How to Be Funny | Comedian Monty Franklin Breaks Down The Anatomy of a Joke

Can you learn to be funny, or are you born with it? I sat down with Australian comedian Monty Franklin, who has done stand-up for 20 years and is about to tour 27 cities across Europe, to find out how a laugh is built.

Monty breaks down the five parts of a joke: setup, angle, misdirection, punch and tag. He explains why a three-minute open mic set needs a laugh every 10 to 15 seconds, why Chris Rock repeats his premise over and over, and why Joe Rogan lowered the ceiling at his comedy club. He also pulls apart two of my own jokes on the spot and shows me what to cut.

We get into tall poppy syndrome, why you have to let go of the safety net to make it in America, and how his divorce left him free of needing anyone's approval.