10 Funny Topics For Stand-Up Comedy Jokes

Comedians are becoming more popular by the day, and many people enjoy listening to their jokes. But what topics are best to use for stand-up comedy?

1. Strangers

People love to hear about other people's encounters with strangers, especially if that encounter was awkward or uncomfortable for either party to experience. During a stand-up comedy show, talk about funny experiences you have had with strangers. Talk about a time when a stranger handed you something unexpected, came up to you, saw someone struggling and wanted to help, but didn't or an experience you had with a drunk stranger.

Talk about conflicts that you have had with strangers, especially when you didn't understand why the conflict was occurring. People love hearing about other people's conflicts. You also can talk about a time when you accidentally gave someone the wrong directions but realized it later. People also love hearing about instances where people really wanted to be sassy towards a stranger, but backed down and didn't say what they wanted to.

2. The Audience

The audience is there to be entertained by you, but that does not mean that you should not address them and their actions if they do something funny, and you saw it. In a way, the audience is also there to entertain the comedian, though they typically do so through their laughter.

If you can see the audience, and they have funny reactions to the jokes that you are telling, bring them into the joke and mention the funny thing that they are doing. If people in the audience are pointing directly to their friends next to them, telling them that the joke is very relevant to them, mention that the audience member is doing that. Most of the time, the audience member will laugh harder than they were before, and will not be offended by the comedian making fun of them.

Make fun of hecklers. Audience members rarely like or agree with hecklers, and the heckler is already bringing attention to themselves. Why not entertain the audience while you get rid of a heckler. The heckler is already not having a good time at the show and will leave soon, so feel free to make fun of them in a way that will not offend people. Just don't be cruel, or the audience will feel awkward and feel that you reacted too harshly.

3. Stereotypes

Stereotypes are funny to a lot of people, especially if they are proven to be true through experiences that you have had. Talk about your experiences with people where stereotypes have rung true, and make fun of them. For example, eveyone has had some kind of experience with a Karen, so that's a relatable stereorype to tap into.

However, if you are going to talk about the stereotypes, you'll need to be thoughtful. Subverting expectations is often a kinder (and funnier) way to approach stereotype-based comedy. You need to do it in a way that is not offensive towards those people. If you can laugh at the stereotypes about yourself, that's even better! Many comedians have done this and been very successful with the joke.

4. Cops

Talk about your experiences with cops, and talk about when stereotypes about cops have been true. People love to hear about other people being pulled over and trying to get out of a ticket. While people are trying to get out of getting a ticket, they tend to act completely differently than they normally do.

Talk about stereotypes about cops, and how they love coffee and donuts. For example, Gabriel Iglesias often talks about his experiences with cops and talks about times where the stereotypes have rung true about them. One of his most well-known jokes is about how one time he offered a box of donuts to a cop. Audience members loved the joke, and so did cops, and he performed for multiple police stations because of that joke.

5. Your Family

Your experiences with family members are entertaining for other people. Family is a topic that many people can relate to, so they laugh at jokes centered around them easily. They especially relate to misunderstandings with family members or family members that you do not get along with.

Talk about when you told your mom something, but she forgot soon afterward and got mad at you when you did the thing that you told her about, and that she told you that you could do. Many people have experienced this, so they will laugh because it is relatable. Talk about your siblings and the different fights that you have had with them. Most fights with siblings are kind of stupid, even if they don't seem like they are at the time.

6. Your Friends

Talk about your experiences with your friends and funny things that they have done to you or with you. Audience members love to hear about pranks, failed or successful, and different things that you make fun of your friends for doing. Talk about your friends' stupid decisions and times where you have called them out for making those decisions.

Also, talk about times where your friends have made fun of you for stupid things that you have done or stupid decisions that you have made. Audience members can relate to this because their friends have done similar things to them, so they will laugh.

7. Places You Have Been To

Talk about different places that you have been to and the funny experiences that you had there. If you know about different stereotypes for the people who live in the area that you visited and had experiences that suggested the stereotypes are true, talk about those experiences. A change of scenery is a great way to keep your jokes fresh. If you can tell jokes that resonate with the locals, that's even better.

8. Your Mistakes

Talk about your mistakes. Audience members love to hear about other people's mistakes because it distracts them from thinking about their own. Talk about stupid things that you have done at the store, or when you have gone out and had way too much to drink. Talk about mistakes you have made with other people looking at you, and talk about expensive things you have accidentally broken.

9. Your Love Life

Talk about your love life. If you have a spouse or significant other, talk about funny things that they do, or things that annoy you. Talk about things that you do to annoy them, and petty things that you have done to them when they annoyed you.

Talk about dramatic breakups that you have had, and talk about stupid fights that you had with your spouse or an ex. Even if we don't admit it, most people love hearing about other people's failed love lives. It helps to laugh through these painful experiences and look for a funny story within it all.

10. Things The Audience Knows

Talk about recent events that the audience likely knows about, especially if a scandal has recently been in the news. Make fun of the person in the news and their actions that most people consider to be stupid. Talk about good things that have happened in the news recently, and talk about how the person in the news must have felt while doing the thing that made them semi-famous.