Perhaps the hardest part of stand-up for many people is actually getting on stage. Seinfeld’s joke about fear of public speaking versus death is legendary. But doing jokes onstage – and doing them with confidence – is also the most important part. Part of the problem is that every public speaking opportunity can seem different.
You would think that everyone who does stand-up is an extrovert who is just a natural in front of people. However, some people do stand-up to overcome their fears. Others discover that though they are great in groups, standing among the crowd, you put them on a stage, hand them a mic and shine a spotlight in their eyes and they crack.
When I started stand-up in 2011, I had already been a college and semi-pro mascot, trying to make people laugh through spontaneous pantomime, and prepared dance and skits. I’d also taught public speaking and other college classes for 13 years. Strangely, a larger obstacle I had previously run into was trying to sing karaoke.
For me, there was something distinctly different in wearing a costume and doing shtick, giving people information, and performing – and the last one was harder. And even though I had that experience, it was harder still to perform things I’d written myself, with the specific goal of getting people to laugh. When I tell a joke in the classroom, any laugh is a bonus. On the other hand, when I sing someone else’s song, it’s already pretty popular, but my performance is on the line. And when I wrote it, now it’s me, on the stage, performing as best I can. That’s scary!
I can’t count the number of times I’d write a new joke, practice it, work out the performance of it, picture it doing well, and the moment before I went onstage, lost confidence in it, and at that point the bit is doomed. So how does one get or project or be confident?
My five step plan is to:
- Understand the audience wants you to do well.
- Know your fear.
- Be excited!
- Focus on the material.
- Revise your expectations.
1. Understand the audience wants you to do well.
These people love humor. They came here to laugh – except for the salty, seasoned comics who just want to do their set and leave. They want to hear good new stuff, and maybe the good old stuff too. When you do poorly, it’s painful for everybody.
2. Know your fear.
The key is to identify, analyze and then modify your mindset.
Identify: So the trick is to ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” I already laid it out: This time, it’s personal. But other comics are only satisfied with perfection.
Analyze: So then I ask, “What can I do about that?” Well, I can approach it rationally. One on one or in groups a lot of people think I’m funny, is that any less personal? All it is, is a bigger group (and not even that, usually, at open mics)! In the case of perfectionists, we can’t expect it to be “there” on the first, or even the tenth try.
Modify your mindset: This is the trick. I’m getting better and better at convincing myself that there really isn’t a difference between situations where I’m comfortable, and situations where I’m not. Perfectionists have to be willing to regard it as a work in progress.
3. Be excited!
In public speaking we talk about adrenaline and the fight-or-flight response as the root of this anxiety. Our lizard brain is calling for a physical response to an imaginary issue. What we need is an imaginary response. The mental trick that you can use here is to convince yourself that what you’re feeling is not “Nervous” but “Excited!” Your body doesn’t know the difference, it’s your mind that’s tripping you up.
And you SHOULD be excited! You’ve got stage time, and an audience that wants you to do well! This is your chance to shine!
Open mics tend to be small, which makes it more intimate, and after a bit of time, you come to know the people that share the stage, and they come to know you. So this might lower the stakes – you’ve seen these people do well, and you’ve seen them do not so well; you’re just one of the group.
Also, if you’re not excited, you’re not exciting! You have to perform the jokes, and if you’re not giving that 100%, then you’re not selling it, and if you’re not selling, they won’t buy. Which leads to the next part.
4. Focus on the material.
Oftentimes, you can solve a lot of problems by just focusing on the performance. Get into the minutiae: gestures, intonation, facial expressions.
At the next level, try to listen for the laughs to determine your timing. You don’t want to talk over or “step on” their laughs, nor do you want to pause when there is no laugh – move it along. It’s a dance – some have said it’s surfing – either way, focus on what you’re doing.
5. Revise your expectations.
It’s not going to go perfectly every time. I’ve already mentioned the 20% success rate of jokes. At the beginning, and even for a while, you may find you’re lucky if you can get up and do it at all. Even some seasoned comics admit that they have a tendency to work tried and true material, rather than to try out new stuff.
That’s fine. Do the new stuff anyway! Even if you’re just saying the joke. Even if you’re just rambling on a premise. [Though if you want me to guarantee a melt down, have me try this one. See: A Note on Spontaneity.] One hurdle down, on to the next one. The goal should not be perfection out of the gate, but improvement over time, until it’s as funny as you can make it or until you decide to shelve it.
Ask yourself, “How did I do?” Be honest, but not hypercritical. Then ask, “What’s the next reasonable step?” Aim for that. Then take the next one. Keep at it, and you’ll get there.
Questions? Thoughts? Additions? Comments?
Do you have a stage fright story? Have you gotten over it? How?
References:
Literally ever public speaking textbook I’ve read or heard about.
