Comments on: It’s Not Just One Thing That Makes Stand-up Comedy Material Work (And Work Well)

By: David

David — Sun, 07 Jul 2013 14:48:32 +0000

You’ve provided a great list of obvious but often and easily overlooked factors that affect audience response, Steve. I admit that I find it much easier to perform to a larger audience than a smaller one, and I really hadn’t thought a whole lot about the relationship between audience dynamics and seating that you mention in point 3 above. Keeping smaller groups closely seated really does give a better ‘feel’ to the audience than having individuals scattered around the room.

I tend to view the audience as a unit — I may have mentioned elsewhere on this site about the “personality” of an audience — and find that if the group is scattered, it is much more difficult to build that crucial intimate connection.

By: Ben

Ben — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 13:44:33 +0000

It almost seems as if the actual “writing” part of comedy is one of the least important things. Stage presence really does play a critical role, if the audience likes the look of you they would be more susceptible to laugh. It really is quite fascinating when you consider how many factors come into play when trying to make people laugh. Truly fascinating.

By: Trent Williams

Trent Williams — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 22:37:39 +0000

Yes. I always love when someone mentions using funny words to make speeches more humorous. Sure, some words are a little funnier than other words, but they don’t have any magical, knock-em-dead power. I sometimes get a laugh on something that isn’t worded very well. The humor of the idea is still there, even though I haven’t used any funny words (or even a short punchline). Now, if I’m smart I’ll come back and try to say the same thing a different way a few times to get the wording more concise. However, I’ve tried trusting in a funny word for one part of a humorous act. All it got was 1 and 1/2 smiles. You are right, in the end, it’s not the words, it’s how you say them (or how you replace them with motions or sound effects).