If you’re looking for comedy tips, read this article. It contains six stand-up comedy tips that will be useful to perform your next act.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #1 — Pre-Show Habit
Create a pre-show habit for yourself. Finding a pre-show habit will give you something to do before your performance that keeps you in the present. This is what you will do before every show to prepare you physically and mentally for your performance. Keeping yourself occupied before the show will help you avoid thoughts of fear.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #2 — Allow Yourself to Have the Emotions
Tell yourself it is okay to feel some anxiety. Accepting your emotions as they are will help you have a better performance because you will not be trying to hide them through your whole show. Allow yourself to have the emotions; just don’t let them stop you from performing. The more you accept your emotions, the more you will be able to connect with the audience’s emotions during your performance.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #3 — Don’t Booze It Up
Many people feel that the solution to getting rid of fear is to have a drink or two before their show. This is not true. While it may work once or twice, each time you will have to drink more to overcome the fear and the booze will become more of a problem than the fear itself.
You will always feel a little fear before you perform. Drinking liquid confidence will only cover it up, not get rid of it. And, the more you ignore it the stronger it will become. Rather than use the booze, take control and learn to manage your fear of the stage.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #4 — Fear Subsides on Stage
Once you get onto the stage and start performing, your fear will go away — most of the time. If you are one of the unlucky ones and it does not go away, the following are some strategies you can use to overcome your fear while you are on stage.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #5 — Sideline Your Inner Critic
Getting on stage is scary already; you don’t need your inner critic critiquing you during your performance. You need to accept that everyone has their flaws, even you. When you enter the stage for the first time, give yourself a moment to take note of your surroundings. Allow yourself the opportunity to see the excitement rather than dwell on all of your shortcomings.
The more you let your critic take over and dwell on your shortcomings, the more fear will take over your show. Remember that fear of taking the stage is about what can happen, not what is happening. When you sideline your inner critic you can focus on what is happening right now and leave the fear out of the equation.
Stand Up Comedy Tips #6 — Focus Your Attention on your Material
Although it may seem quite the opposite, your conscious mind only feels and expresses one thing at a time. It just goes through each one so fast that it seems like they are happening all at once. By keeping your attention focused on your material and the experience within your joke, you can avoid having your fear take over. You will be expressing the feelings of your material, rather than getting lost in the feelings about your performance.
The fear of the stage may never completely go away. By implementing one or all of these strategies you will be able to manage your anxiety and use it to your advantage. When you become completely unafraid of the stage, then you may want to reassess where you are. After all, anxiety comes from taking risks, and the more risks you take as a comedian, the better you will become.
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