good time to tell a particular joke.
- For example, you might have a hilarious joke about the time you got food poisoning, but if you're performing in a town where some tainted beef recently killed 2 people, your audience may not find it very funny.
- Pay attention to where your favorite comedians get their material from as well—it can help you come up with new sources.

Section 2 of 3:

Building & Practicing Your Stand-up Set

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1
Organize your jokes into a coherent structure. You want to open and close with big jokes—your first big joke will help get the audience on your side and make it a lot easier to get laughs as your set progresses. Then, arrange your other jokes in the middle so that they tell some kind of story or follow a coherent path to the last joke.^{[2]
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- When you're first starting out, you might not spend more than 5 minutes on stage at a time—that means you'll likely only have time for a handful of jokes, so you've got to make them count.
- Keep your transitions between jokes as flexible as you can so your set will still make sense if you have to swap out a joke on the fly.
- Once you have a little more experience, you'll start getting more time on stage, which means you'll have time for longer stories or jokes that require a little more setup.
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Practice your performance style to find your voice. If you want to feel confident on stage in front of strangers, hone your performance style in front of people you know very well. Develop gestures and mannerisms that feel natural and casual for you. They'll help your audience feel more at ease with you and it'll be easier for them to relate to you.^{[3]
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- Friends are great test audiences for different ways of telling a joke, mainly because you can count on them to call you out if something sounds too rehearsed or fake.
- Think about the message you want to send through your humor or how you best connect with other people. This can help you find the best style and delivery that maximizes the laughs while still feeling natural.
Jerry Seinfeld, Comedian

Being authentic will maximize your comedic potential. "The whole object of comedy is to be yourself and the closer you get to that, the funnier you will be."
3
Choreograph your body language and facial expressions. Some comedians are more physical than others, but all stand-up comedians are aware of their body language and their presence on stage. Even if your movements aren't part of the joke, they can still add to the joke and make it even funnier.^{[4]
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- Acting or improv classes can help you learn how to work with your body and use it to enhance your joke and better get your message across.
- You might also think about any nervous tics you have. If you're going to do them anyway, incorporate them into your act in a way that adds to it rather than detracting from it.
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Memorize and rehearse your set. Practicing a joke over and over again helps you memorize it and get really comfortable with your material. Once you've got everything down, you'll be less rigidly bound by the specific words and you'll find space to improvise. The great thing about stand-up is that any time is a good time to practice—in front of the mirror, in traffic, or even in the shower!^{[5]
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- Rehearse in front of small groups and low-stakes crowds as well as by yourself. For example, if you're out at a bar with friends, you might do a quick 2-minute routine for the people sitting at the table next to you.
- Telling the same jokes over and over again also helps you see the weak parts and figure out how to make it even funnier. You can also try different angles or emphasize different emotional reactions.
- At the same time, don't spend too long trying to craft the perfect set. Payne cautions against spending too long developing your first set before you start performing live. "Don't harp on your first set because you're going to bomb no matter what and you might as well not have spent a year working on it."
5
Ask friends and family for feedback. Even though they might not be comedy experts, they can at least tell you if they think something is funny—and they might even have ideas on how to make it funnier! Doing little performances like this also helps prepare you for the stage.
- Include your most honest friends who will definitely tell you (in a kind way) if a joke isn't working or if it could potentially be offensive to someone.
- If you have several different versions of your set list, you might run through each of them and see which one gets the most laughs.

Section 3 of 3:

Breaking Through As a Comic

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1
Perform at as many open mics as possible. Open mics are a great way to get started in stand-up comedy: they're usually free, don't put a lot of pressure on performers, and encourage beginners to try new material. Look for comedy clubs, bars, coffee shops, or other venues in your area that host comedy open mics. Social media is a great place to search as well.^{[6]
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- There's nothing better than getting as much time on stage as possible, especially when you're just starting out. If you live in a larger city, focus on the smaller clubs and venues at first—that's where you'll get more time on stage.
- Keep in mind that most of the people who go to comedy open mics are fellow comedians, which can make for a tough audience. As Payne notes, "Comedians are the hardest people to make laugh.... So that's also why it takes a little while to get good at it because you're trying to impress people that are very difficult to impress."
- That challenge is good for you, though—a lot like swinging with a weighted bat in baseball before going up to the plate. "The second you progress to a place where you're booked on shows," Payne adds, "you're gonna find it's a lot easier to make general audiences laugh."
EXPERT TIP

Kendall Payne
Standup Comedian
Kendall Payne is a Writer, Director, and Stand-up Comedian based in Brooklyn, New York. Kendall specializes in directing, writing, and producing comedic short films. Her films have screened at Indie Short Fest, Brooklyn Comedy Collective, Channel 101 NY, and 8 Ball TV. She has also written and directed content for the Netflix is a Joke social channels and has written marketing scripts for Between Two Ferns: The Movie, Astronomy Club, Wine Country, Bash Brothers, Stand Up Specials and more. Kendall runs an IRL internet comedy show at Caveat called Extremely Online, and a comedy show for @ssholes called Sugarp!ss at Easy Lover. She studied at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and at New York University (NYU) Tisch in the TV Writing Certificate Program.

