You think you’re funny, do you? You think you’re so funny, you think you should have your own show. Before that happens, take your act to the stage first. Here are a few tips on becoming a stand up comedian. First of all, it takes a LOT of guts to go up on stage with the goal of making every person in the room laugh. You’re not going for a snicker or a giggle. You’re going for a ROTFL and that’s way far from easy.

Observe. Learn how the experts do it. There’s a lot of DVDs of stand up acts by the greatest comedians. Learn how they approach a joke, deliver a punchline and work a crowd.

Write the funniest material you can think of. Funny has changed and what makes people laugh now is different from what made people laugh back then. Your natural humor is your wellspring of what’s funny, so nurture it and be witty. There are a lot of smart people in the audience who won’t budge on slapstick humor.

Practice your material. Once you have finished writing your script, you should practice your delivery. Remember that in comedy, timing is everything. So make sure your punch lines are not wasted due to bad intonation, low voice volume, and bad timing. You also need to master your ad-lib. This will save you from an impending embarrassment when you forget your lines. If you know how to ad-lib, you’ll be more confident, knowing that you can always think up of something if you forget your script.

Be prepared. Aspiring to be a comedian is not a joke. If you want to pursue it as a career, you have to be ready because there is a long way to go. It’s hard to earn gigs and the pay is not as rewarding as the effort. So make sure you stay funny. Know what makes people laugh, and you’ll make it big in no time.