“I Could Never Do That!” Unlocking Communication Through Improv

I could never do that!

This is how many folks respond, upon hearing that I use improvisation as a tool for improved communication and connection with teams. It’s also the response I had this morning during my yoga class.

When my teacher, Mansi Dwivedi from MyYogaTeacher (I highly recommend this platform and this teacher) demonstrated this pose, I was sure that I couldn’t do it. But then, as she walked us through getting into the pose, I discovered that I had already built up the flexibility, strength and balance necessary.
I could do it and will continue to build that strength by practicing this pose!

The same is true when introducing folks to the idea of using improvisation to strengthen their relationships and improve communication.
At its core, improv requires us to build something from nothing, without the help of a script.

😎 And you know what?

We all deal with unexpected, uncomfortable and challenging situations every day and no one is provided a script in advance.
When folks are reminded that this is a skill that they already possess, they realize that, building on the foundation that they already have, this might not be as impossible as they had assumed!

If you can listen, you can do improv.

But wait! Improv is about coming up with/saying something right? Why the focus on listening?
The reason is, that improv is about adding on to what you’ve just heard, and you can’t add on to something you didn’t hear. I’m digressing here, there’s a whole chapter in my book about the importance of listening in improv, in business…. and beyond… 😏  So I’ll leave this tangent here.

My point is, just like that seemingly impossible yoga pose, you likely already have the skills necessary to learn by doing improv.

I’ll put a pin in this as my brain is moving on to thinking about leaders/teachers who help to show you that you already have the skills to do something you didn’t think was possible, as my teacher did for me, but I’ll save that for another time.

Is there something that you realized you could do, which surprised you recently? Please share in the comments!

Or, are you ready to show your team that they too, are capable of learning valuable communication and collaboration lessons via improv? Let’s chat!