Step by Step to Stand-Up Comedy

As a professional comedian with 11 years high level performance experience, I downloaded this audiobook because I was simply curious - I was intrigued that someone had actually created a

Nothing, the book was well presented.

Nothing. Maybe more live clips of his own performances, delivery style/s and audience responses. Good and Bad. THAT would have been great!

On the whole - good work Greg.

I imagine that the techniques described in this book are good, and they are thoroughly explained. His process for writing jokes and the ins-and-outs of honing material is actually very insightful. But... the way the author reads this book will make you lose any confidence that you are being taught by a competent funnyman. I know he is just reading text, but he more than anyone (as the author) knows how the jokes are intended to be delivered. I understand that the jokes in this book are meant to demonstrate the process, and it does a good enough job at that. But the already unfunny jokes are made incredibly cheesey by his deliveries, and when he uses voices for the characters' dialogue or lines... I just cringe. Every time. They are annoying and completely wrong for the context. I highly suggest you read this book rather than listen to the audiobook to salvage any humor that the author might have. But all-in-all, very good advice in all aspects. Read the book, and the purpose will maintain its credibility.

Practical, like the title says, step-by-step with great examples. Shows you the craft of comedy. Doesn't try to pigeon-hole comedians as people with unhappy childhoods. Just gets to the craft of comedy writing. Entertaining to listen to. Author repeats things a lot, but to me, that just helps the steps sink in better. Helpful exercises too!

This book is the single most useful book I have ever read on the art of writing a joke.
It's principles are easy to understand and to follow -- and even to teach.
It comes with a PDF workbook so you can literally write jokes.
The narrator is completely transparent about the messy process of writing -- so there is lots of really weak material here. The author then shows why the material is weak, and how to strengthen it.

I have met professional comics -- top people in their field -- who cannot explain their process as well as Greg does in this book. They have no clue. They are very funny people, but they have no clue why they are funny.

Greg Dean knows, though.

I used this book to write a short routine for a formal address I was giving (10 minutes) which went down incredibly well.
I cannot praise this book enough.
If you want to learn how to reliably write jokes, follow this formula. You will definitely get better at writing jokes.

Yes. Anyone interested in stand up comedy should own this. I have read multiple books on comedy, and this one is unique in it's utility. Mr. Dean will teach you what a joke really is, why people find things funny, and how to write material based on these facts.He goes on to provide direction on crafting routines, rehearsing, and performing. My only criticism is it can get pretty confusing and dry at times, but so are most "how to" books. This is excellent material and a must have for the craft.

I saw reviews saying this book is "not funny". Of course it isn't funny! This isn't a joke book!

Greg covers a multitude of topics from writing to rehearsal and performance. If you are interested in doing comedy for a living this book has a tons of tips and advice on things you haven't even considered. I was skeptical at first but in the end I enjoyed this book very much and I learned quite a bit about the whole process from concept to live performance. I can honestly say I have a far greater understanding of the entire process now than I ever did before. Greg’s narration is clear, concise, and entertaining.

I thought this was a good book overall. The only audiobook that I could find in the category of how to become a comedian/funny. If there are others, let me know. Would have been better if he had more examples of jokes rather than just hammer on the same jokes over and over, dissecting each joke to the bits and pieces.

Jokes were not very entertaining. English slang hard to follow. only laughed twice through all the book.

I'm hoping that this book lost something on the way to becoming an audiobook because I thought this was a train wreck. Yes, there are some great tips on developing jokes and a stand-up routine but its lost in a bunch of boring narration by the author....stuff that could be easily skipped over in a book format.

I think part of the problem probably lies in the fact that you can't teach humor. You have to have it...you can't fake it. But the author seems to think he can teach ANYONE to write jokes so he spends an inordinate amount of time on the minutia and repeating things.

This book would have been better if he had assumed that people had some clue regarding joke development. Or maybe 1 guide for humorless and one advanced guide for people that already knew a little about being funny.

Instead, this book is only marginally effective, especially in audio format. I couldn't finish it - I was sick of the pace, or lack thereof.

Yes. It's a wonderful step-by-step instructional.

I suppose Greg was my favorite character.

No.

A LOT! I now know how to go about following a childhood dream.

I'm not sure why people think they were supposed to be entertained and amused by a how-to manual. This is NOT a joke book. It's a book about how to be a joke teller, and it is a great book for its purpose. Yes, it is repetitive, but that's how Greg gets the point across on how to create jokes.