How improv has taken my work from zero to hero
Ok first off, the zero part may be a gross overstatement of my actual presentation skills. It isn’t hyperbole to say that improv has made me feel more like a hero in workshops, though.
As background, I have had an interest in taking improv for years but only recently have I met a group of weirdos that I actually do verbal trust falls with on a weekly basis. It really is a blast.
Of course, this has bled into my work. I try games and exercises with my work colleagues all the time (you’d have to ask them if they enjoy it as much as I do.) By applying similar principles at work, I have seen ways that improv has helped me facilitate workshops — which I do regularly — as well as approach all projects with more innovation. I hope by sharing these principles, you can benefit from thinking like an improviser in your work as well.
Being truly present keeps you out of your head
Improv, when done well, is a rapid-fire narrative of energy that is passed from player to player. It ebs, it flows like any other form of entertainment.
It cannot be done at all if the players are not truly present. Good players are able to listen for and retain key information out of seemingly random content. They are so focused on each other and being present for this information that there is no time to be in their heads. Because of this, really, really good improv looks like magic and seems like it was meant to happen the way that it does all along.
I am far from perfecting this. I live too much in my head. Improv has been good practice to get out of my head and pay attention to what the other players are doing now — at this moment. You can’t plan the perfect line ahead of time and you can’t predict the direction that scenes will go (I’ve tried to do both). You can only be present and listen to each other, say yes to what you hear and add on reactions (or “gifts”) for everyone to play. This is the “yes and” that you have probably heard about improv.
The same applies for workshop facilitation. Paying attention to the moment can make or break workshop success. Improv supplements the practices we already have in place to become more agile with true innovation. We can look at historical data and even craft the perfect project plan, but if we can’t stay present and get out of our heads, then we’ll miss opportunities to course correct and deliver better outcomes.
Active listening is hard work
Active listening goes hand-in-hand with being present. You can’t really have one without the other and active listening is hard work!
In improv, active listening is very physical. It means checking in with your teammates, listening to what they say and what they do. Active listening is also feeling the scene. When you feel the scene, you recognize the energy… is it time to stop? Or is it time ramp it up? You can actually feel it if you are actively listening and truly present. It’s kind of weird, exhausting and energizing all at the same time.
Good players catalog information quickly by listening for how the players and audience react. They listen for the pattern and the “game” in each scene. This listening becomes the magic that happens when something from the first scene is remembered and replayed in a different way in a later scene.
With any work project I’ve been on, active listening is hard work as well. It is hard to put aside bias and not assume the end result. Ways to avoid both assumption and bias in business are the same as improv. Listen, truly listen hard to all your players. Read the room and react accordingly. When we have had a successful workshop, this is the reason why I am so exhausted afterwards.
There are no wrong answers, only stronger choices
If you are looking to perform perfectly, improv is not the place. You will never see the same game or show twice. Some shows are amazing and some shows are weak. (I, for one, hate the “Irish drinking song” game … but that’s for another post.) This imperfection is one of the things that is great about improv. It is perfectly imperfect. It is unpredictable, smart and — dare I say — alive.
What makes this imperfection work, is to say yes and then commit to that choice. You can go down a meandering road in a series of choices but you’ll go nowhere by not committing to anything.
I have heard this analogy a few times about improv… it’s like LEGOs. You have LEGO bricks and I have LEGO bricks. We build our scene brick by brick together. If you make an unusual choice, I honor that and build upon that unusual choice to see where it takes us. In that way, we might find ourselves building a castle, or a submarine, or something we would have never thought to build alone. If we said “no” to a brick, or were too quick to judge our own choices in LEGO bricklaying, we would find ourselves making the same things over and over and never truly innovating.
Improv is a very giving environment, it is also a very fair and balanced environment. This allows for more ideas to proliferate if everyone’s voices are heard… not just the loud one or the one that is most senior. Everyone is building the scenes and ultimately the show.
Committing to a decision and testing it works for better project success as well. The 5 phases of the Design Thinking methodology follow this premise. In a Design Thinking workshop, participants are guided to make decisions then test and validate them with users. Similar to an audience’s reaction in improv, testing can be that gauge of a strong or weak decision. Not right or wrong, you always learn something.
Improv is not standup comedy
In stand up comedy, there is usually one person on stage with a mic, telling stories or jokes. The success of the set is all on the comic.
In improv, you are playing with a team. This collaboration values the success of the team higher than the success of any individual player. Players work together and support each other in pursuit of a common goal. It’s a hierarchy-free zone. Unbelievably hilarious things come from this naturally. No one needs to be a stand up comic when the games are played well.
Del Close is one of the founders of iO (ImprovOlympic based out of Chicago) and sums it up with “The truth is funny. Honest discovery, observation, and reaction is better than contrived invention.”
How does this apply to the work world? Teamwork is a powerful thing. And when we work together at anything with humility and respect, great things ultimately happen. If you swap out “being funny” for “being successful”, thinking like an improviser actually takes a lot of the pressure off of being a solo contributor.
Not to say that we don’t need good leaders. Good directors are equally important in an improv show. Their role as directors is to help highlight where more focus is needed and pitfalls to avoid, while encouraging people to continue to grow and experiment. This resonates with any good work leader that I have had. They hire smart people and get out of the way.
Know the rules, and how to use them
How MBA does that sound? But it’s true. Improv may look like it is this organic, free flowing, hilarious chatter. And in the show, it really is. This part may surprise you though — all the games you see in a show are rules-based (for the most part), and within that contain overall rules that govern everyone on stage. This is the glue that keeps it all together.
Here are some main rules that I’ve gotten from instructors that make the chaos of improv work:
- Always say “yes and”, then commit
- You are friendly, happy people that know and love each other, and have a shared past
- Always look for the pattern and play the game
- Never force the funny
I bring all of these rules to my life almost everyday (I have some bad days too). It has been a very rewarding experience that I am still growing from.
If you are interested, I highly recommend reading Truth in Comedy and even giving improv a go! When you do, you’ll inevitably enjoy applying lessons from improv across your whole life including bringing “yes, and” to work.
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Want to learn how improv can help your team? I have some great recommendations to learn from some professionals!
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