Paula Poundstone

Poundstone describes her audience conversations as a way of discovering little biographies, usually beginning with where someone lives or what they do. Her stand-up is the better starting point for this skill than her panel appearances, because there is room for a response to develop into a thread. Listen for curiosity in the follow-up questions and for the return to an earlier person. The appeal is recognition: an ordinary detail can become funny without requiring the participant to arrive with a spectacular story.