We talk and express ourselves in three dimensions – sight, sound and words. So, how is one dimensional joke writing supposed to work for a comedian to get laughs in a three dimensional performing art? The short answer is that it doesn’t.

My experience tells me that it is rarely an issue with talent that causes new comedians to struggle. The real issue that tends to lead to failure in stand-up comedy revolves around what a person believes to be true when the reality is not anywhere close.

What assumptions are you making right now about stand-up comedy that are completely FALSE? In this article I describe two inaccurate assumptions that I personally made when I started out that were key to my awful performances as a new comedian.