It's better to play to the host as though in a real conversation and let the audience listen in- which they are.

Evaluate every performance on: stage presence, concentration, delivery, material and lessons learned.

Originality is never embraced as quickly as the commonplace.

Taping yourself and making yourself listen to the tape of each performance no matter how bad is really important. There's always a nugget line or a direction pointed out to you in even the worst show.

I don't think that comedians have a tradition of trashing the next generation.

In addition to listening to the audience's laugh, you want to listen to their silence. Is it bored or interested silence? The silence is quieter and filled with energy when they're interested. You can hear a pin drop. When they're bored, you can always hear it.

I advise treating the studio audience like a nightclub audience because that's the reason you're doing television - to get them to come see you in a nightclub.