Bob Newhart

Driving Instructor is a compact lesson in making an unseen interaction legible through one person's responses. Newhart's hesitations and careful attempts to retain professional calm let the listener imagine the other side of the exchange. The situation grows less manageable while the manner remains restrained. Start with this routine and the early recordings for his control of silence: the audience has time to work out what must have happened, which makes a small adjustment in his voice unexpectedly powerful.