Rob Brydon's secret on how comedians make us laugh

If you think a joke is all about a hilarious story or a simple set-up and punchline, Rob Brydon thinks you're having a laugh.

The Barbie and Gavin and Stacey star is one of the UK's most respected and well-loved comedians but has revealed a secret on how to make you all crack up.

If you listen to Brydon, it's not necessarily all about what you say but it's how you tell them.

"It's all about how am I communicating this idea," said the host of hit BBC show Would I Lie to You. "There's nothing else."

Brydon has sold out venues across the country doing stand-up shows and the 59-year-old Welshman says he crafts and pores over every word he says on stage and TV.

"Someone with a comedic mind will always be thinking of economy, how can you do it in as a fewer words as possible," Brydon told BBC's analysis editor Ros Atkins in his new Radio 4 podcast.

"It's one of the few times I shout at the screen when someone is using too many words.

"When I have a joke I think about how can I streamline it, what words are really important."

Brydon, who also stars alongside fellow comedian and friend Steve Coogan in BBC's The Trip, isn't someone that writes new material on to a computer or piece of paper, he immediately records it as a voice note into his phone.

"Often the way you say it into your phone is perfect because the idea comes formed," he said.

"The important thing is you catch the idea when it comes to you, don't think 'I'll that later' because inevitably you won't - and if you do, the words won't be the same and authentic."

Brydon tests his new material on unsuspecting friends and family who don't know they're being used as comedy guinea pigs.

"I'll slip new stuff into conversation," he added. "Not in the form of 'what do you think of this":[]}