How To: Tell A Story Like A Stand-up

Never Tell A Boring Story Again

July 16, 2011

Flip

Page 1 of 2

Comedians can get on stage and tell a story about something that happened to them that day and turn the entire room to hysterics. And truly great stand-ups make it look easy, which is why so many open mic nights have cocky newcomers who think they can be on Comedy Central with two dick jokes and a story about their grandma falling down. Most of these wannabes end up muttering something along these lines: “Wait, how did Dave Chappelle kill with a story about the grocery store and I just bombed with a way funnier story?”

Telling a story like a stand-up takes practice and there are key points to remember. Believe it or not, most stand-up comics are not wildly adventurous individuals who have hilarious things happen to them every day. What they’ve learned, however, is that it’s not the story, but rather how it’s told.

If you’d like to be the funny guy with a cackling crowd surrounding you at the next party, you’d better learn how to tell a story like a stand-up. Lucky for you we have seven easy tips to help you do just that.

Be brief

In Comedy 101, they teach you to be brief and get to the first laugh as quickly as possible. In fact, that’s the first rule for you to remember if you want to tell a story like a stand-up. Don’t worry about setting the scene or what happened the night before — unless it’s hilarious. Opening with a strong punch will draw your listeners in and they’ll be more likely to stay invested if the story hits any flat points. Serious storytellers should write the story out and mark the points that are funny. If there are a few lines in between funny parts, tighten it up. Take out extraneous words and only use adjectives when they’re necessary. The adjectives you do use should be creative; don’t use “big” when “hulking” or “astronomical” are so much more interesting.

Give details

When you tell a story like a stand-up, choose only the best detail about each person and item in the story. Since this isn’t a romance novel, forget the details of her flowing hair and her sea-blue eyes. If she has a big nose, she becomes the girl with a ginormous nose in the story. Only list the elegant details if the story is about someone pushing her into the pool. After picking the detail, make an exaggerated comparison, such as: “Her nose looked like the blue-ribbon zucchini at the Montgomery County Fair.” Be specific in your details and comparisons. Saying that “the fat guy crammed himself into his Volkswagen Beetle” is funnier than saying: “The big guy got into his car.” Also, don’t forget to use all five senses. Many storytellers forget smell, but think about the effect of a well-described smell when it hits and triggers the brain: “The fat goth girl’s bedroom had all the sadness of a pork slaughterhouse, and smelled about the same.”

You’ll be pretty popular at social gatherings if you can learn how to tell a story like a stand-up…