Reviews

Book was amazing. My favorite thing was the delivery. I used to think out every word and talk with punchline in mind. Now I just go up and don’t think. The wording is a little different each time but it flows way more natural and get way more laughs.

I’m being drawn to taking up comedy to express my opinions and stories. It’s a good match so far as giving me some hints about the process.

Love how the technical theory is dissected.

Exactly what I was looking for! Clear instruction. Great examples. The perfect primer for my joke writing journey!

I absolutely love it. The explanations are clear and serious, it is very technical and professional approach.

Once upon a time, in a pandemic-free world, I took an in-person class on standup comedy in Chicago.  Their focus was almost entirely on performance.  Sure, I enjoyed my two months there. I even put up two shows. But I felt that the laughs I was getting were mostly hit-and-miss. I didn’t understand the inner mechanics of the humor.  I thought I was just a nerd who wasn’t as funny as the ‘naturals’ in my cohort. So when live shows closed, I wasn’t sure if I could keep pushing my luck in the virtual realm.

That was until I chanced upon Jared’s course ‘Faster and Funnier- Standup Comedy Writing Program’ several months later. Immediately, I knew I’d found what was missing. Jared provides a rare analytical lens into types of humor and what makes them work. He grounds the theory with constant references to the greatest comedians in history and dissects specific jokes to illustrate his points.

That alone would have been enough to invest in the course. But Jared adds multiple servings of practical tips. He not only addresses the psychological challenges to writing and performing comedy, but provides personal examples of how he overcame them. He extends his analytical approach (with graphs) to the stages of producing content and a comedian’s career. All of these insights are highly motivating and will keep you in the game even when jokes bomb and things don’t go your way. Which is a certainty for anyone.

Jared rounds up all this wonderful content with an emphasis on authenticity. I thought that as a nerd, I had to pretend to be something I wasn’t so as to get laughs.  Turns out the key to memorability is being able to full embrace your own story. Jared even highlights the differences between telling jokes and telling stores, and how to can play beautifully together. His book ‘Playfully Inappropriate’ did a great job of extending these ideas.

Jared’s comprehensive, personal, analytical and yet practical course laid so many of my doubts to rest. If you consider yourself ‘intellectual’ or ‘intense’, or just not the most natural laugh-machine, you’re going to realize that humor and comic timing aren’t divinely ordained for just some people. Like any other skill, they can be learnt. With practice, introspection and the kinds of effective analyses and habits. All of that’s in Jared’s course, and I can’t recommend him enough.

Love your presentations and videos. Well worth my time and the small cost. I have F.N.F. Performance, Creativity for Comedians MP3, and the book Playfully Inappropriate. I have devoured these lessons. At this date, I am finishing – for the third time – each of these three items. Actually, I have just begun re-reading the book – for the third time. The other two purchases have multiple listens. I sincerely thank you for your work and your presentation of this material.

John

In my humble opinion, Playfully Inappropriate is one of the best, if not the best, comedy resource on the market.

As a stand-up comedian, I believe storytelling is the next level of comedy after learning the basic set-up punch structure and not just storytelling, compelling, concise storytelling. It goes in detail (to the nano level of detail) the psychology of humor and how to use it to craft comedic stories. While a beginner can use this book (and I recommended them to), a seasoned comedian can find a wealth of knowledge as well. To address other reviews, sure, there are very technical parts, but they aren’t 100% necessary in understanding to utilize the storytelling roadmap presented. When you’re looking to get your Ph.D. in comedy, come back to those technical parts, they’re not going anywhere, just like ugly on a nutria.

I don’t think this course was made for one sitting, much like the entire fish inventory of an all you can eat sushi restaurant. It’s meant to be enjoyed piece by piece, starting with nigiri, and working up to the 50-plus ingredient Jessica Albacore Roll. Playfully Inappropriate is a useful comedy resource that I’ll always have on me.

Thanks, Jared

As a professional working comic with 30 years of experience- I’m a big fan of Jared Volle! I’ve previously purchased his online creative stand-up programme and it differs massively from bolt-on, add a punchline, formulaic format. Playfully Inappropriate offers a fresh and exciting perspective to hone your comic creativity – Whether you are brand new or have been around the block. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in comedy.

I also have to say that, as well as being a hilarious comic and serious academic, the author is a top bloke who bothered his busy backside to personally answer my questions about his programme. A must for any comedian or devotee of the craft of creativity!

