Want to be a great comedian? Follow these steps and you'll have them rolling in the aisles.

But beside these steps, a good joke consists of three things - audience, timing, and the comedian.

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[edit] Steps

Know what the audience likes. If one joke gets more laughs, try telling more jokes of a different genre.
Time your jokes well. Tell your joke at a speed that gives your audience enough time to think about it. Don't talk too fast or too slow. No one likes a joke that takes ten minutes to tell.When your audience is laughing, wait for them to stop before starting your next joke. This way, they won't miss any key points.
Say two words, if your punchline is short, try repeating it a couple of times, but don't make it too redundant. Changing the tone helps.
Emphasize key points in jokes.

[edit] Tips

Don't make the audience the butt of your jokes. Tell an embarrassing story about yourself. But if some one in the audience leaves for something try to take the mick.
Practice telling the jokes to others and notice their reaction. Take a mental poll on how effective your jokes were.
Consider watching or listening to stand up comedy acts from other comedians. This can give you insight on techniques, facial expressions, and timing that other more seasoned comedians use.
If you have stage fright, try picturing the audience in their underwear or something of that sort to get rid of it.
Remember to walk the stage. You do not want to show you're nervous by standing in one spot. This also gets the rest of the audience uninterested with you because they feel you're not talking to them.
Try not to laugh a lot at your own jokes. Grins and chuckles are fine, though.
Relate to the average person.
Body language and timing.
Look up to classic comedians like Bernie Mac (R.I.P.) Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, D.L. Hughley, and some good contemporary comedians like Robin Williams or Jim Carrey.
A note on some above comedians, D.L. Hughley in particular. Don't rely one one aspect of comedy, like race or culture, as this makes your comedy narrow minded, and sometimes even gives it a "racially exclusive" impression. D.L. Hughley is a good example; many people find his act to be more accessible to everyone than some black comedians. The true comic can make anyone laugh, black, white, etc., without using a comedic crutch like racial humor.
Racial humor can be appropriate in moderation, and consideration for the audience. While humor at the expense of minorities is considered taboo, humor at the expense of white people is unfortunately universally accepted. Be aware of this double standard, and be careful!
Study up on comedians who you might not see on TV so much. Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, Larry the Cable Guy, etc, are all in a crowd which has achieved status through easy humor that lacks intelligence. Don't follow this garbage, have a look at Ben Bailey, Hannibal Burress, Demitri Martin, and Lewis Black. There are comedians out there who don't have to resort to using stereotypes, farts, and vulgarity to be funny. The key is intelligence.

[edit] Warnings

Avoid jokes that take a long time to explain or jokes that involve facts that no one knows.
Avoid telling overly-offensive jokes such as racist ones. A little bit of light-hearted controversy is fine, but know where the line is, and don't cross it.
Never ever try to get laughs by making fun of someone. You arent being a comedian just a bully.