Misdirection and the rule of three
Two tried-and-true comedy techniques
Misdirection:
Anticipate what the audience expects will happen. Go out of your way to reinforce their belief that what they think is going to happen is indeed what is going to happen.
Then trick them. Make something different and surprising happen. But it can't just be weird and off-the-wall. It has to make perfect sense once they hear it, yet take them by surprise because you lulled them into thinking their minds were ahead of yours instead of a step behind.
The rule of three (a form of misdirection)
Have two items in a list that establish a reasonable pattern, so the audience will have a reasonable expectation of what the third item in the list would be, but instead, foil their expectations by having the third item in the list break the pattern in a funny and unexpected way. People laugh when they suddenly realize they've been tricked, and it's a clever, worthy trick. The laugh means they give you credit for outsmarting them.
Two tried-and-true comedy techniques
Misdirection:
Anticipate what the audience expects will happen. Go out of your way to reinforce their belief that what they think is going to happen is indeed what is going to happen.
Then trick them. Make something different and surprising happen. But it can't just be weird and off-the-wall. It has to make perfect sense once they hear it, yet take them by surprise because you lulled them into thinking their minds were ahead of yours instead of a step behind.
The rule of three (a form of misdirection)
Have two items in a list that establish a reasonable pattern, so the audience will have a reasonable expectation of what the third item in the list would be, but instead, foil their expectations by having the third item in the list break the pattern in a funny and unexpected way. People laugh when they suddenly realize they've been tricked, and it's a clever, worthy trick. The laugh means they give you credit for outsmarting them.
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