Jared is a true professional who provides his expertise and insight with concise and informative writing. His firsthand experience coupled with his background in creativity allowed me to really grasp the concepts of the FNF course.

The lessons flow extremely well with so many topics that are invaluable for anyone who is just entering the world of stand up or for the intermediate and experienced comic.

By giving “real world” examples and applications of his approach to writing and performing stand up, Jared’s methods have given me the tools to not only write better jokes and sets but also gain a greater understanding of the joke process.

Each section of the FNF course builds upon itself. What is also unique about this program is that Jared is always available to answer any personal or topic-related questions.

Given this and MUCH MORE, I highly recommend and truly feel that the FNF course is a necessity for those who want to take their stand up to the next and higher level.

Playfully Inappropriate blew my mind as a comedian with some one year of experience. I had taken a course with the author before, and reading his book really got me writing again. It analyzes how the material of well-known comedians you can find on Netflix or Youtube works, and guides you through strategies to create your material, and how to find what’s funny about thoughts or observations that you have, how to draw a premise from it, a punchline, and how to structure your story. It doesn’t focus on the traditional joke structure, but rather on the story-telling kind of standup, and how to write those stories, and write them without getting stuck. Best book I’ve ever read on the topic. 🙂

Absolutely fantastic. Thanks to Jared. I am finally really learning the secrets of stand up comedy.

Very insightful and detailed.

As a Comedian, Playfully Inappropriate took my jokes to a new level. I found that this style of writing really simplifies the process.

If you write humor. Buy this.

I was struggling to find a working strategy when writing comedy. All previous books I read just told me to write without giving any hint on how to break the complex process of writing down into manageable bits. Playfully Inappropriate showed me a way and made it much easier to come up with stuff that is naturally funny.

I enjoyed the pathways Volle uses to tap into your inner creativity. It’s well made and easy to follow

This course breaks down comedy into a formula which will allow you to evaluate and understand the comedy of other comedians, and help you write funnier material. I am a magician looking to increase audience reaction. I am finding the formula to be quite effective in writing original material. Can’t wait to try out some of this in front of a real audience.

I liked that it covered story-style rather than joke-structure.

Jared advocates a storytelling style of “joke writing” which is more natural and organic. Also, the way most people share funny stories in real conversation. Great examples from classic bits I was familiar with and a few I hadn’t heard before.

There is a slight learning curve with some of the terminology introduced. As there are a few comedy theories mentioned. Although Playfully Inappropriate mainly focuses on one.

This terminology is helpful in understanding some key concepts in comedy writing. Written more for those pursuing stand-up. But the techniques can be used for all different types of comedy writing. Also, it can help you realize why the things you usually do make your friends laugh anyway. And if that is not the case, it will explain what’s not funny about stories.

If none of the popular comedy writing books (some of which I’ve read too) are resonating with you I’d encourage you to give this a shot!

Jared Volle has a unique approach to generating humor that can work for anyone. You’ll see comedy differently and understand how to quickly generate comedy that doesn’t sound formulaic. Yes, if you want to do set-up/ punch old school stand-up – this book can help you – but if you want to write in today’s style, this book holds the keys.

The information is super helpful! I’m very nervous about doing open mics so this helps me get a better idea of what to expect. My only complaint is audio quality (of FNF: Performance) because the microphone picks up the computer fan. But the content in the video is well worth.

I think this course is amazing. It gives you detailed instructions on how to write comedy omitting typical corny joke structures. I haven’t expected so much value in it. I’m from an improv background at this course allowed me to transform my improv experience to write standup comedy. Additionally, Jared helped me with all the questions I had, which was very helpful.

Yes, so far it has been a great learning experience, I appreciate his passion for comedy and science!

Thanks,

Ryan

Well thought out. Excellent teacher.

So far, so good.

Very good. Will recommend.

This course is really easy to watch on my Mobile. I’m enjoying this informative course

Insights that I hear no one else talking about… This is the advanced class. I’ll go back and sign up for his first course.

Valuable information about what comprises and destroys creative flow.

Good explaining about the basics and the first organization for a comedian

I learned a lot. The instructor was very knowledgeable.

A brilliant course, highly recommended.

Great course, loved it. If you want to be an authentic comedian, buy it. Better than every course I bought before.

I was able to use the information right away. I am now armed with the knowledge of acquiring confidence, to use in my present career.

I’m learning a lot of information that I didn’t get in books. Still nervous, but I’m a lot further than I was before.

