5 Lessons I Learned from Improv

And how they apply to life

In my continuing quest to improve my comedy chops AND my speaking skills, I signed up for an improv class.

It turns out, the keys to good improv have some suspicious implications for, well, life.

Here are the rules I’ve uncovered so far:

1. Listen, then react. Thinking of the cool thing you’re going to say while your partner is talking is the quickest way to wreck an improv scene. When you’re thinking about what you’re going to say, you’re not listening.

2. Play. There are no improv exercises. There are improv games. Once I got myself in the mindset of thinking this was a game rather than a test to pass, I relaxed, and improv became easier. I think this applies to life as well.

3. Release control. I messed up last week’s scene. Instead of letting my partner run the scene, I tried to take control and stepped all over her. The basis of improv is the phrase: “Yes, and…” Yes, you are down with what’s happening. And… you add something to the imaginary world.

4. Commit. Commit to the role—whatever it is. Go all out. The best scene I’ve done so far is when I fully committed to being an angst-filled potato with a Texas accent, frustrated that my partner, steak, got all the glory. I think I can honestly say I’ve never pretended to be a potato before. That same week, I had to give a speech about the History of Tarot. Despite some misgivings, I decided to commit to playing a vampire, a pope, the Devil, and death, all within a 7 minute period. I won best speaker for the night, and I was up against some tough competition. (I did better live than in the video below, but if you’re curious about my History of Tarot speech, there it is).

5. Reclaim a childlike sensibility: This isn’t a formal rule, but I realized that it supported all the others. The games, the play, the commitment, the willingness to see what happens next—it’s something I’d lost and regretted losing. Digging into those memories and remembering how it felt to just believe, makes everything flow more easily.

What do you think? Is it my imagination, or do these “rules” apply to more than improv?