Comedians Can Make Every Performance Better with this One Trick

Give the host something to say about you.

That's all you have to do.

You don't have to do anything extra, you don't have to try and be likable, you don't even have to smile.

You already know you're funny or you wouldn't be getting on stage.

But if you are a comedian one to two years into your comedy career, you need to put some thought into what intro you give your host.

I know what you're thinking.

"Alex," you say defeatedly, "I'm a new comedian, I've never been on a festival, or had a sitcom guest role, or done standup on Late Night... I don't have any credits! What else would I tell the audience?"

And yeah, for an inexperienced comedian it can feel daunting to go on stage after a bunch of comics are getting intro'd with phrases like "The Late Show" or "Hit comedy special" or "Has been seen on..."

And I'm here to tell you that most comedians will say credits don't matter.

Lets get my experience out of the way, I've been active in the New York City comedy scene since roughly 2006. I've hosted and performed on countless comedy shows up and down the city. I've run professional shows at West Side Comedy Club, Don't Tell Mama, and SoHo Playhouse. I may not be a internationally recognized comedian, but I've seen enough big and small comedy shows to speak on this.

Hosting a comedy show is a balancing act of keeping the show moving and but also keeping the energy going. Some comics might do really well and the host needs to funnel the audience energy into the next act and keep them focused. A comic might bomb and ruin the vibes and the host will have to tell a few jokes to get the energy back up before the next comedian gets up.

But no matter the skill level or experience level of the comedian, most comedians agree that credits don't matter when it comes to how a comedian is introduced to an audience.

But introductions absolutely DO matter.

So for the love of the comedy gods. Stop telling the host "I don't know, say whatever."

It's Unprofessional

First off, its a unprofessional to your host. You're getting up on stage to do standup because you believe in yourself and believe you're funny enough to win over any audience. So why do you wimp out when its time to tell the audience a little about yourself? The host's job is to keep the show moving and respond to the energy in the room, why are you making them do more work? It's rude. Help your host out, c'mon. You're trying to be a professional comedian right? Act like it.

Other than your material and when you say hello to the audience, your host's introduction is your only chance to tell the audience anything about you.

Which leads me to my next point.

You’re Wasting a Bunch of Opportunities

Even if you are Google-able, the chances anyone in the audience Googles you before coming to the show are very unlikely. Your intro is your first opportunity to tell your audience something about you. You could tell them where you're from, I'll bet you have a bunch of jokes about your hometown right?

Maybe you've got a great joke that needs a setup or a subject to be in in the air before you hit your punchline? You can have your host bring it up while introducing you.

The point is that in comedy, you as the performer are rarely in control of much of anything. You don't get to decide what your best jokes are, your audience does. Until you get to the level where you have an agent and/or a manager you're not in charge of where you get to perform and how much you get paid.

But you have a chance to exercise a modest amount of control right before you get on stage and you're blowing it.

Just... Please Have a Plan

Whatever you're going to do onstage as a comedian, please make sure it's something you thought of. Please have an idea of who you are and what you're going to talk about and how you're going to get from subject to subject.

Honestly, that's what separates the amateur from the professional in this business. Being able to give your audience the impression that you do, in fact, know what you're doing.

The comedians who have a plan are the ones no host has to worry about. Comedians who have a plan hold their own on stage even if they have to follow a 30-year standup pro the audience just went nuts over and now they have to follow that. Comedians who have a plan are the comedians that enhance and add to the show and not detract and make the host or other comedians pick up the slack.

Comedians who have a plan are the ones who use every tool available to them, including their introduction.

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