First Time Doing Improv? Here’s What To Expect
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
Your worst fear has come true: your workplace or school has scheduled a mandatory improv workshop.
And you plead:
"Wait! No! stop! I'm not funny! I'm not quick on my feet! I clam up during presentations or in front of groups. How on Earth am I supposed to be as quick-witted, quirky, and zany as the cast of Whose Line Is It Anyway? without any proper training in front of my coworkers in only a few days' time?" - You, maybe
(Perhaps your participation is voluntary. You're interested in taking an improv course to develop your public speaking skills or jumpstart your comedy career.)
Whatever the reason, I want to allay some fears:
You don't have to be funny because you won’t need to be funny.
You don't have to be quick on your feet. Improv teacher aren’t there to encourage cleverness.
You won't be alone. You may have to do an exercise by yourself but it will be as simple as introducing yourself.
When most people hear the term "improv workshop," they think "improv comedy workshop."
This is largely due to what I call Improv's PR Crisis.
Your facilitator isn't going to teach you how to be funny. If this workshop is provided by your company, they have zero interest in you becoming a funnier person.
In all likelihood, what they are (and you should be) interested in are the soft skills exercises improv provides.
I've often said improv is a communication playground.
On a playground, you build your social skills through just being a kid:"
Pretending is the name of the game.
There's no judgement
It's all fun.
“Corporate Improv Workshop" is just office-speak for returning to that playground.
But why return to that playground? Maybe you want to:
Facilitate open dialogue with your team members.
Foster a positive atmosphere.
Encourage creative ideas.
All of these can be unlocked through improv. And I'm here to help put aside any fears you have and be open to what it can do for you.
You don't need to be funny.
This is the number one misconception about improv workshops. It is NOT an improv comedy workshop.
Improv is a set of ideas and practices. Improv comedy leverages improv to create comedy.
An improv workshop will share foundations and lessons of improv, such as:
Active listening
Letting go of judgement
Making others look good
None of these are hilarious knee-slapping joke fodder. These are soft skills which, more often than not, are mistaken for soft talents. People think charisma and soft skills are innate. These improv workshops are to prove you can develop them.
They’re called soft skills, not soft talents.
Will it still be fun if it's not going to be funny? Is it going to be boring?
It will still be fun! And potentially, yes! You might do scenes about boring things.
But that doesn't matter.
You're not going to create the Greatest Improv Scene of All Time.
You are going to create scenes that you create. They will be unique to you. How? They will be infused with your unique experiences, ideas, personality, and perspectives.
As you actively listen to others, your uniqueness will collide with others' uniquenesses – melding and creating further new uniquenesses. You will need to stop judging their contributions, much like they will not judge yours.
By respecting each others' ideas and contributions, you will make each other look good in the eyes of the audience (even if it's just each other).
Improv's not about being funny, improv's about being open, collaborative, and empathetic.
You don't have to be quick on your feet.
You watch Whose Line Is It Anyway? and you wonder: how do they do that? I could never think of something that funny that quickly.
The crew on Whose Line Is It Anyway? has plenty of tips, tricks, and gimmicks up their sleeves and a combined 100+ years of doing improv to pull off those quick witticisms (not to mention a slew of professional TV editors).
You will not be held to that standard. You will be held to the standard of someone who has never done improv.
So what does that standard look like?
You're going to do easy warmups, easy exercises, and easy games. Improv flourishes in a nurturing environment where everyone feels relaxed, playful, and willing to be themselves. You will not be ordered to come up with a joke. You will be expected to bring yourself and your unique experiences, perspectives, and ideas.
Beginner improv workshops fail if they are too challenging.
Beginner improv workshops should introduce brand new concepts.
You wouldn't walk into a second grade classroom and teach multivariable calculus.
Easy for me to say, right?
Let me give you an idea of a warmup you are likely to play during these improv workshops...
The Name Game
Part 1
Everyone gets in a circle.
The facilitator will say their name and do any action (a fist pump, a twirl, something everyone can do).
The rest of the group will then say the facilitator's name and do the facilitator's action.
Then the person to the right of the facilitator (we'll call them Person A) will say their own name and do any action (as long as it's not the facilitator's).
Everyone in the circle will say Person A's name and do Person A's action.
The cycle continues until everyone has done it.
Part 2
Then the facilitator will say their own name and do their own action, followed by someone else’s name and action.
That person will then say their own name and do their own action and pass it to a third person.
This passing of the focus continues until the facilitator ends it.
These warmups, exercises, and games are not scary.
They are easy. They are fun.
They are not going to single you out or make you look stupid.
And if you do, it's a game where everyone is supposed to look stupid!
Note the simple actions in the game above. This is not the macarena. This is not the Greatest Action that No One Will Ever Be Able to Replicate.
These are fist pumps. Twirls. Things that everyone can do.
As long as you bring your own experiences, perspectives, and ideas, you will be fine.
You won't be alone.
Improv is not a solo sport. It is a collaborative activity.
If you want a solo sport, try standup (you'll notice the lack of offerings called "Corporate Standup Workshops").
The games in the workshop will be performed either as a large group, a small group, or at the very least, with one other person. No one will be singled out to perform the entirety of Hamilton solo.
Shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway? have epitomized “The Improviser” as the wittiest, quickest individual in the room or someone who can invent a rap on the spot. While it can bring down the house, cleverness is not a core tenet of improvisation.
You will not learn how to be extremely clever or how to rhyme like <insert youthful and relevant rap reference here>.
You will learn how to grow creativity, confidence, and collaboration in yourself and others.
Improv only thrives when everyone knows they will be supported by everyone else.
Take the Name Game above.
It only works because everyone has agreed to support each other's contributions even though they're just silly motions! It would be scary and awkward to get up in front of a group of strangers and bust a sweet disco move without their support.
With everyone supporting each other to:
Listen actively,
Let go of judgement,
Make everyone look good,
They foster an environment where anyone AND everyone can shine.
The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
It's not about adults playing silly games and making pretend.
It's about professional and personal growth.
Don't be scared; be open.
