Have you ever seriously asked yourself: Is your volume enough? Can you wake up every morning and instead of immediately checking your phone, write five jokes first? Can you consistently polish those five jokes every night before bed, making them sharper and more precise?
It sounds simple, but it’s really not easy to do.
1. Start with the Most Basic Practice: Writing a Script
For many newcomers to stand-up comedy, the most common problem is that their speech is full of filler words like “then,” “you know,” “um,” “this or that,” making them stutter and hesitate. How do you fix this? The most effective way is to write a verbatim script.
Why is writing a script so important? First, it helps you organize your thoughts and avoid rambling on stage. Second, when you write down every sentence and memorize it, you reduce panic in the moment. Writing in front of a paper or screen feels less stressful than speaking off the cuff.
More importantly, writing a script isn’t about reading it robotically. It’s about rehearsing your performance. Writing a script is simulating being on stage in your mind, running through the whole process. Remember: the script is for interpretation, not for rote memorization.
2. Avoid Puns and Internet Slang — Reject Amateur Shortcuts
As a professional comedian, you must understand this is a job — professional creation. Don’t write those easy-to-copy puns or fill your jokes with internet slang. These are too common; amateurs use them too. This immediately limits you to the mediocre level.
The basic pursuit of every creator is: “Aim high to get the middle.” In other words, look up to the best, strive to do better, don’t settle for average. Puns and internet slang mean you lose before you even start — you blend in, so how can you surprise or impress?
Also, never plagiarize! It’s not just a moral issue, but a creativity killer. A promising creator who only imitates rather than innovates will gradually lose their creative soul and move further away from professionalism.
3. Polish Repeatedly — Cut Until You Can’t Cut Anymore
Review your script with a basic rule: Cut words until you can’t cut anymore. For example:
“Please carefully check your script and follow a basic rule: cut words until you can’t cut anymore.”
Cut down to:
“Check script, rule: cut until no more cuts.”
On stage, you also have body language, facial expressions, and pauses to assist, so you can cut even more words.
The more concise your expression, the faster the audience grasps your meaning and resonates. Learn to replace words with performance — if you can convey with expressions, don’t say it; if you can embody the character, don’t narrate.
4. Find Someone Better Than You to Help Edit
No professional actor, writer, or performer finishes a script and calls it done. Finding someone better to help edit your script is the fastest way to improve.
If possible, keep track changes in your document, so you see why they deleted or added something. This shows their thought process — understanding others’ thinking is the fastest growth method.
Many worry: will editing make me lose my uniqueness? No. You can never fully become someone else; your uniqueness won’t be stolen. Instead, it will be polished brighter and more precise.
5. The Only Shortcut to Improve Writing: Write Every Day
I once watched a classic video of Liu Guoliang training Zhang Jike in table tennis. Liu Guoliang rapidly served balls, Zhang Jike kept returning them. After training, Liu Guoliang, sweating, calmly said, “This volume is enough.”
Both are top geniuses in their fields. Liu’s expression showed pride in effort and focus — pride born from mastering the method of facing the world and oneself.
When can we proudly say: “My volume is enough”? When we can get up every day to write five jokes and polish them at night?
Honestly, I know you probably can’t do it now — neither can I. But we must realize this is the right way, the necessary path to professionalism.
6. The Starting Point of Creation: Insight or Negative Emotion?
Many get stuck thinking: I have no inspiration or insight; what do I do? I have no emotion; I can’t write.
This is normal. When Liang Zuo wrote “Idle Ma Dajie,” he flipped open an idiom dictionary before writing every day, randomly picked an idiom, read its meaning, and wrote around it. Sometimes this sparked ideas or helped clarify thoughts.
Beginners especially benefit from this practice: take themes from “Comedy Shows,” write one by one. During writing, latent insights and negative emotions in life naturally get activated.
Creation doesn’t rely on sudden inspiration or lightning strikes but on self-discipline and self-reflection — what we call external pressure. Set deadlines, force yourself to act.
Once you start, bad writing doesn’t matter. Bad drafts are the necessary path to good drafts.
As long as you start writing, people will join the discussion, correct, and help improve. Through constant interaction, you will gradually form your own style.
7. Storytelling Is Also Conveying Values
Stand-up comedy is not just about jokes; it’s about expressing your worldview and values.
Dave Chappelle said when receiving the Mark Twain Award that every opinion in America is represented by someone in a bar, and comedians embody and express those views.
When you talk about your life, observations, and opinions on stage, you are conveying your values.
When writing comedy, often ask yourself “why,” and the answers are often hidden behind your jokes.
8. Futile Preparation vs. Meaningful Preparation
If you prepare just to “kill it” or be “perfect,” preparation is always futile. Many things on stage are uncontrollable.
But if you prepare to become a stronger comedian, every preparation matters.
Practice in front of a mirror, record yourself, rehearse mentally — all are necessary.
While writing, imagine yourself on stage, anticipate audience reactions. What if you get a cold audience? Then follow your script and exit confidently.
“Failing by following the script” is a meaningful failure, a valuable lesson.
But if you lose control on stage, ramble, or over-interact, that failure yields no growth.
Your game is long-term growth, not one-time victory.
After each failure, don’t blame or curse the audience; seriously analyze the cause and adjust.
Turn “futile” preparation into “meaningful” growth.
9. The Ultimate Goal of Performance: Make People Believe You
Sincerity is the first element of stand-up comedy.
Comedians “perform themselves,” sharing their real values with the audience through performance.
Experienced performers know you can’t hide who you really are on stage.
You share your joy, pain, anger, pride — all real emotions, with your values naturally showing through.
The fundamental rule of performance is to make the audience believe you, gradually understand you, and eventually love you.