As they clock up the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell says make a master, comedians learn a lot the hard way. Here are their top tips so you don't have to. 1. Use the Rule of 3 2. Draw Upon Your Real-Life Experiences 3. Identify the Key Part and Get There Fast 4. Find the Funny in Pain Points 5. Think Fails and Firsts 6. Listen and repeat. 7. Think Fun Over Funny 8. Screen Your Jokes 9. Tell a Joke 10. Like Jerry Seinfeld Does, Use Inherently Funny Words 11. Paint a Picture for Others to See 12. Do Something Memorable 13. Jokes are: 1, 2 … 4! 14. Use the Art of Misdirection 15. Put the Word the Joke Hinges on at the End of the Sentence 16. Use Tension 17. Avoid Ever Going Blank Onstage 18. Use Your Hands 19. Use Metaphors and Analogies Combined With Hyperbole (Exaggeration) 20. If the Energy Is Down, Bring It Up 21. Trust Your Funny Bits 22. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance And last but not least, from Irish comedian Dylan Moran: 23. Don’t Rely on Potential “Don’t do it! Stay away from your potential,” Moran says. “You’ll mess it up. It’s potential; leave it. Anyway, it’s like your bank balance–you always have a lot less than you think.” As Mark Twain said, “The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” That type of arms race may be one worth all our time. Most presentations are really boring. With applications of these tips, yours will not be. These tips are taken from the bestselling book Do You Talk Funny and Hacking Public Speaking. http://hackingpublicspeaking.com/