Corporate Gigs: How to Get Booked, Get Paid, and Still Be Invited Back
Corporate gigs are the glamorous cousin of stand-up. Same job (make strangers laugh), different setting (ballroom carpet that looks like it was designed by a committee of migraines). And the stakes are higher, because at a comedy club the worst thing that happens is someone heckles. At a corporate gig, the worst thing that happens is someone emails.
So here’s how to do corporate shows, get the check, and leave with your dignity and your deposit intact.
1) Know what you’re walking into
Corporate comedy comes in a few flavors:
After-dinner feature/headliner (20–45 minutes, big room, mixed ages, executives and their feelings)
Conference opener (5–15 minutes, tight timing, attention spans on airplane mode)
MC/host (short bursts, lots of transitions, you are the human lanyard that keeps the event moving)
Virtual shows (everyone is “watching” while answering Slack and pretending they’re not)
This is not a club. This is a workplace wearing sequins.
2) Watch the comedians who already live in this lane
If you’re trying to understand what “clean, smart, corporate-friendly” actually looks like, go study:
Don McMillan: clean, tech-forward, super accessible, huge laughs, zero chaos.
Ryan Hamilton: charming, story-driven, absurd in the best way, and so clean he could host a dental conference.
Also worth watching depending on your style: Nate Bargatze, Brian Regan, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld. Not to copy them. To learn how to get massive laughs without needing an apology tour.
3) Material: be relatable, not risky
Corporate audiences want to laugh. They just don’t want to feel nervous while laughing.
Safe gold:
Work nonsense: meetings, corporate buzzwords, “quick syncs” that become a hostage situation
Travel: airports, hotels, conference life, rental cars that smell like regret
Tech and modern life: AI panic, password rules, “two-factor authentication” being your new religion
Light industry references: enough to show you paid attention without doing a TED Talk
Landmines:
Sex, explicit language, politics, religion
“Let me roast your CEO” unless the client explicitly asked for it and signed their soul over
Punching down, cruelty, anything that makes the room go quiet in a way you can hear
Corporate isn’t about being toothless. It’s about being smart enough to keep all your teeth.
4) Your promo needs to look like a professional, not a dare
Your corporate reel should answer one question: “Will this person make our people laugh without creating a situation?”
You want:
A clean 2–3 minute reel (real laughs, clear audio, no nightclub darkness)
A short bio (50/150/300 word versions)
A one-page sheet: what you do, what audiences get, basic tech needs
Bonus: a hosting clip (corporate clients love an MC who can keep the show on schedule)
This is not the time for the clip titled “I Destroyed This Room.” Terrific. Were there witnesses. Were there attorneys.
5) The pre-show call is where you save yourself
Do a 15–20 minute call and get the intel:
Exact timing and format (and who has final approval)
Audience size and vibe (party fun vs conference polite)
Who’s in the room (employees only? clients? mixed? executives?)
“Absolutely not” topics (make them list them)
Tech setup (mic, stage, lighting, cues)
If they can’t answer basic questions, they’re not hiring comedy. They’re hiring chaos with plausible deniability.
6) Custom material: do a little, sparkle it in
Corporate clients love “tailored.” You don’t need forty minutes about their software.
Best move:
2–5 minutes up top customized to the event (city, theme, industry quirks)
Sprinkle a couple callbacks later so it feels made for them
The goal is “thoughtful,” not “inside joke no one understands except the CFO.”
7) Charge like an adult with rent
Corporate budgets are real. Companies will spend your entire fee on branded water bottles and call it “engagement.”
Quote simply:
Base fee + travel + customization (if requested).
Make it clean, professional, and boring. Boring is trustworthy. Trustworthy gets rebooked.
8) The set structure that works almost every time
Quick, likable opener (get them on your side fast)
Broad relatable chunk (work/life/travel/modern nonsense)
Strong middle (your best clean material)
Custom callback (they feel seen)
Confident closer (clear energy, clear ending, clear applause)
Corporate crowds want “we’re having fun” quickly. Save the slow-burn experimental sadness for your art show.
9) Three ways to get blacklisted quietly and permanently
Going dirty after being told “keep it clean”
Running long
Making the company look bad (especially in front of clients)
Corporate gigs are not forgiving. They are polite. They will smile. Then you will never hear from them again. Like dating, but with invoices.
Now, go crush it!
Corporate comedy is a skill, not a compromise. If you can crush in a ballroom full of professionals who have to be up at 7 a.m., you can crush anywhere.
Build a clean killer set. Get a clean reel. Be easy to work with. Then enjoy the rarest thing in show business: consistent money from people who own printers.
