DOCUMENTS 84. Rule with Threes Use the Rule of Threes when giving examples—try making 1 the first two serious and the third one something unlikely. Why does this work? Comedy comes from surprising people and breaking expectations. The Rule of Threes is one of the quickest way to establish an expectation (the first two examples set a pattern), and also break it (the third breaks the pattern and causes uproarious laughter). For example: To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as necessary. The first two examples set the expectation of a traditional mindset (full or empty). The third breaks it with a comment on the glass’s size. 1 For a business-like example, review the definition of humor on page 2. 52