I wanted to do stand up for years before I finally stepped up on stage. It went fine, but now I’ve been performing for nearly two years and it often goes great. Before I started I would tell myself that I wasn’t ready or was too busy etc. Let’s explore how to get over your procrastination and actually start performing.
Fight The Fear
The biggest thing that stops people from diving into stand-up, or any creative pursuit, is the notion that they want to do well. The only way to prove to yourself that you’re not perfect at something is to actually do it. If you want to do stand-up, expect and embrace failure. If you leave success for later, you’ll give yourself time to develop the skills you need to actually do well.
Go To A Few Open-Mic Nights
If you’ve only ever seen stand-up online or on TV, then you’ll have higher expectations about the level of performance at a local open-mic comedy room. Go along to a few gigs and you’re bound to see people fail, which will calm your nerves significantly.
Write Something You Find Funny
When coming up with material, start off with something you find funny, not what you expect “people” to find funny. It could be a story or a situation or even just a simple joke. If it’s something longer, try and break it down by cutting out the stuff you don’t need. Put in a few strong punch lines they will help you remember what you’re saying and stop you from rambling. In the beginning, it doesn’t matter how great the material is, you’re writing will undoubtedly become stronger and clearer the more you write and the longer you perform for.