Being funny is not just a skill, not just a talent; it is a learned discipline, complete with rules. The number one tip for new comedians, who want to be funny, is to stop trying to be funny.

As the owner of a special events agency, I have been around comedians for the past 30 years. The good ones are good because they work at their craft. The bad ones never make the top ranks; they are too busy TRYING to be funny.

If you want to make people laugh, stop trying to make them laugh; that is the best way to fail. Being funny is a premeditated act; some of us, like the class clown, can premeditate quicker than others. But the majority of us must spend a great deal of time in planning to be funny.

Stand-up comedians take many hours in preparation for just a few minutes on stage. Comedians write their monologue, then they edit their monologue, and then they do everything all over again. Their monologue is repeated aloud; they listen for breaks, for nuances that will create surprise making an audience respond with laughter. For it is in the unexpected that all true humor resides.

Comedy is all about timing; without it you might have an interesting speech, but you won’t have comedy. Comedians practice their monologues looking for that magical timing, and the pause before the punch line. Comedian greats, like Jerry Seinfeld and Roseanne Barr, clearly understand and employ the importance of timing. Watch for their carefully timed pauses; they aren’t taking a breath, they are getting ready to fire the laugh line.

In dealing with talent, I discourage the overuse or “milking” of material. One of the biggest mistakes new comedians make is to repeat material that has successfully initiated laughter before. Comedy can get “old” very quickly. It is a great temptation to continually fall back into the comfort zone of the funny line that worked before. Good comedy needs to be refreshed regularly because like clothing, it will go out of fashion.

Comedy must also be relevant to the times; like a great sitcom, truly good comedy will act as a satirical comment on the state of the world, the state of our lives, and the state of just being human.

Prepare a well-rehearsed, well-planned, and well-timed monologue and you will never have to try to be funny. The hours of prep time spent in calculating how to make people laugh will pay off. And then, like Jim Carey, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank. Well, maybe not; but you can dream. Or rather, premeditate.