Dead Air Dave

I hate silence. In radio, we had a name for it. "Dead Air". And dead air is the last thing ANY radio host wants. Well....unless you're Dead Air Dave, a guy I worked with back in the late 90's.

I met him on my first day as an intern. The boss told me to go into the production studio and do some busy work. When I opened the door to the studio, there was a 50 year old man with long grey hair and a thick mustache slumped over in an office chair. His eyes were closed. He was not moving.

He looked dead.

I ran back to my boss to report the body and without turning away from his computer screen he told me "Oh, that's Dave. Just wake him up and tell him you need the studio.

Dave worked overnights. He often fell asleep at the controls. After a while, he started claiming "It's part of my show, man! The fans love it!". I was more than a little skeptical.

Fast forward to the present day. Some of my fellow improvisors and I were giving each other notes. I was halfway through explaining to a friend that their scene had too much filler, when it hit me.

DEAD AIR DAVE WAS RIGHT!!!

Not every silence needs to be filled. Not every long line of dialogue needs an equally lengthy response. Sometimes your audience just wants a second to digest. In improv, we call it "letting the scene breathe". After your partner delivers a line, you can just shoot them a silent look. Or, if you must, a single syllable. A well timed, contemplative "hmmm" can do a lot of comedic heavy lifting!

The same holds true for daily life. Our brains are wired to believe, the more we say, the smarter we're going to appear. Bad news. Our brains are wrong. Ever watch "The Office"? Which characters talk a lot? How intelligent do they come off? Which characters react with a word or a look? How smart do they seem?

So whether it be in improv or in life, take a page out of Dead Air Dave's playbook. Sometimes the conversation just needs a little time to breathe.