Improv will make your work better

Community Thoughts on Improv will make your work better...

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   It's Not Quite Funny or Die, But Improv Works to Fuel Innovation by Lydia Dishman via Fast Company Kavanaugh confesses that she and other members of the executive team were “a little scared” to try improv as visions of having to perform like the cast of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” took hold. When the Ask team finally dove in [ . . . ] they discovered something totally different. “It was really transformative,” says Kavanaugh. “Folks said it was the most impactful training session in their entire career.”

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   So Funny, It Doesn't Hurt by Kathleen Toohill via The Atlantic For some, the benefits can be even more significant: Researchers and clinical psychologists alike have begun to pay attention to improv, conducting studies or incorporate it into work with their patients. The improv stage, in theory, is a space free of judgement or fear of failure, making it an ideal environment for people who struggle with low self-esteem, social anxiety, or other types of anxiety disorders.

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   Four Big Lessons From Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Other Improv Masters by Andy Boynton via Forbes Colbert is saying you’re not the most important one, because [ . . . ], “Everybody else is. And if they are the most important person in the scene, you will naturally pay attention to them and serve them.” The comedian quickly adds: “But the good news is you’re in the scene too. So hopefully to them you’re the most important person, and they will serve you. No one is leading. You’re all following the follower, serving the servant. You cannot win improv.”

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   What Great Listeners Actually Do by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman via Harvard Business Review While many of us have thought of being a good listener being like a sponge that accurately absorbs what the other person is saying, instead, what these findings show is that good listeners are like trampolines. They are someone you can bounce ideas off of—and rather than absorbing your ideas and energy, they amplify, energize, and clarify your thinking. They make you feel better not merely passively absorbing, but by actively supporting.

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   You're Not The One: How I (Sort Of) Learned to Stop Trying to be "Good" All The Time by Ben Noble via I'm Making All This Up Personally, I know that my drive to be the “big picture guy” comes from the desire to be “good.” To make the right moves in a show. But that instinct can be more shortsighted than helpful. I end up trying to dominate the show, exert my will, force an architecture that would happen on its own. It prevents me from being totally present in scenes. It inhibits my ability to listen and react, to walk on stage and discover something with my scene partner.