Structure

Start with your second best joke, finish with your best

One of the most common advice in structuring a Stand-Up routine is to start with your second best joke and finish with your best joke. Or simply put: Start strong, end stronger and do the rest in the middle.

A laugh right at the top will get the audience to relax and make them trust in your funniness. A strong end will give them a reason to clap and to remember you by.

There is some danger to this approach though: If your first joke bombs it can rattle your confidence. Because the only better joke than the one that just stank up the place should be at the end of your set.

So another way to start of your set is to just get up and get comfortable in any way you can. Start with something you know will work. Or ask the audience some questions or simply launch slowly in to your set and building the laughs as you progress.

Shitsandwich

If you already have a Stand-Up routine a good way to try out new jokes is the Shitsandwich.

Which is just a term for surrounding your new joke with two jokes that work. So if your new jokes turns out to be shit you feel safe in the knowledge that your next joke will get them laughing again.

Learn structure by analyzing it

A good way to learn how to structure your material and learn how to segue from one bit to the next is to go on YouTube and watch a five minute routine of one of your favorite comedians. Now watch it again but this time transcribe the routine word by word and format it like you format your own writing. Also mark every time the audience laughs by making the word or the phrase that comes before the laugh bold.

Writing down a comedy routine has two big advantages: You will see how a comedy piece looks like in its bare bone form, without the bells and whistles of the presentation, the charm of the comedian or the laughter of the audience.

It will make your own writing feel less “naked”.

Another advantage is by making the funny parts bold you can immediately see how much space on a Word page it takes a professional comedian to get from one laugh to the next.