Well presented, great material, great flow (No pun intended). I hope to try these techniques to allow me to get more of my goals accomplished! I recommend this course for anyone who is interested in improving themselves, both in creative professions and not as creative ones!

Great stuff keep going

Jared gives out good advice for the beginning comedian.

Very interesting course, I enjoyed it. This course helped me to unlock some of my blocks.

A very credible presentation. . . . . . . Jared Volle not only explains what Creative Flow is; but also why it can work for you and how to know when it is in effect. . . . . . . Glad I took this course. . . . . . . Thank you.

This course is very thorough in all aspects of stand up comedy. The amount of information given is huge and detailed. I use the course as instruction for writing other forms of humour as well.

Very good course! Jared was very detailed and knowledgeable on comedy. He provided a lot of great info. I have over 20 years of experience doing presentations on various subjects. I always injected comedy into my programs, but now want to move to doing all comedy. It was questionable if this course would be helpful as I have a lot of experience creating programs and speaking to large groups. I am glad I took this! It was very helpful and interesting. Looking forward to taking the other 2 courses Jared is offering.

Very informative and immediately actionable information.

This had great content and is delivered with passion and professionalism. It’s evident that Jared has applied it himself and he speaks with the conviction of comprehensive knowledge and understanding. The course is well structured and clear.

EXCELLENT! Can’t rate this highly enough.

I have been performing for some time now, the only thing holding me back is the writing. But with this, I have got some insight into how to do it. Thanks very much.

I am a complete beginner and so far I really like the course because you can tell that the coach is an experienced guy giving honest lessons about what it takes to be a comedian. He is easy to follow and I expect to gain a lot by watching his videos. He has a lot of passion for comedy. I recommend this course.

The topic is interesting, and [everything is] very easy to understand.

I really enjoyed this course. It allowed me to identify what destroys my focus. I’m feeling confident that I’ll be able to rectify things in the future. Thanks a lot, Jared!

Le cours est complet et instructif.

(((The course is comprehensive and informative.)))

Alignment with source 😀

Right On! Very informative and an excellent class…

Great course! Informative and extremely well presented.

Jared tells it like it is. I love the online stuff because I can skip around if I want. Take what I need when I need it.

Now I know how I got to flow, and how to find my way back to it. That’s wonderful stuff.

Thoughtful and clearly laid out presentation of the flow process. This is one course I will re-visit again.

This course has helped me a ton. Very good!

I’ve learned a lot from this course on stand-up comedy. I am currently working on revising some material that I hope will kill.

I for one think that your course has added a whole new part to my life. You just start looking at life differently. Besides just enjoying comedy, I am finding my voice, and although I have so far to go, I enjoy the journey. Without that course I would have never gotten over my stage fright, I still am nervous but not paralyzed. I have been doing one open mic a week.

Learning comedy well and having fun while doing it – that’s Jared’s course.

I learned more about myself in this course than I had ever imagined.  Jared is a dynamic and thought-provoking instructor.  He provides a safe and fun learning environment that will ensure your success, whatever your goals for Stand-Up Comedy.  I went from amateur to placing 2nd out of 16 in a contest at Comedy Works because of Jared’s dynamic teaching style.  I am inspired to write, perform, and tell more jokes around friends and family.

Thank you!

Kristin

This was the best and most important class I have taken. Learning how to create is the single most important topic one can take to aid in living one’s life. Jared’s presentation is highly organized and comprehensive. I recommend this class to anyone wanting to leave the ‘box’ of being a victim and start participating in one’s own life.

I just got finished with Faster and Funnier. I signed up for it a few years ago, when I was stuck. I would write comedy, or do what I thought was writing comedy. I was so frightened to get up on stage. I had and used every excuse in the book why I shouldn’t get up on stage. [In FNF], I learned that I was getting in my own way. I just had to do it. I realized I was scared because I was not sure of my process when it came to the whole comedy thing. Learning how to do comedy and why it works was what I needed. I got that through FNF. Very well made. There is much more to learn other than the jokes themselves and FNF explores that.

Darin Joseph

Jared, I have been reading all the time and have to say this was the best decision I made in the last years. It is clear, with no padding, and understandable. Even for someone who has English not as his own language.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom. It is a great help.

The stuff about the natural flow and not writing ‘jokey-joke’- this was stuff that I had thought but was told otherwise. All the info you’ve given is invaluable. My head was filling up with crazy ideas about how I needed to go about writing/crafting material- and you’ve just gone and cleared it all up!

