My Learnings from Improv
For the past few months, I have been intrigued by the term Improv and so thought of attending a basic improv workshop. However, I had no idea that improv will be a great learning experience for me.
Before jumping into what I learnt, would like to share what Improv is ?
Improvisation or Improv is a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters and dialogue of a game, scene or story are made up in the moment.
Why Improv?
While doing some research around improv, I came to understand how it helps in providing a psychological safe space for experimentation as well as help in fostering collaboration. This made me curious and I wanted to check for myself.
Last month I joined an Improv workshop and realized that indeed it does teach us a lot which we can apply in our day to day life as well as in our workplace.
Below are few of my learning from the workshop.
Overcoming the fear
We were a bunch of strangers who had come together. Through various activities we had to come up with something then and there itself.
It was a different feeling and there was an apprehension what if I don’t do the scene well, what if I can’t keep up with the group ?. However, the beauty of improv is making you feel comfortable and to learn to be friends with your fear. As and when we progressed, I got to realize my fear has disappeared as I was so passionately involved in improving the scene and being in my feet.
Power of Active Listening
One of the things which I learnt is the power of active listening — follow what others are doing instead of thinking of what I am going to say next.
We need to actively listen to what others are saying and accordingly build on what they are doing or saying. I learnt to silence the noise of my thoughts and in turn be present then and there itself.
It’s about Accepting
The first rule of improv is to AGREE. Always agree and say YES to whatever your partner has created and then expand that line of thought (the “AND”). Initially it was difficult but over a period of time as we went on building scenes bit by bit using “YES AND” , it was such a surreal feeling- a feeling of being positive, collaboration, mutual trust and respect and made us feel that there are ample opportunities to experiment.
Safety lies in knowing your partner will go along with whatever idea you present.
It’s OK to fail.
Improv is done on the spot without a script. Each time we goofed up a scene, we took it in our stride and tried again. It was such a liberating feeling and helped us to improvise the next time.
Improv is a team sport
What I learnt during the session, it is not about “I” but “We”. Whatever we do it is done together and to make the story look good.
Collaboration and cooperation is the heart of improv and the basic crux is to “make your partner look good”
Trust your instinct
I learnt is to say the first thing which comes into my mind without over thinking about what I am going to say next or what’s going to happen next. It is expecting the unexpected and so better go with your instinct.
For me personally it was such a surreal experience and have been trying to put the basic tenets of improv into practice in my day to day life.
In fact there are lots to learn which we can apply in our workplace to encourage innovation, creativity and learning.
