In supplement to helping brands unleash their potential, our team is constantly working to channel our creativity and improve our productivity. Our methods as an agency vary, but as a seasoned improv comedy expert, our Financial Officer, Wade, introduces an interesting parallel between improv comedy tactics and your professional work life. While they might be considered total opposites on the surface, here’s why your job and improv comedy have a lot more in common than you think.
Yes And….
One of the key elements on improv is “yes and...”, you’ll hear it all over the comedy world. The core idea of “yes and...” is to agree with your scene partner and add something new to what they have created. It starts with a simple idea, then as a team, you build on it and keep it growing.
In the workplace, this is a great tool for brainstorming or facing a seemingly unsolvable problem. Start with a simple idea, then continue to build on it. Rather than settling on the first idea that comes to your mind “yes and…” keeps the idea growing.
Details Are Key
In an improv scene, losing important details can be a quick way to get off track. If you forget a name, an object or your relationship to another character, the scene will probably struggle to develop.
The same is true in business, it’s important to remember the little things. Remembering specific details about a client’s needs, your co-workers birthday, or that item you need to add to your to-do list can go a long way. Details are key in almost anything and the more you tools you have to remember things the more successful you will be.
Go With Your Gut
When improvising, an idea may come out that seems crazy or off topic. However, in you can’t just stop the scene and start over. You have no choice to keep going or the whole scene may fall apart.
At work, you may come up with an idea you think is great, but then shut yourself down in fear of failure. Instead, if you have an idea, share it with your team and give it a try. Hopefully, your coworkers and boss will love the idea and turn it into a reality. If it doesn’t work, at least you embraced a new perspective and learned from it.
If you’re interested in using improv comedy to improve your creativity and productivity in the workplace, here are a few resources to get you started:
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