Watch stand-up comedy. Before you write your own material, watch other comedians to see how they present their material. Listen to how their voice sounds and pay attention to their body language. Do they stand in one place like Dennis Miller or pace around the stage like Chris Rock? Do they have long setups before the joke or short, brief jokes that come one after another? Stand-up comedy comes in all forms, such as the angry rants of George Carlin about society, the deadpan one-liners of Steven Wright and the long, personal stories of Bill Cosby. Some comedians use props or play instruments. Some talk about themselves. Some talk only about other people. Use this as inspiration, but avoid stealing jokes, ideas or a comedian’s persona.
Identify the jokes in your funny ideas. What are the punchlines and the things that might make an audience laugh? Don’t rely on profanity to get laughs. Pinpoint jokes. If it makes you laugh, it might make strangers laugh too.
Write down your funny ideas. Organize your thoughts. Add transitions. See where a joke needs a longer setup or where one joke maybe has too much, making the audience impatient for the joke to arrive.
Develop your persona and style. You don’t have to act as a “character” on stage, but you should have a definite personality, which may very well be your own. This helps shape your performance.
Practice performing your stand-up material. Use a remote control as a pretend microphone. Practice your performance, how you move around and your body language. If you have a full-length mirror, perform in front of that so you can watch how you look when you do your comedy.
Perform your stand-up comedy for friends or family members. Have a friend video record the performance, so you can watch it later. Solicit honest feedback from your friends and family, what was funny and what wasn’t.
Continue to hone your stand-up material. Cut unnecessary words and weak jokes. Add better jokes and mannerisms that help make your material funnier. Once you feel your material is ready, it’s time to perform in public, such as at open mic nights. Continue to improve your material after each performance. The professional comedians you see in big specials on TV worked their material over and over again in comedy clubs and theaters across the country until they got it the best they could.