The Academy
Six things that win a card. Six ways to get better at them.
The twist
The gap between where the setup points and where the punchline goes.
Freshness
The same topic as everyone else. An angle nobody has heard.
Specificity
Named, concrete, checkable. Dave from procurement, not "a colleague".
Economy
Every syllable after the punch is dead air.
Craft
Misdirection, triples, callbacks, act-outs: technique you can see.
The landing
The funniest word goes last. The most fixable flaw in amateur comedy.