Thanks

Chris

Just to let you know, that I read a lot of comedy-related material (I am a theory/research “freak”), especially on the subject of stand-up methodology, and find your information to be among the best, most profound, satisfying and in the highest quality possible out there.

You did it! You delivered exactly what I’ve been looking for, for more than 20 years. Your course is simple, Easy and very effective. Thank you.

Your course is incredible. It works and makes the process easy, for sure. 

Your course is excellent and has really helped me on the London open mic comedy circuit. Have gone from lots of bombing to no bombing and winning a couple of gong shows.

I’m about halfway through it, and I’ve already gotten my money’s worth. Great product!

I just want to send a note of appreciation. My comedy teacher covered stand-up this last week. All he talked about was the joke. Joke joke joke. Formula. Ugh. I’m so glad I have your work as a reference point. He’s a smart guy w a lot of experience in comedy but come on guy, get a clue. 🙂

Thanks!

Nina

* This is an email snippet about how Playfully Inappropriate uses storytelling instead of joke-telling

I did my first open mic last night! I can’t be sure, but other comics there said for my first time I killed! I even got compliments from a few people from the bar there. I got plenty of laughs but I had a good group of friends with me. Next time I won’t have that luxury. I won’t let it go to my head and will definitely prepare for next time as much as I did this time.

What a goldmine to have found your website!

I took a 6 week stand up comedy class & we finish with an open mic this coming Tuesday.  I don’t really have stage fright as I’m used to performing…. for kids! But I am terrified of forgetting my sets!  Your emails and videos have helped tremendously and honestly, I learned more from you than the classes I’ve been taking.

I took the class to help me to approach adults – I really want to entertain with card tricks but depending on how it goes Tuesday, I may pursue comedy!

I’m going through your material as fast as I can. The storm Harvey slowed all of us up a lot. Luckily I was not flooded out. Your program is great–thanks for putting it out. What I like most is the depth and detail of your material.

Love your material.

Mike

I just started really digging into the course. I like the immediacy of the lessons and the relatability.

Hi Jared,

I’ve learned so much with this course, thanks a lot for putting together all this information for us. I found this course very complete, all the topics are covered, I found a lot of details in your course that are not covered by others.

I also like that you illustrate some topics with examples of actual stand up comedians performing.

All the best,

Patrick

I like very much what I have gone through so far. There are some eye-openers for me. Last year I worked with Greg Dean’s writing system and it was so hard for me to assemble a routine that is logical and conclusive. Last Thursday I performed at Comedy Club Munich. At one bit I tried to use Comedic Tension. It worked very well. I got good laughs on it.

I like very much the good examples and the videos. It makes it easier for me to understand because I had to translate everything into my language. I feel your course will help me more than every book I worked with before.

It’s a really good course. Thank you. 🙂

Best regards from Germany,

Christian

Jared teaches this material in a very comprehensive manner. I feel like I just earned my Masters Degree in Stand-Up Comedy.

I believe Jared Volle’s voice is one that you should hear whether you are learning standup comedy writing or trying to improve your writing. This is my fifth book or online course on comedy writing in my past three-month immersion in the subject. The first four books/courses were all valuable but similar. Volle’s approach and emphasis differ from the consensus. You might agree or disagree with his approach. I urge you to listen and decide for yourself. Expose yourself to this outstanding course.

Very compelling with very good advice that any aspiring comic should know.

great course!

A fan of Jared and his methods… thanks

Fantastic course…the depth of understanding and clarity of expression is really great. My whole understanding of what creativity is has shifted. Thank you!!

I learned a lot. An engaging instructor. Thank you for sharing.

yep!

Jared does a great job of breaking down the nuts and bolts of stand-up comedy.

Thank you Mr. Volle, that was very helpful.

I am very impressed with the quality and smoothness of this course, I had walked away from comedy 4 years ago after losing my leg, I took this course to help reinvigorate my drive to perform again, I am ready to get back out there and kill it, thank you for a great course, now I am going to start your writing course.

Heel aangename cursus. In het begin is het vooral veel uitleg over hoe ons brein omgaat met creatieve processen en naarmate de cursus vordert ga je dieper in op elk aspect/onderdeel van het creatieve process.

(((Very pleasant course. In the beginning it is mainly a lot of explanation about how our brain deals with creative processes and as the course progresses you go deeper into every aspect / part of the creative process.)))

