How to Write a Joke like Chris Rock
That's right. In this post, I'm going to show you how to write a joke like Chris Rock... Well, I'm going to show you one specific way that Chris Rock writes
Tag
How to be a comedian
Don’t Listen to the Schmucks!
There's a condition out there that some people have called the "I-know-everything" condition and it's terminal.
If there's one thing in your journey to success that will stop you cold in your tracks, it's being the guy who thinks they know everything.
That's what today's video is about.
I call it "Don't Listen to the Schmucks!" :-)
Why Wait? Plan your Own Success!
I believe that if you think an idea is funny, but it's not getting laughs, then most likely it's funny, but it's just missing an element that is needed to trigger the laugh.
In my classes, part of what we study is WHY people laugh. What triggers that?
When you understand that at its most intrinsic level you can begin to make changes to a joke to take it from a semi-chuckle (because it's a funny idea) to a triggered laugh because it a funny joke.
Here's an example:
I’m Funny around my Friends, but…
It's amazing to watch someone who's developing their skill at writing. They could crack a great joke right in front of you. And the moment you ask them to write it down, they fall back on their learning of writing in school, trying to use correct punctuation, grammar, etc., and they over write the joke.
That can kill the joke.
This is what you can do to fix it...
Performing the Same Jokes Doesn’t Make it Boring
When you're starting out, I cannot emphasize the importance of building that core act. You should do it constantly, revise, refine and polish. Add act-outs, tags and toppers. Until it crushes. Worrying about your friends hearing the same jokes is counter-productive to you really developing and polishing your act. Not to mention that it can have a cascading negative impact on your development.
Top 3 Ridiculous Myths About Hecklers
At one point during my show, there was this biker who kept spouting off about his "Ole Lady."
At random points in my act he would respond by always referring to "My Ole lady!"
Then some of the other bikers didn't want to hear it, so one guy shouted to me, "Git 'em!" (Meaning he wanted the comedian to deal with the heckler).
I didn't know what to say at first. Then I finally said...
The Best Way to Write a Comedy Act if You’re an Absolute Newbie
There are three primary techniques I use when creating a comedy routine. The first way is to always write down things that are funny. Usually when I'm with a group of friends and something occurs that makes me and them laugh, I will write it down to possibly use later.
The other technique is to sit down and write jokes. I prefer this technique because I don't have to wait for the coincidence of the moment with friends or a funny situation to just happen to 'occur' to me. I can just sit down and generate material.
I do this by utilizing about 23 different approaches, but for the sake of this blog post, I will just write about two approaches. Here they are...
What Louis C.K. Sarah Silverman and Others Did BEFORE They Were Famous
Save This Article! Share it with Others! Take a look at Emily Zemler's article in Esquire on Louis C.K., Sarah Silverman, Amy Schumer and others on how
Stop Thinking Like an Employee
One of my comedian friends was recently brutally upset by the fact that he had to pay an admission fee to a comedy competition to be considered for it. He