Listening to your own sets and listening to the audience as you perform. It's a conversation of sorts. There is an exchange.

It's a constant process of bouncing ideas off of one another and intuitively arriving at the right decision in the moment.

Some comedians are silly or goofy or straight joke writers who avoid anything subversive or political. Others are drawn to it. The beauty of standup is there is room for everyone, and years of performing in front of crowds will dictate what you can or can't do.

Laughing at something is a form of accepting it or at list making peace with it.

Comedians can articulate some important and profound ideas that address a lot of the hypocrisy we're inundated with (in the media).

Sometimes crowds start out not liking someone but then they shift and love them. Or vice versa. It can shift on a dime.

I'll sit down for an hour or two a few days a week in a quiet place and brainstorm. The earlier in the day, the better, before the parade of distractions starts.