By Creig Ewing
You have your jokes. You have some experience. Here are 5 things newer comics often do that you should work to eliminate.
Asking how everyone is doing
If you’re on a showcase or open mic, you may be one of a dozen or more comics performing. Ten of you are going to ask the audience how they’re doing at the start of your set. Don’t be one of them. It just gets awkward.
If you can get your first laugh in 30 seconds, you can get the audience on your side. If you waste their time, they’ll tune out.
Get right into your material and get a laugh.
Giving it up
In addition to asking how everyone is doing, comics love to ask the audience to give it up for all the comics on the show or the venue or the valet parking attendant.
Let the host worry about that. Get into your material.
This is true
Some comics like to tell a bit and say, “that’s really true.” Or “that’s not true.” Stop. If you are using material about you or your family, the audience is supposed to believe it’s true
Or it’s so outlandish we know it’s not true. Don’t make the audience be fact checkers.
Asking the audience questions
Comics love to get into jokes by asking the audience questions like, “Who here is familiar with the New International Version of the Bible?”
If no one responds, will that keep you from telling the Bible joke? I hope so. If not, don’t ask and get into your joke.
We had one open mic with a pretty big but very unresponsive audience. They just kept quiet, but comic after comic asked things like, “Who here is married?” “Who has kids?” “Who smells like weed?”
The audience never responded, even though everyone in the audience was married, had kids, smelled like weed or at least understood those concepts.
If you have a joke that requires verifying with the audience whether or not they are familiar with the subject matter, good luck with that. If not, just tell your joke.
Asking the audience to repeat what they said
You are doing your material and hear someone in the audience say something. Do not ask the audience member to repeat what they said unless you plan to give them a hard time for talking.
What if what they said was, “This guy sucks.” You want them to repeat it louder? This is no time to be curious.
You are on stage and in charge. Don’t encourage audience members to talk.
Good luck, and give it up for your host.
