Almost anything embarrassing is potentially funny.
Embarrassing stuff happens to all of us. But very few get up in front of a roomful of people to talk about their embarrassing stuff as humorous insights into life.
Recently at the Comedy Cellar in NYC I saw a show with six comics. The comedians were men, women, different races, and different ages. They each had a different style of delivery and different personalities. But they all generally talked about personal stuff that was funny, like Louis CK does in his routines.
Their material was much less about observations about the world around them, like you might hear from a Jerry Seinfeld. His style is funny too but it wasn’t usually too personal.
People are interested in other people and what they do. We actually want to see how the sausage gets made. Newer comedians gather up scraps and residue of their lives and shape it all into something funny to share.
I’ve never seen a comedian bomb on stage, resonating with strangers in a room all watching you must be tough. But luckily there’s enough embarrassing material in each person’s life that in the right hands can be made into really funny stories.