This course has been great so far, I’ve been taking notes and applying the material

Tremendous insight.

I’m a veteran headliner with over 30 years in the business and I love reading books on comedy in order to constantly refresh “the basics.” So I took this course of curiosity to see how a “young comic” might have a handle on the art of stand-up. Didn’t teach mean anything I already didn’t know, but confirmed just about everything I do know. And said it much better than I could if I would try to impart the same knowledge upon newer comedians. Bravo!

Enjoyable & detailed course – the tutor has obviously spent a lot of time thinking about his subject.

Jared is a good teacher. The only thing I’d add is he needs to add in more examples when explaining certain concepts and that would make this course a lot better.

* NOTE: New examples have been added to Faster & Funnier and Playfully Inappropriate based on this feedback 🙂

This course is really informative and interesting. I like how there’s a lot of info on organic comedy.

Really great stuff – one of the, if not the, best analysis of stand up as a science that I’ve ever seen.

Humor é como samba não se aprende na escola, mas o curso mostra alguns detalhes importantes. É um apanhado bem similar ao livro do Léo Lins, porém com muito menos conteúdo. Vale a pena como enriquecimento, mas ainda prefiro o produto tupiniquim.

Extremely well presented and informative!

Jared really understands what makes an audience tick!

Really good to fill the gaps in my knowledge – also love the fact that this is experience-based knowledge from a guy who has been there and done it.

This course is great for logical thinkers. The author explains comedy from a logical prospective.

Very informative and engaging.

It was a good match for what I was looking. He really has a unique way to approach comedy writing, and I found it really helpful.

Brilliant! Intriguing! Informative! Engaging! Jared Volle over-delivers! This course is a deal at any price. Lots of excellent educational material. I’ve studied comedy my whole life; and this is some of the best teachings I’ve ever found. This course goes well with his Playful Inappropriateness course as well.

Jared Volle does an excellent example of explaining the Benign Violation Theory and how to apply that to writing comedy. Gives clear examples and provides the ways and means to make it all work. A worthwhile course for anyone wanting to improve their comedy storytelling.

Your radical, simple, but oh-so-effective is a better approach to writing jokes; it’s mind-blowing.

I say this because I only knew how to write jokes using a set-up punchline approach. It never felt completely natural on stage doing bits this way, but it’s all I knew.

I never heard about creating comedy conflict in a joke before. So, starting one from a safe place and ending up in a violation is pure brilliance.

This makes you the Yoda of Stand Up! So, thank you for sharing and showing this.

I feel this is the MOST well researched and comprehensive course out there. It has so many levels of information, then going from basic to digging deep into each subject.

The videos of Jared and other popular comedians also REALLY help drive each point home. I absolutely love Jared’s passion for comedy and LIFE! I have read many books on comedy, and have taken LIVE courses, so I have absorbed lots of information. And THIS course has a TON of GOLD in it. I work for a few Hollywood studios, so I know how important comedy is to create a successful movie.

Do yourself a favor and enroll in this course today!

Thank you Jared!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. It helped me to understand how to write effective punchlines. It showed me things that I was missing in my stand up comedy. And I help make me a better comedian. I was anyone who wants to be a great comedian to go ahead and buy this program. You are sure to improve.

I wanted to learn how to do stand-up comedy, but most important HOW TO WRITE MY OWN MATERIAL. This course gave that and much more. If you use comedy in your show being a magician, juggler, ventriloquist, etc. this course will make a lot clear and will make you more remarkable.

Sincerely,

ROBERT BLAKE
(MAGICIAN, The Netherlands)

I think this course is great for new comics. I would recommend to anyone trying to understand why people laugh and how to extract those laughs from mundane or exciting topics. There is always more to learn in everything but this is a great introduction to stand-up comedy!

Being new to stand-up Jareds courses are a literal scaffolding. He is able to breakdown “funny.” He is a natural-born educator. He is precise, he is a comedic tactician… if he wants to be. He sets a solid framework of understanding that gives one the tools to build their material.

This course helped me to realize that using my skill as an improv comedy guy, can also lend itself to the “planned” world of stand-up.

This is a great course that will help give you the confidence to make the first step onto an open mic stage. Being naturally funny does help, but Stand Up Comedy is a very distinct art form, and learning the technical advantages of the process will give you an extra advantage in a very competitive industry. I would recommend this course to any aspiring comedian.

Shann