In interviews, Jerry Lewis was routinely asked for the secret to comedy. He would often ask the interviewer to repeat the question.
Before they could finish asking, Lewis would interrupt with the answer: “Timing”.
Which usually got a laugh. Because it was a display of spectacularly bad timing.
Sometimes, he’d go in for seconds. “Okay, ask me again.”
After they repeated the question, Lewis would say nothing. Dead air. Then, after a few beats, he would repeat the answer.
Yes, timing is the key to comedy, and displaying bad timing is not only a great way to make the point, it’s funny.
Sometimes, Lewis would explain the key to developing your timing: lots of practice.
You do your jokes and shtick often enough and your timing improves.
Isn’t that what Jerry Seinfeld said about his process? When he was starting out, he wrote at least one new joke every day. He’d mark an X on a wall calendar each day he did this. Eventually, he had a chain of X’s, leading to his oft-quoted advice, “Don’t break the chain.”
Because that’s how you improve any skill.
The point is that if there’s something you want to improve, a skill or a habit, you practice it. Do it often enough and you get better.
If you write every day, you become a better writer. Faster, too.
If you regularly practice your presentation, your delivery improves.
Practice is the key to improvement in sports, playing an instrument, our work.
And marketing.
If you want to get better at networking, for example, you practice networking skills.
Introducing yourself to a stranger. Building rapport. Finding out what the other person needs or wants so you can find a way to help them.
Telling someone about yourself is another networking skill. It’s also the subject of my latest book, “How to Sell Your Legal Services in 15 Seconds or Less”.
