I put a set list together carefully, often with a thread of some sort stringing two, three or four songs together. The intro to each song then helps make the connections visible to the audience. But paramount is that I'm there to entertain, not educate (unless that's what I'm being paid to do), so short, sweet and with some humor works best of all.

With a tougher audience, I've found that giving them something to look for in a song can help them focus: "This next song will give you gents a sure-fire technique for picking up dairy maids." That technique is great with kids, of course, but their 'rents sometimes need that extra hook, too.

I hear so often that "stage presence" is what makes a performer truly enjoyable for an audience. The patter is part of the performance, and it's a crucial piece of one's stage presence. Thinking about your intros in advance, as much as practicing the songs, is the surefire way of doing it well.

Jerry