I wasn't gonna get in here...this is a dangerous subject..too much "patter" or "schtick" as I grew up calling it, can kill you...on the other hand, not enough interplay with an audience and they might as well have a friggin' jukebox !

One little tip....in my experience, I have found that the "WC Fields" under the breath technique works very well...it matters as much more how you say what you say than what you say....

A simple "yeah...sure" muttered a bit off mike so that it sounds like you're talking to yourself can bring down the house as readily as a 4 minute story with props and two topless waitresses !

Learn to talk to yourself..just a bit off mike...the audience will often quiet down to hear what the hell is going on...if you say something that bombs you can even ridicule the utterance to yourself (that's the last time I buy a joke from a busboy) or something like that...

Try it...it's easy and it can really work for you....the hard part is not overdoing it..comedy is addictive..once you find a way to make an audience laugh..you wanna be Richard Pryor....it's really seductive.

Good luck

Bob Young