Creativity Quote by Humphrey Lyttelton

Comedic timing, Humphrey Lyttelton suggests, is less about mugging for the joke than refusing to acknowledge it. The instruction is almost perversely simple: read the words, keep moving, don’t telegraph that you’ve spotted the naughtiness. In a medium like radio, where audiences can’t see a wink, the temptation is to manufacture one with voice - the “leery” little dip into suggestiveness that tells listeners, I know what I’m doing. Lyttelton’s point is that this is exactly how you kill the laugh.

The subtext is a quiet defense of professionalism. He’s talking about trust: trust the writing, trust the audience, trust the rhythm of plain speech. If there’s a double meaning, it lands harder when it arrives unannounced, like a trapdoor you fall through. Pausing to signal the punchline is basically a spoiler, turning wit into a shared nudge-nudge club handshake. That’s why his advice is phrased like a correction, even a mild scolding - he’s heard too many performers step on their own material.

Context matters: Lyttelton spent decades in British broadcasting and jazz, worlds built on timing, restraint, and ensemble awareness. His rule is an old bandleader’s rule applied to comedy: don’t overplay. Let the line swing. The joke isn’t in the performer’s smirk; it’s in the listener’s delayed realization that they’ve just laughed at something slightly improper - and did it of their own accord.