Overcome Stage Fright: How Do You Do That As A Stand-up Comedian?

Let me give you some reasons why new comedians (and even experienced ones) continue to grapple with stage fright and give you a perspective on how to conquer this crippling condition yourself.

We always seem to have the most confidence in ANY endeavor when we actually prepare effectively for a positive outcome, know what we are doing and can mentally predict a successful outcome BEFORE we even take on a task.

So here's the question...

Is the process that you are using now to develop your stand-up comedy material and prepare for the stand-up comedy stage (or for the speaking podium) helping or hurting you when it comes to conquering your fear of public speaking or stage fright?

Let me provide you a different perspective when it comes to preparing and delivering a stand-up comedy act that is NOT in alignment with conventional wisdom about "writing" stand-up comedy material:

First of all, you can’t "write" your way to being funny on stage, in spite of the popularity of this myth.

If you do that, you are trying to pluck funny out of thin air — attempting to guess what may be funny to an audience — while essentially abandoning your own unique sense of humor and point of view in the process.

Not to mention the fact that we speak very differently from the way we "write".

Secondly, the vast majority of your "funny" power in front of an audience is not about the words or sentences that are spoken; it's about the way those words and sentences are spoken (also known as delivery).

Yet, most modern day comedy references, classes and workshops focus on the "writing" of comedy -- concentrating on the "writing" of words, while all but ignoring the power of body language, facial expressions, and voice inflection changes that give those words their true comedy power.

I should also mention that most great stand-up comedy material WILL NOT "read" funny from a piece of paper like comedy guru's lead people to believe.

If you don't believe this, transcribe just one minute of your favorite stand-up comedian and read what they had to say.

My point is this...

If you are not really prepared for the stand-up comedy stage, lack of preparation will contribute greatly to the persistence of stage fright.

Effective preparation for the stand-up comedy stage -- preparation that you have confidence in will ALWAYS help combat stage fright.