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Not even close. The funniest person in my family is my uncle Arsalan, or Arsi as we call him. As a child, he was always the favorite and the one who lit up a room and made us all laugh. Even now, when we decide what family tripes or reunions to attend, the deciding factor is whether he will be there or not. His funny would make the elderly, like my grandmother laugh as well as very young kids. He would make up words that would be silly and randomly yell words out in public, like Persian swear words that would only be funny to me and my relatives and not to the non-persians who surrounded us. I had unkept hair as a child and he used to smell my hair and retract and say I smelled like sheep. He would tell us stories of the racism he experienced in Oklahoma when he moved there from Iran and would mimic the southern accents with perfect precision. I can tell 100s of stories of how he was funny, but it would never translate into words. You had to be there. Even now, as a “great uncle” to my own nieces and nephew, he is the favorite and funniest. Unlike me, he is naturally funny. He has a likability that you can’t learn, it’s natural for him. He meets strangers on the street or a waitress at Waffle House, and makes them all laugh. He should have been a stand up comedian but instead, you guys have me. #standup #family #formerlawyer #comedian 
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Initially yes. But in today’s world of social media, even those regrets turn into moments of gold. For example, there are clearly times when I ask a question and the person does not hear me correctly or understand the question, which leads to an incoherent response. Those are funny moments but clearly not the intent of the question asked. Of course, thats a win too because the audience loves it. Last weekend, I spoke to someone who was from another country and English was his second language so his answer was unresponsive to my question. It turned into a great moment and we all laughed. Another time, someone gave me a long winded response to a yes or no question and that ended up being funny clip as well. A few times I spoke to someone about their tattoos and they represented someone who had passed away and rather than make it awkward, I leaned into it by including them on the fun and they appreciated it, even though the crowd thought I really stepped in it. I didn’t. I am an expert and am ready for anything. One time, I asked someone a benign question and he got upset because he thought I was making fun of him and it turned into a genuine unfunny and scary moment as he had to be escorted out of the club. I talked about that heckle moment before and will one day have the clip from it online! So in hindsight, even those I initially regretted turned into silver linings. #comedy #comedian #crowdwork  Where Would You Go If You Could Pick One Place To Do Stand UP Comedy The Rest Of Your Life?1/23/2026 Hard question to answer because if you are doing the same venue or city, that means you have to update your stand up set every time you go out. That's the problem with performing too much in one venue or city. The same people come out to see you and if you are doing the same jokes, its not fun for them, or you. Mostly comedians will come back to a city every 6-12 months, depending on the market. I guess if I was doing a weekly show, it would be ok but generally speaking, I would not like to do that. So I would hate to just be stuck in one place to do comedy, but if I had to and the audience would not be the same, I would say Chicago since thats home for me. I love Minneapolis, Madison, Milwaukee, Tampa, Scottsdale and L.A. too. Also those are places where I have friends and family and know where to get late night food! #standup #comedy #blog  Two pieces of advice I received that is important to this day. The specific is to record every set. Not with video necessarily but audio. I record every show on my cell phone without fail. I try to video tape as well but the prior is to record so I can listen back when I write (that’s how I write) and see what worked or to remember something for a later joke or to build on existing jokes. Sometimes an organic moment turned into a joke. The second important piece of advice I received was to “Be Undeniable”. If you are undeniably the best, the industry and audience cannot ignore you. On every showcase, be the best or one of the best performances. If you write all the time and perform all the time and keep getting better, it will be impossible for people to ignore your excellence. I have the words “BE UNDENIABLE” on my fridge and taped to my bathroom mirror now. I try to be. #undeniable #standup #comedian #formerlawyer #advice  |
AuthorPaul Farahvar is a comedian hailing from Chicago, Ill. Archives
February 2026
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