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How to become a comedian as a profession:

Public speaking is high on the list of fears for many people, so it would seem to follow that working as a stand-up comic would also be high up on the list of fears. Strangely enough, thousands of people every year decide to try their hands at becoming stand-up comedians.

If you want to become a professional comedian, the first thing you absolutely need to do is to develop a repertoire of jokes that are actually funny. You can start by trying them out on family and friends to get an idea if you're on the right track. Ask your friends to be honest with their feedback and don't become offended when they don't laugh at every joke or you may end up losing alot of your friends.

BASICS OF JOKE-WRITING:

Most jokes can be classified under different headings and doing this may help you out in the very beginning when you are trying to establish a style all of your own. For example some jokes rely on exaggeration, some rely on sarcasm, some use shock/surprise endings and still others are based solely on physical comedy. Some comedians (like Mike Bullard) rely on creative ways of insulting the audience for most of their laughs. You can also use humour formulas for coming up with your jokes. One formula involves starting out with a very ordinary description of something like a hamburger, for example. Then the joke writer puts a twist on their description by describing the hamburger as a "piece of meat to go along with your condiments"(for ketchup and relish lovers), or "what's left of my grandfather's best friend, old Bessie the milk cow."(for residents of rural communities) Comedians who use jokes that are partly based on their own personal life experiences are more believable and therefore tend to get the biggest laughs.

EXPERIENCE:

The next thing you will want to do is get some actual experience telling your jokes in front of an audience. Call up your local comedy clubs and find out when the next amateur night is. Many clubs have an amateur night once a week. Others have an amateur night contest where the audience rates the performances and decides on a winner or a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. Try to enter these events as relaxed as possible. A relaxed attitude will help you to focus on the feedback the audience is giving you after each joke. In this way you will be able to use amateur nights to improve on your routine so that you get even more laughs the next time you hit the stage.

MARKETING:

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