Comic timing

Comic timing is use of rhythm and tempo to enhance comedy and humor. The pacing of the delivery of a joke has a strong impact on its comic effect; the same is also true of more physical comedy such as slapstick.

Related Topics:
Comedy - Humor - Joke - Slapstick

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A beat is a pause taken for the purposes of comic timing, often to allow the audience time to recognize the joke and react, or to heighten the suspense before delivery of the expected punch line.

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Sometimes those outside the comedy business assume that there must be some set period of silent time "that's funny." Aside from a few comedic pauses intended only to heighten an already established tension, nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, pauses are one of the clues we use to discern subtext or even unconscious content - that is, what the speaker is really thinking about.

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Jack Benny and Victor Borge are two comedians famed for using the extended beat, allowing the pause to itself become a source of humor above the original joke. George Carlin and Rowan Atkinson are two other stand-up comedians well known for superior timing.

Related Topics:
Jack Benny - Victor Borge - George Carlin - Rowan Atkinson

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