Gary Delaney’s tips for budding comedians

Gary’s tips for budding comedians…

Talent is abundant, the willingness to work hard is rare

 

Write every day. Gig every night. You’ll progress.

Don’t speak too fast, stick to your time, do a little pause before the funny bit, don’t waffle, fake confidence, hold the mike near your mouth, be polite, and stay in the light. Don’t get drunk or stoned. Put the funny bit at the end of your jokes and minimise the gaps between funny bits. And don’t apologise, ever.

Review your material constantly. Edit, improve, tweak, experiment, keep what works.

Replace your weakest material with better new stuff – it’s an ongoing process.

Tape every gig and listen back to it. Watch as many good comics as you can. Really watch comics who’ve just done better than you to the same audience.

Experiment in good rooms, edit in hard rooms. Always listen to the audience, they ultimately decide what is funny and they will tell you who you are, and what you should be saying.