During the second semester of my senior year of college, I needed one more class in my schedule in order to graduate. I remember sitting in the university library overwhelmed at the enormous list of possible classes that Rollins College offered.
After twenty minutes of scrolling through that list, there was one class that caught my eye. That class was improv. Improv is short for improvisation and usually has to do with comedy. “Interesting,” I remember thinking. I had watched the show, Whose Line Is It Anyway ( a famous improv comedy show) for a long time, and I had always had an interest in comedy. This class intrigued me and I immediately signed up. What I did not realize was the impact and inspiration that this class would have on my life.
The class was great. It met twice a week for the entire semester. My interest in improv didn’t stop when the class ended. Immediately following graduation, I began taking weekly classes at SAK Comedy Lab, a well-known and top-rated comedy club in downtown Orlando. Over the course of a year and a half, I took multiple classes, I performed on stage in student shows and watched over a hundred improv shows featuring professional improvisers on stage.
I quickly discovered there is so much more to improv than making people laugh. Here are three things improv taught me about being a better communicator in my everyday life.
1.) Say “Yes And” More
These two words form the foundation for all improv, and frankly, any great collaborative experience. I would venture to guess we have all been around people who say “yes but, or no, but” a lot when ideas are presented to them. This is challenging to work with and a mindset that halts creativity and communication.
One huge misconception about “yes and” is that it means you have to agree with everything that is said. That’s not true! “Yes and” means you are hearing and accepting what is being said, suspending judgement, and building off the ideas of others. It is less about agreeing, and more about staying in the conversation to give ideas a chance to breathe. “Yes and” embodies the notion that we cannot do things alone. It is more than two words – it is a mindset to adopt in order to communicate and create new things with others
2.) Become a Master Listener
The last time someone spoke to you, were you already forming the next thing you were going to say or were you truly listening to what was being said in that moment? I tend to fall into the second category. But I continually work on listening to understand instead of listening to respond.
My improv teacher once say to me, “Kyle, LISTEN!!!!! Every single time words come out of your scene partner’s mouth, they are providing you with an offer that you can use to build the scene.” It took me awhile to understand what this meant. Essentially he was saying, stop talking so much. But more than that, he was also suggesting that you have to be tuned into what people are saying so you can use that “yes and” mindset to build off those ideas and create a really great scene.
We’ve all heard the old adage, you have two ears and one mouth so that enables you to listen twice as much as speaking. There is so much truth in this, but it is so hard. Ultimately three things happen when you become a master listener.
- You build empathy with others..
- Your relationships become stronger.
- New ideas emerge faster.
3.) Tell a Great Story
In one of my first-ever improv scenes, I was playing a man at a grocery store cash register and I was talking about the bread I had in my hand. It was a five minute interaction in which I was speaking with the cashier about the cost of the bread. The scene dragged on and it was boring. That was obvious since half the class was asleep by the time we finished. Here is the reason why. There was no substance to the scene and essentially, THERE WAS NO STORY!
Story is everything. Since prehistoric times, human beings have told stories. We are wired to understand a story at a deeper level than any other type of communication. We understand what it means for a character to overcome a challenge and transform themselves into the person they have always sought to be.
Back to that bread scene. What if the scene between me and the cashier went something like this? I was running late to the airport to deliver bread to my brother who could not get on a plane without his bread fix. However, I had forgotten to buy the bread the night before, and I overslept the morning after. So this put me in a race against the clock to get to the grocery store before heading to the airport. This was the fourth time this week he had asked me to do something for him, yet I dropped the ball each time. If I don’t get my brother this two foot long baguette, he is going to ostracize me forever. That would make me feel pretty bad.
BOOM! Now, the audience wants to know some answers. Why did I oversleep? Why can’t my brother travel without a bread fix? Why can’t my brother get his own dang bread? With added substance, this has the potential to be an interesting story an audience would want to watch. Wouldn’t you agree? That is the power of story!
After studying improv for three years and performing a few times, I realized a couple things. First, the audience responds best, laughs more, and has a ton of fun when the performers on stage invite the audience in and then engage in a real story. Secondly, people become invested in a story when they believe that the events unfolding on stage might relate to their own life.
So the next time you have an idea to share or a concept to communicate, implement a story into your delivery. That is the fastest way to invite a listener into the story you are telling and helps the listener build empathy and connection for what you are saying.
If you say “yes and”, become a master listener, and tell a great story, you will be well on your way to becoming a better communicator.