How to Kill in Comedy: Find Your Comedic Character, 20 best joke formulas, Slay the Audience

Conceptual genius with practical teeth to make comedy real.It’s not only my favorite comedy coaching book I’ve ever read, it’s my first.

I’ve been doing comedy since 1993, I’ve had lots of success . Headlined thousands of comedy shows , tv appearances etc….. too much to list. However , I have never experienced someone as gifted as Steve North. He’s a comedic genius who can analyze you or your act and quickly define your “comedic character” . I couldn’t do it because I’m too “ in the box” . Steve figured out who i am , which allows me to write lots of material easily because it’s about me. I read this book daily . It’s POWERFUL information worth reading and re- reading. I’m constantly getting texts from comedy club owners and managers telling me how great my shows were. Thanks Coach North

It has everything you never knew you needed. How to do great setups, punchlines, how to build a character and there are work sheets to help write in many different techniques. You need this.

Part 1 of the book has an interesting take on stand-up that could help those starting out but that I don’t think always holds true. Part 2 shares “formulas” for comedy that are just examples of specific types of jokes. They are helpful if you’re brand new but too formulaic for long-term writing. Part 3 was what really made the book for me, sharing more advanced examples and strategies for performing and everything that goes along with it.

The information in this book is legit. It will definitely make your act funny if you are just starting out or funnier if you have been doing comedy for awhile and want to make your current act funnier. I'm just starting back up after not doing standup for 16 years. Steve breaks down the four parts of comedic character which really made things clear to me about why things are funny and how to be a comedian and not a comic, there is a difference! The formulas in the book are amazing, I used the formulas in the book to make my act funnier and I have been getting laughs at open mics. I still have a long way to go but the information in this book is setting me in the right direction. Highly recommended! I would rank this book number 1 in the top 3 books on standup comedy with number 2 being Comedy Writing Self Taught by Gene Perret and number 3 being Comedy Writing Secrets by Mel Helitzer.

Provocative new ideas. Steve North explains his unique theory about what the best comedians do. And its quite different from everybody else's theory. For example, the rush for authenticity will probably squash your comedy. The top comedians are artistic liars in their strong personas (a persona is a mask, concealing what is real). So when you work on becoming a comedian (a funny person) rather than a comic (a teller of jokes) and when you write material that follows your persona, audiences start laughing. Instead of spending years in trial and error, find your persona directly in Steve's classes. The middle of this book also contains some of the best instruction in how to write funny material, which is normally quite hard, but if you try Steve's methods, you can write new jokes overnight.

Dudes and dudettes, I must be honest. I haven't read this book. Barely touched it. But I did have enough attention in my head to read the first 3 pages. My ADHD brain was able to retain the following: that a comedian is someone who gives a bunch of strangers the experience of an intimate and spontaneous conversation with a true lunatic.I read a few more pages and then basically took it to heart, and I swear, all my friends think I'm so much funnier now. I swear. RESULTS PROVEN! Bam! This book was so good!! Worth it already! 5/5, would recommend. I'm getting around to reading the rest, now. Although it's 12:45am right now and I probably won't get far, again, but that's okay! This book was made for guinea pig brains like mine. You'll still be killin it!

There are key elements in this book in regards to "persona" that REALLY elevated my comedy and helped me take it to the next level (full disclosure -- I don't use any of the joke formulas in the book as writing comedy comes very easy to me, so I can't speak to that aspect of the book). Some things I've noticed since implementing many of Steve's persona techniques found in this book: 1- I'm now getting booked on much better shows alongside well-known professional comedians; 2- I'm getting paid to do stand-up (albeit not much but it's a start!!); 3- The audience often laughs when I'm not even doing a punchline (something Steve mentions will happen) 4- I'm getting laughs at open mics; 5- I'm getting much clearer on my comedic "voice" and understanding how to write for that voice rather than just saying any random funny thing that comes into my head. Thank you, Steve!