A good speech maker or comic knows a dozen ways to work an audience but it's the ability to tell a good yarn that defines them. Witty one-liners and misdirections can seem like gold at first but the trouble is that anyone can do them. They're good for padding a routine or warming up the crowd but they won't define you as a comedian.
All successful comedians work with stories. There are really very few routines that do without them, and only people like Steven Wright (master of the one liner, can get away without needing them. There are many stories you can tell. It can be something that happened, something that almost did, or even something you just made up. It doesn’t matter to the audience. They just want a laugh.
You'll want a story people can relate to. They should be about things that everyone understands, things that bring us all together. A story could be about cars. . Just about everyone owns one and we’re all too familiar with the manifold ways they drive us mad. A story about cars can establish a connection with the audience. They will get what you’re on about and they will want to see where you’re going with it.
Once you've decided on your topic, what makes it funny? Why is your story going to make people laugh? . You never know for sure what will push the right buttons. Even the greats have had off nights. The story might be relatable but dull so add conflict to spice it up. Again, this should be something relatable but if you already have established rapport that might not be necessary. You could talk about a driving exam you took. Now where do you find thr humour in that? Did you have an interesting instructor who had motion sickness, hallitosis and a gammy leg?? Perhaps you almost bought a dodgy car but a car check showed you it had been used for unsavoury purposes. A story could be about something we've all experienced like a traffic jam where you saw a man with a goat in a Mini. And the goat was steering. Maybe your neighbour in the adjacent lane had not noticed you could see him picking his nose.
Comedy is an art rather than a science and there are ultimately no hard-and-fast rules. Nevertheless a story is key to almost any great comic’s routine. You'll be more fun to talk to even if you don't wind up the world's next great comedian.
