Learning how to deal with hecklers will always be a part of comedy. This article will break down the different types of hecklers and how to deal with them.
In the last few years, heckling has taken on a new life. We’ve all seen the tiktoks and reels. COMEDIAN DESTROYS HECKLER. COMIC OWNS DRUNK AUDIENCE MEMBER.
It’s great content, but it normalized heckling. Which is, like everything else, the algorithm’s fault. Don’t blame the comics, they’re just getting their bag.
I’ve dealt with a few hecklers, but every time it shakes me, and I bomb the rest of the set. Heckling doesn’t seem like it’s going away any time soon, so I’ve got to learn how to deal with hecklers.
I need to thicken my skin and fast.
Entering The Gauntlet
To learn from the best of the best, I went to a show called The Gauntlet, which encourages the audience to heckle. At the start of the show, the host gave me a slide whistle.
Producer and host Chris Connell – yelling his set into a bullhorn – told a joke that intentionally bombed. The audience was nervous, and tense, not wanting to break the normal social rules of comedy.
“YELL AT ME, YELL AT ME, YELL AT ME!” Chris screamed through the bullhorn.
What proceeded was a beautiful, chaotic masterpiece. Each comic survived an onslaught of heckling (or more accurately hazing) between every few jokes – if they got that far.
Once they’d all endured The Gauntlet, I asked a few of the comics on the lineup to give me advice on how to deal with hecklers.
This is what they had to say:
Assess The Heckler’s Vibe
“It’s important to think about the intent behind the heckler.”
Chase Hoffman (Sunday Supper Comedy, Mom Jeans Comedy)
We work hard on our material. Anyone messing up the flow of our set can immediately come off as antagonistic. But that’s not always the case.
Before you respond to a heckler, it’s important to determine what the person is saying and why they’re saying it. Being too aggressive to someone who didn’t deserve it is a surefire way to lose an audience.
How To Deal With Different Types of Hecklers
Learning how to deal with different types of hecklers require different approaches.
There’s a lot of possibilities why someone could be making noise or saying something during your set. They could be clueless, they could have verbal tics, or maybe they’re just a garbage human.
So how do you determine whether they’re a piece of shit or someone who’s just a little too excited? Instead of forcing yourself to make a split second decision, ease into a response. “Treat them like a person,” Chase suggested. “If someone tries to heckle me, I try to have a conversation with them and meet them where they are.”
It’s no surprise Chase has such a person-first approach. He’s a co-founder of Mom Jeans Comedy, a queer and women-led production team and writing group.
From our conversation, the comics all seemed to agree on three basic groups of hecklers.
How To Deal With The Boring Heckler
“Hecklers try to be funny but bomb all the time.”
Jake Letizia (Dads Like Ducks, Talking To Myself)
The boring heckler is the majority of hecklers. Their statements aren’t funny or even mean, they usually think they’re being supportive. They don’t get that they’re pulling attention away from the show, and slowing down your momentum.
Your initial instinct might be to ignore them entirely, and that is a valid approach. But some people are persistent – and probably a little drunk.
Comic Will Morrison noted the dangers of stonewalling hecklers. “If you just ignore them, you can lose the table.”
Will uses the confusion of a boring heckler to his advantage. “You can hone in on one person. Keep asking them questions until they stop talking to you.”
The Boring Heckler Approach
“If what they heckled you with is boring, be nice at first,” Jake advises. “But if they keep going, just point out how stupid what they’re saying is.” Jake did this a few times during his set, when the hecklers said something that didn’t quite land.
His rebuttal always got a bigger laugh.
How To Deal With The Fun Heckler
“Sometimes you get heckled so well that you use it as a punchline.”
Will Morrison
This is a little rarer, but sometimes you get a gift where a heckler’s input is actually super interesting. Their experience with your topic could be wilder than anything you have written. Maybe there’s a man who’s dating the woman who used to be his parole officer. True story. You never know what you’ll find.
