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To become a stand-up comedian you'll need to be a performer as well as a good writer of jokes and funny observations. You'll need to be a great listener and a keen observer of the absurdities of life. If you regularly see humorous potential in seemingly ordinary situations and are good at relating these stories to your family and friends to great comic effect then you may have what it takes to start a career as a stand-up comedian.

You should begin by watching a lot of comedy, particularly live shows. If you can talk to as many working stand-up comedians as you can as well as venue owners, talent booking people and anyone else that could help you get a career off the ground. Ask for advice, observe what they do and network, network, network. Many unexpected opportunities can come from simply knowing the right people (or them knowing you).

Currently comedy is popular in short format online video with many amateur comedians testing their talents on sites like YouTube (www.youtube.com) or dedicated comedy sites like Funny or Die (www.funnyordie.com). Posting videos of you performing your stand-up comedy is a great way to practice your craft and will help you gauge whether a wider audience (beyond family and friends) find you funny.

The video clips you record will also be useful in compiling a show reel that you could copy to DVD and use to show what you do once you're at the stage of booking your own appearances. It will give you something that you can send to venues out of town or even to TV shows (if television comedy is of interest to you).

Potentially you could earn a nice living, through advertising revenue and partner programs, from posting your comedy routines to video sites. Scottish comedian, Mark Day, based in San Francisco, has become hugely popular on YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/markdayc omedy)with his short, punchy stand-up routines filmed exclusively in front of an almost equally famous Yellow wall in his home. Although he occasionally performs live stand-up the bulk of his popularity has come from his online clips.

Whilst posting video is a great way to practice and test material you're not really a stand-up comedian until you've learnt to perform in front of an audience. Once you've honed your performing skills at family functions, friends parties and anywhere else you can get convenient access to an audience you'll want to move up to the next level - a room full of strangers!

Most major cities have a comedy club that features an 'open mic' night. On

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