What's a click-through joke?

Bill Burr, Doug Stanhope, and getting the crowd "on the hook."

Editing techniques to help you craft authentic stand-up by

Caroline Clifford

at

The Authentic Comedian

:

I find a really good editing technique is to give your bits an exciting heading, one that if your set was broken down into just headings, people would “click through” to hear more. This heading wouldn’t usually be said out loud to an audience, but it sums up exactly the point of your bit and what you would want the audience to learn from your routine.

Really dig this framing.

In fact, actually saying that heading out loud can be a good way to think about joke set ups too. Is the opening line or two something people would click on to read more if they were scrolling past it on their phone? If so, you’ve already accomplished one of the toughest parts of standup when you say it aloud: Engaging the crowd. Once they’re hooked, laughter becomes way easier to obtain.

One could argue that getting crowd members on the edge of their seats is the toughest part of standup. If you’ve got that, now you just need to close the deal.

Comics like Bill Burr and Doug Stanhope are especially great at that. They hook you with an outlandish premise and then you can’t wait to see where they’ll go next. For example, this clip features Stanhope opening a bit by saying, “You gotta support the troops, right? [Crowd applauds.] Wrong again!” And of course you wanna hear whatever comes next.

---

---

Substance

Watch my special "Substance." I perform high/drunk/on shrooms/sober. It’s good:

“A fantastic experiment in chemistry and comedy.” • “Thought-provoking, inspiring, and so damn good.” • “Fucking fantastic special.” • “A beautiful experience.” • “Absolutely delightful.” • “A chemistry experiment gone right.” • “Profound, courageous, insane, and, most of all, funny.” • “10/10 would recommend.” • “Great idea/execution.” • “A truly unique, funny stand-up special.” • “What a cool experiment.” • “Amazing!”