As an improviser, I always find it jarring when I meet someone in real life whose first answer is no.
“No, we can’t do that.”
“No, that’s not in the budget.”
“No, I will not hold your hand for a dollar.”
What kind of way is that to live?
Tina Fey,
Bossypants
In her book Bossypants, Tina Fey lays out several rules of improv that she has learned and how they can help you in your life and career.
Agree.
Agreeing is about accepting the premise your partner is sharing so you can continue the conversation. Fey doesn’t mean that you have to agree with everything that you hear, but you should respect what your team has contributed. Agreeing means to keep an open mind and foster an environment where ideas and innovation can thrive. By practicing agreement, you can encourage the free exchange of ideas by creating a safe space to fail.
Say “yes, and…”
Using the “yes, and” principle allows you to take an idea and build upon it. Saying “yes, and” means to contribute. Take what your team has created and add to it help to move it forward.
Make statements.
It’s easy to respond with questions, but continually asking questions without contributing puts pressure on your team to come up with all of the answers. Making statements helps to project confidence. Have a point of view and make it clear.
There are no mistakes… only opportunities.
Mistakes happen, and not everything is going to go as planned. Sometimes just a change of mindset can help to turn mistakes into positive outcomes. In improv, as in business, we often make mistakes. Stay positive and learn to adapt.
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