The Elements of Comedic Surprise

Laughter is created when surprise is present. Specifically, laughter is created when there is a comedic element of surprise. Your electric bill doubling can surprise you, but that doesn’t result in a laugh. Or you could be surprised when your teenage son wrecks the car, but again, no laughter.

A comedic surprise is a twist without serious repercussions. A joke can be structured perfectly but still flop because listeners feel the twist has serious repercussions. You may hear, “That’s mean!” instead of a laugh.

A joke structure that works means the audience believes one thing to be true; however, it is gradually revealed that something else is actually true. The involuntary psychological reaction is usually laughter.

The techniques for making a surprise humorous include:

• Conciseness
• Misdirection
• Revealing the punch word or phrase at the last possible moment

In a well-structured joke, it’s not only about having a good twist; it’s about connecting the setup and punch line in a logical way.

It helps to have a buildup to the twist. Usually, the first part of the joke is informative, lulling the audience into having a certain expectation. This also creates tension, which the twist releases. Here’s an example of a joke from Steven Wright, an American stand-up comedian:

“I’ve been getting into astronomy, so I installed a skylight. The people who live above me are furious.”

When he talks about installing a skylight, we are imagining his roof. He is luring us into thinking he’ll view the stars from his home. This makes the twist even stronger!

Now here’s the joke without misdirection.

“I’ve been getting into astronomy, so I installed a skylight.”

It’s not as funny because it’s just a setup and a twist. Without misdirection, the twist is too abrupt.

With the misdirection statement, “The people who live above me are furious,” we are led away from the punch line, which makes it more effective.

Adapted from a July 2018 Toastmaster magazine article