The Fun Heckler Approach
A fun heckler can be useful, producer and comic Julia Desmond notes. If the heckler is funny enough, “you don’t have to rely on yourself for content at all times.”
“If you engage people, they want to laugh more,” Chase agreed. He pointed out the benefit of actually interacting with a heckler in this way. “They feel like they’re in the inner circle. It’s like Improv for people who don’t want to do improv.”
But there is a fine line between an audience being engaged and being too comfortable. Sometimes you need to remind a heckler the show isn’t about them.
“I would always do a rapid give and take,” Julia said about hecklers she’d dealt with in North Carolina. “That’s awesome, now shut up for the rest of the time.”
How To Deal With The Mean Heckler
“Shut them down immediately. Make them the fool, and they’ll stop.”
Julia Desmond (ACME Review, Molly Is Late)
Though this isn’t the most common type of heckler, this is the one people think of when they hear the word heckle. The mean, drunk, angry, (potentially bigoted) heckler who just wants to put down the person on stage.
These types of people have become emboldened recently, for a bunch of reasons we won’t get into here. As a comic, you’re putting yourself at risk for this every time you step on stage, that’s simply the truth.
So, when you’re in front of the mic and you hear someone truly, brutally heckle you, what do you do?
The Mean Heckler Approach
Comedy is completely about commanding the room. If you give up your ownership of the room, it’s almost impossible to get it back. You need to do something immediately. Make sure everyone in the audience knows that this is your room.
Approach 1: Undermine Their Heckle
“Gas them up. It’ll throw them off. ‘That was amazing. You should do comedy.’”
Rachel Kenaston (Flower Power Comedy, Pitchfork Patty, and Maxipad Productions)
The unfortunate truth is, sometimes hecklers are funny. If what they said to heckle you landed with the audience, getting defensive isn’t going to help. Most times, the audience, will respect you more for rolling with the punches.
“If you ignore them it’s gonna fester.’ Rachel Kenaston handles hecklers by steering into the skid.
A great example of this is the recent video of Ariel Elias chugging a beer a heckler threw at her on stage. If you haven’t seen the video, watch it here. It’s an amazing example of how to deal with the most violent kind of heckling short of someone storming the stage.
Approach 2: Directly Address Them
Again, you need to be confident in yourself. This one’s a bit harder, but it can be done.
Usually, hecklers don’t restrict themselves to one comic. In their mind, it’s their show now. I’ve been in many green rooms where the comics ahead of me have warned of a drunken person who’s getting way too vocal.
If you have that knowledge, use it to your advantage. What are they saying? Is there something about them you can make fun of?
Rachel recalled a show she did at New York Comedy Club. A group of British tourists had been stone-faced the entire show – when they weren’t actively heckling.
“The comic before was saying avoid the English people in the corner.” Rachel decided to call them out at the top of her set. She used what they’d done before to highlight how ridiculous they were being during her set. At the end of the show, they approached her and told her she was the best comic of the night.
And even if you can’t win them over, you can turn the rest of the audience against them. Most people don’t like a drunk random interrupting the shows they attend. Show the heckler the rest of the people in the audience want them to shut up. Usually, public shaming does the job.
Approach 3: Get Them Out Of The Bar
Sometimes there’s nothing you can do. Sometimes someone is so angry or sad, no amount of persuading can get them to stop. And that’s okay, you can’t help everyone. What you can do is help yourself and the other members of the audience.
The venue you’re in should have some type of security, whether it’s a bar or a club, or a theater. If you’ve done everything you can, and they still won’t stop, just pause your set until that person is removed from the venue. It’s a last resort, sure, but always being able to have that card is a good way to keep yourself and your audience safe and comfortable.
Getting Practice
Truly the only way to learn how to deal with hecklers is by seeing other comics do it, and doing it yourself. Nothing can prepare you for that flush of being talked at on stage more than being confident in yourself and your material.
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