Why Going For The Joke, Even at a Comedy Show, Can Be a Bad Idea

What I learned doing Comedy with Strangers at Comedy House New Orleans

For almost 10 years now I’ve been doing comedy with strangers. More recently I’ve given it the proper branding (“Comedy with Strangers”) and format.

I start on stage, by myself, and try to get 1–2 people to join me. This is by far the scariest part of the show from my perspective. Once I get people to opt in, I trust myself, and I trust the moment. The audience wants to see us succeed and 98% of the time we do. But the first ask is, I admit, wild.

Once I get my volunteers, I explain how improv works. Not backstage, not with whispers. Out loud, in front of the audience. Like a magician explaining exactly how they’ll do their trick, but you’re still enthralled (fingers crossed) by the trick.

In this show (full video below), my Stranger basically ignored what I always call the most important rule: don’t try to be funny, just be natural.

While I’m able to manage in these situations, I feel bad for my Stranger because the audience sees exactly why I give that rule: trying too hard to be funny usually has side effects that harm the foundation of good communication:

• You weren’t listening as closely…