When I practice my standup routines in front of the mirror, I’m a comic genius. Everything seems hilarious and insightful. Yet when I perform in public, the feedback is, shall we say, more varied (especially when it’s fueled by half-price bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon). But I don’t mind the feedback. In fact, that’s why I subject myself to the ordeal. By noting laughs, groans, silence (the worst), and puzzled expressions, I discover how to improve the set.