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Tried a joke at my local open mic and bombed... then a guy in the back said count to three after the punchline
I was at the Rusty Nail in Portland last Thursday doing a 5 minute set, and my bit about printer error codes got total silence. This older comedian told me I was rushing the laughs, that audiences need a beat to catch up. Has anyone else gotten better results just by slowing down your timing?
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anna49125d agoMost Upvoted
Hold on though, is it really that serious? I mean yeah counting to three helps but honestly if the joke is about printer error codes I think the pause is just gonna make people realize they still don't find it funny. Some crowds are just cold and no amount of timing is gonna save a bit that misses the room. I've seen guys take long pauses and it just makes the silence more awkward if the punchline didn't land. You gotta know when to just move on to the next joke instead of trying to force a laugh with a pause.
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Yeah the "count to three" thing saved my set too, that pause really does let the laugh catch up lol.
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