Kendall Payne
Standup Comedian

Go to open mics. It's the only way to get good. There's open mics all over the country. You can find them on Facebook, by Googling, by going to comedy shows, and maybe even asking the comedians there what open mics they go to.
2
Open accounts on several social media platforms. Social media is a great way for you to share short clips and spread the word about your comedy—you could even go viral! If you develop an online following, you'll notice larger audiences for your live shows as well. Social media also allows you to connect with your fans and interact with them directly in a way that might be more limited at a live comedy venue.^{[7]
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- Each platform connects you with a different virtual audience, giving you space to test different ways of telling new jokes. You can also try out different punchlines to see which one hits hardest.
- Clips you make for social media are also great to show to booking managers who might want to see some of your performance before they book you to perform at their venue.
- Social media gives you a way to connect with the business side of standup as well. For example, you can follow different local music venues and comedy clubs. You could also connect with agents and booking managers.
- Even if you get a large online following, keep honing your skills on stage in live performances. Comedians who do well online don't always perform well in person (and vice versa), so strike a balance between the two.
3
Record and listen to or watch your performances. You're not really paying attention to everything while you're performing, so watching or listening to a recording is a great way to learn how to improve. Payne notes that "everyone records their sets on a voice recorder." You can use your phone to record either audio only or audio and video. Watching or even just listening to your performance is a great way to figure out what hits and what needs some work.
- "So if I listened back to my set and a joke got a little bit of a chuckle," Payne explains, "that to me means, 'Okay, let me develop that joke more.' There's something there but it's not fully a laugh-out-loud joke yet."
- On the other hand, "if it's a big laugh," Payne continues, "that's great. You can say, 'Okay, this is a great joke, let me open with this one next time.' Maybe it'll get the crowd on my side so it's easier in the beginning of my set."
- What if your joke gets nothing but silence? "When a joke gets no laugh, sometimes I scrap it, sometimes I try to rework it," Payne hedges. "Sometimes I say, 'You know what, that audience didn't get it, let me try it again.'" But she adds that it's usually a good idea to scrap a joke if it bombs 2 or 3 times in a row.
4
Network with other comedians near you. Going to open mics doesn't mean cowering against the back wall until your name is called, performing your set, and then going home. Getting to know other comics in the scene can help you become more established and gain access to better gigs.^{[8]
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- "Obviously don't go and ask Dave Chapelle," Payne cautions. "But smaller comics in bar shows in your city or town might know of the open mics in the area."
- Ask questions about writing jokes as well. For example, you might ask other comics what they've been reading lately or what their favorite news sources are.
- If you do happen to run across a popular comic at a smaller club, it can be a great opportunity to pick their brain about their writing process and learn some of their favorite tricks.
5
Reach out to larger comedy festivals and venues. When you start getting known around your local scene, that's a good time to reach out to some larger venues and see if you can get a slot. When you first start out, you'll likely still be doing short sets in front of cold crowds. But as your reputation grows, you'll start getting better spots at larger venues and festivals too—just like you did with your local scene.^{[9]
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- Festivals are heavily attended by industry folks, so they're a great way to be seen and get up to the next level—whether that's signing with an agent or setting up a tour.
- If you live in a smaller town, move up to the local scene in the nearest larger city before you jump to this level.
6
Keep doing stand-up even if you fail. "You're going to bomb when you start," Payne cautions. "And bombing, for those who don't know, is just not getting any laughs... you go up there and you say words and people don't laugh at you. That's bombing. It's the name of the game, everyone's bombed." The only thing you can do is dust yourself off and keep trying. It could have been the wrong night or the wrong audience, but you'll never know unless you get back out there and try different people on a different night.
- Payne notes that it's all about "confidence and just trusting yourself and knowing that it's going to be bad, your first ones are just going to be bad and that's okay. You just have to go with it and make the best thing that you can and then the next one is going to be better."
- "Bombing is going to happen regardless," Payne continues. "Just have fun, do your best, but know that you'll probably fail the first few times, [but] you'll get laughs eventually."

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Can I do an open mic if I am 10?

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Yes, as long as the venue is all ages, like a cafe or a family restaurant.

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How can I find someone to mentor me in becoming a comedian?

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Do you necessarily need a live mentor? I would listen to some comedians' autobiographies. Some good ones are Sarah Silverman's Bedwetter, Tina Fey's Bossypants, or Amy Poehler's Yes, Please. Or you can try to find your own favorite comedian's autobiography. You can also try finding some discussion forums or blogs for comedians online and learn from people's experiences that way. If you know of some local comedian, you could try to contact or approach them and ask if they'd be willing to help you.

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I'm good at coming up with jokes on the spot about things happening, but not good at writing material. I don't think that it's good to rely on thinking of stuff on the spot. What should I do?

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Bank the jokes you have in your head, and if you can't remember them, write them down. When something happens that relates, the connection between the two will create a natural joke, and you can expand on a story with your wit.

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Tips

Don't be afraid to mine the joke-writing process itself for more jokes—especially if self-deprecation is part of your style.

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Read your jokes out loud to yourself to make sure they sound good. You often write differently than how you talk, so you don't want anything to sound unnatural.
Remember to pause during your set and give the audience a chance to laugh.

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