HOW DO YOU RECOVER FROM A JOKE THAT DOESN'T LAND?

I used to think every joke needed to land and crush and if it didn't I would get so upset. Then someone told me how in baseball if a batter gets a hit 1 every 4 times, he is a Major Leaguer and if he gets a hit 2 out of every 5 times, he is an All Star. I say that to comedians now all the time. Why do we need to crush every 30 seconds with a laugh?

Unless I am recording something big, I now force myself to do something new every show. Whether its a new joke, a new tag or a different way to deliver a joke or start a set. Its the only way we can grow as comedians.

As for a joke that doesn't land, I usually go to a "classic" joke that will crush immediately after and get me back in good graces with the audience. When I know I am trying a new joke, I sandwich it in between two jokes that I know should work. Its whats called a sh*t sandwich. If I know I am trying a new joke, thats what I will do. I will try it after something I know will do well and follow it with another joke that I think will do well.

If a joke doesn't land and it's a crowd that came for me, I usually will acknowledge it and make a self depracating joke about it not landing. Last night, I had a joke that I sometimes close my set with and it didn't land, so I just said "well, that was supposed to land the plane, guys!" and that got a laugh to get me off the stage. #standup #formerlawyer #jokes #careerchange