The brief was simple. Respond ‘Yes and’
do whatever your partner says and then add to it.
Katie went first and said:
“Let’s pretend we’re dogs and go to the park”.
Last week was my first experience at an Improv class.
I went for fun although it seems I can’t escape work. Andrew, the instructor said:
At work (and he said corporates specifically), “we’re so busy defending our position that we say: ‘yes but'”.
The safe. The tried and true. The negative Nancy ‘no’.
Yet a world of possibility opens up with ‘yes and’.
It’s playful and surprisingly fun.
Your job is to accept whatever is put to you as reality and then add to it (and keep taking turns).
To Katie I replied: “Yes and I’ll be a whippet”.
[Delightful childhood memories of my dog Ben, the dachshund, chasing the whippet next door around in circles sprung to mind. (They reversed direction when the whippet lapped Ben.)]
Places like Google, PepsiCo and McKinsey have discovered Improv can work wonders at work.
If you want to get better at:
- being present with others
- improve your listening skills
- boost your creativity
- your focus
- create a more positive environment
…then ‘Yes and’ is a fun and easy way to do that.
I’m an Improv newbie. But from what I could see, it’s not about being funny or clever (as tempting as that is for those with a competitive streak).
The idea is to truly connect and communicate in an Authentic and Spontaneous way with whoever’s on your team.
Imagine if there was more of that going on at your workplace!
Why not try it out this week at work? Just once.
Say ‘yes and’ not ‘yes but’.
Even if you don’t agree I’ll bet the others will at least feel heard. So follow their thinking. See what happens. See how you feel.
Photo by Rebrand Cities from Pexels
