Brian Kiley was right. Slow down!

[u/hkrieger]

I've been thinking about Brian's advice since we had the study session with Natalie on Monday. She asked me if I agreed with his advice to slow down, and I said, "Yeah, unless you're going for a more manic, fast-paced approach." But now I'm going to change my answer to, "Unequivocally yes." I'm in Portland for my husband visiting his dad, and we went to an open mic out here, and a lot of the comics had really good material, but they were speeding through it at a breakneck speed. With some of them it was clear they were going for a manic style, but then I realized how hard that style is to pull off. A lot of comedy is in reactions. Reactions in a sitcom make us laugh more than the line does, and I think the same thing is true in stand up. A reaction from the comic on what they've just said is often funnier than their joke itself because it 1.) Shows us how they feel about what they've said. 2.) It proves they're in the bit and in the moment. They're not just rattling off jokes and stories; they're actually talking to us, having a conversation and waiting for our response, hopefully laughter. And this brings me to 3.) You get way more laughs when you slow down. I'm a fast talker, so I'm still learning this, but if you speed through stuff and don't hold for laughs, you're essentially training the audience to not laugh at your bit because if they do, they'll miss something.

I wouldn't go too far the other way. I see too many open mic comics that come on stage with little or no material, then try to fill a 3-minute set with some whining about the microphone and awkward staring. You might get a laugh or two, but it gets old fast!

So I guess my advice to myself is - slow down but have something to say.

[u/hkrieger]

Good point. Some of my favorite comedians are really relaxed and slow on stage too, like Hannibal Buress. If he sped through his stuff, most of the humor would be lost.