Want A More Wildly Creative Life? Here’s 10 Easy Ways To Improvise!

Have you ever watched “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” (If you haven’t seen it for a while, check out this episode featuring Robin Williams.) It’s a show that combines stand-up comedy with improvisation (and I do love it, yes I do.)

As a performer, I was trained to practice improvisation as the ultimate way of being creatively in the moment. When an improviser is on form and “in the flow”, the result is dynamic, adventurous, rebellious and unpredictable – but this entertaining craziness all hangs very carefully on a stable craft that makes us – as the audience – feel completely safe, despite the chaos on the surface. This is why “making it up as you go along” is actually a misleading description, because it’s not about marching in blind and simply winging it…

It’s about knowing the rules that work and then playing spontaneously within them.

Taking risks is so much easier when you know there is a safety net beneath you. It gives you the permission to have more fun being “in the moment”, and the courage to dance madly on the tightrope.

So if you want to be more playful and free, really engaged and wildly creative, why not try using the “psychology of improvisation” to help you? Here are 10 improv principles that will help to get you started:

1. Don’t block or deny what is thrown your way. When an actor resists a suggestion, nothing moves forward and no action can take place. And when nothing happens, the play is dead. So if you are offered something – a piece of information, an idea, challenge or a problem – why not try saying “yes” instead of resisting? Inertia is boring and stagnant – give yourself the permission to agree, and get moving.
2. Do something specific. Fuzzy improvisation just isn’t very interesting – and it doesn’t give your colleagues a handle to expand on. You could say, “Nice car.” Or you could exclaim “Is that really your Lambo?!” Which one provides more information, more colour and possibility? Be less vague about what you are talking about, what you are doing, what you are inspired by. Create a vision. The more detail you can give yourself and others, the richer the experience.
3. Act as if. When someone offers you a suggestion, instead of rejecting it as impossible or implausible, why not say to yourself “If this were true, then what else is possible?” Act as if it is true, and then look at what is possible as a result. You may discover avenues for creativity and exploration that you wouldn’t otherwise find.
4. Come in and leave with purpose. How you enter and exit the stage is crucial. You have to be clear about why you are there and super-clear about your strategy for getting off. Same in life and in business. Make sure you are specific about why you are showing up, and don’t just disappear – justify your exits.
5. Get behind the story. You may be center stage but the show isn’t about you. It’s about the story - so get behind it. Ask yourself constantly – how can I contribute to the bigger picture? How can I expand this narrative and make it more compelling? More entertaining? More human?
6. Go against what is expected. On stage, you don’t have to be normal. In fact, you’re expected to be remarkable. There’s no reason why you have to follow the herd when you are in the spotlight. Be a purple cow. Be a scurvy elephant. Just don’t be afraid to be different.
7. Be consistent. We get comfortable as an audience when we understand a character, when we get to know them and how they behave. They can be mad and screwed up and unpredictable – just as long as they don’t suddenly become rational and calm and boring for no justifiable reason. Then it just gets confusing. So decide who you are, then aim to be congruent and consistent.
8. Show, don’t tell. On stage, especially with improvisation, your ability to be a brilliant mime is more valuable that having to rely on telling the audience what you are doing. Just like any brilliant storyteller will agree, don’t tell me what’s going on when you can show me instead. This is far more powerful, memorable and persuasive.
9. Raise the stakes. We can make the drama more exciting by imagining bigger consequences. Grander implications. Get creative with your payoffs and watch your motivation soar.
10. Above all, LISTEN. There is no better skill for a “life improviser” to develop. All of the previous rules will be useless to you if you do not develop the ability to really listen to those around you. To build on what you are offered and respond authentically and passionately depends entirely upon your willingness to be truly present and engage with your fellow players. Open your ears and your mind – and watch your story expand!

Can you think of other ways to get more playful (and take more risks) on this stage we call life?

If this post worked for you, perhaps you might like these too:

12 Easy Ways To Get More Focus Into Your Life
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Tagged as: creative, flow, improvisation, listen, possibility