The most important quality, aside from talent, if you want to be a comedian, is perseverance. Many comedians who appear to be overnight sensations spent years honing their stand-up routines in any comedy club that would let them perform. Even when they were booed their early audiences, the best comedians never gave up.
Comedians learn just as much from their mistakes as they do from their triumphs. They learn how to make the audience laugh and when to tell a joke. Most importantly, they find material that appeals to them and incorporate their own unique perspectives, attitudes, and experiences into it. If you want to be a crowd-pleasing comedian, learn how to give them a sense of who you are making light of yourself and your past.
Begin performing at amateur open mic nights. Make a list of your accomplishments and learn from your mistakes. If you want to be a comedian, it’s a good idea to keep a notebook where you can scribble down ideas and other random thoughts. You never know when a simple thought will turn into an entire comedy stand-up routine. Your comedic material can be interesting, fresh, and funny if you look at the world differently than others.
Practice delivering your material in a variety of ways, such as quickly versus slowly. Keep an eye on comedians you admire and take notes on what they do. However, don’t copy their methods; you’ll need to develop your own method of communicating with the audience. Make jokes about how nervous you are if you don’t feel at ease in front of the audience. Use these jokes to transition from one topic to the next.
While there is no formal education or training required to become a comedian, stand-up comedians do have an apprenticeship program. Newer, up-and-coming comedians are frequently allowed to open for more established comedians. This was the case for comedian Jim Carrey, who opened for the much older and more experienced stand-up comedian Rodney Dangerfield at the start of his career.
If you want to be a comedian, you’ll need to keep performing in order for comedy club owners to accept you for paid gigs. Performing well in contests and amateur nights can lead to paid gigs, but you’ll have to keep trying if you want to be booked into popular comedy clubs. If you keep doing the stand-up comedy you enjoy, even if it’s only on weekends at first, you may eventually be noticed people who can help you advance your career.