Storytelling
There are two types of comedians (for now). Storytellers and jokey guys.
I love storytellers. They are phenomenal. They can take you on an emotional journey with a solid five minute yarn. You'll laugh in the middle, you'll get excited, you'll feel sad, you'll dismount. Inevitably someone else will walk away with your story and get every detail wrong but still really enjoy their version. The people they share it with will also enjoy it. And if you told a good story than the meaning and the purpose is still there. I am not a storytelling comedian. My buddy, James Brook, who co-hosts Comedy At Pie every Saturday at 8pm (214 N Lombardy St) with me, is a fantastic storyteller. He's got this whole thing about a muffin and a hipster and it cracks me up every time. However, I know the basic story structure. I love to write stories and I do it very very well. Performing a story is difficult. It's really difficult.
You have to be flexible without losing any of the meaning. Someone should be able to jump in and figure out what's happening in a few seconds. 30, at most.
The worst thing you can do after walking in on the middle of the set is to lean over and ask someone "What's going on?" Now you've pulled them out of the joke too. Anyways, I can write stories. I know how to hook people in, grab their attention. To relieve the tension, build it back up. How to lead people to false conclusions so that the ending twist is really surprising. But I can't do it verbally.
It's probably an insecurity thing. When I'm telling a joke and people start drifting off I need to be able to berate them. I can make a snide remark and everyone jumps back on board. Storytellers have to commit. You can't change the dialogue (easily) and get back to it. That's scary. You could do 6 minutes of silence and walk off to a smattering of half-hearted piteous applause.
So I guess I'm a jokey guy. But I like stories.