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Rule of Three multiplies effect of speech, humor

humorist Doc Blakely
From the October 29, 1999 print edition
Say Something Funny

The Rule of Three multiplies effect of speech and humor

By Ellis Posey
humorist Doc Blakely
humorist Doc Blakely

If you want to talk funny, timing is everything.

Comic timing is one of those things all comedians and humorists insist is necessary to the successful performance of humor. But nobody seems to be able to explain exactly what comic timing is.

After extensive research and study, I have concluded comic timing is not just one simple rule or formula the budding humor practitioner must master. It’s more likely a number of things.

What humorist Doc Blakely calls “The Rule of Three” is part of the formula.

“It is generally accepted in humor that one general theme is overworked after it has been attacked at least three times with punch lines that are quite similar,” Blakely writes.

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