By
eHow Arts & Entertainment Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Study the acts of professional stand-up comedians. Record their shows, and watch them over and over. Get a feel for their techniques and how they deliver their material.
Step2
Listen to yourself. Use an audio tape or preferably a video tape to play back your routine. Take notes. Develop your comic timing. Pay attention to body movement and language.
Step3
Perform at open mics. Call local comedy clubs to see when open mic nights are held. Coffee shops, bars and nightclubs may also offer open mics.
Step4
Invite family members and friends to open mic nights. This will help create a larger audience for you. They may be more critical than a regular audience, but this will get you used to performing in front of a large group of people.
Step5
Develop your own onstage persona. This may take years to do. Rodney Dangerfield took 20 years to create his famous "No Respect" routine. Keep at it. Perseverance pays off.
Step6
Follow the news. Many comics, like Lewis Black and John Stewart, have built largely successful careers as satirists who take their material from daily events.
Step7
Consider your autobiography. No, not as a book. Look at every aspect of your life, particularly your relationships with family, friends and significant others. You'll find a lot of material in your daily interactions and some of it won't even need a comic twist to be funny. Keep a journal detailing interesting incidents.
