This episode is presented by Mercury, the banking platform that makes this show possible. I can’t imagine trying to run my business without them. Learn more at https://mercury.com Robert Mac is on the show today to teach us what he's learned from great comics like Jerry Seinfeld and Mitch Hedberg. Robert has been doing stand up for more than a decade, and I wanted to know what he's learned about how to be funny, how to tell a good story. 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:03 The #1 rule of comedy 00:03:29 The incongruity technique 00:06:07 Changing scale and focus 00:06:36 Wordplay explained 00:09:53 Pattern recognition 00:12:13 Know your audience 00:14:59 Why winning isn't funny 00:17:48 Using misdirection 00:22:21 The bait and switch 00:24:51 How one word changes a joke 00:28:53 Why writing matters 00:31:28 Seinfeld's hidden technique 00:36:43 Misplaced focus 00:42:00 The rule of three 00:46:07 More wordplay 00:47:15 The power of short stories 00:52:46 The role of details and context 00:54:11 What it feels like to bomb 00:56:33 Robert's writing process 00:59:08 What comedy can't be taught *About the host* Hey! I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. *Follow me* Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DavidPerellChannel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv X: https://x.com/david_perell