Welcome To A Night At The Improv!

I am often told that I have a really quick wit. To tell you the honest truth, I don't. But I do know the secret of improvisation, it's not really improvisation. It take a lot of study and practice. Here are the 5 general rules that have been floating out there for a while:

1) Don't Deny

Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad. Any time you refuse an Offer made by your partner your scene will almost instantly come to a grinding halt. Example: Player A) "Hi, my name is Jim. Welcome to my store." Player B) "This isn't a store, it's an airplane. And you're not Jim, you're an antelope."

2) Don't ask open ended Questions

Open ended questions (like "Who are you?") are scene killers because they force your partner to stop whatever they are doing and come up with an answer. When you ask your partner and open ended question, you put the burden of coming up with something "interesting" on your partner - so you are no longer doing a scene together but forcing one person has to do more work than you are willing to do.

3) You don't have to be funny.

The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be funny the more funny your scene is going to be. Why? Because it's the very best kind of improv scene you can do is an "interesting" scene, not necessarily a "funny" one. When you do an interesting scene, a very surprising thing happens the funny comes out all by it's self.

The best ways to go are to stick to your character, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the scene you are playing.

4) You can look good if you make your partner look good.

When you are in a scene, the better you make your partner look the better the scene is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I've seen players enter a scene and I can just tell they have some really great idea about the character they are going to play or an idea they want to do. This is wonderful, but guess what? Your partner probably has absolutely no idea what's cooking in your evil little mind, and so has no idea how to react. And no matter how brilliant your idea might be, it's practically worthless if the scene as a whole goes bad.

5) Tell a story.

Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a plumber and a cab driver selling shoes in a leper colony ) and somehow "make it work". If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it's going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that's just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.

I know I know this is for a comedy routine but look at them again and think spontaneous marketing.

1) Don't Deny

Denial is the number one reason most companies get pounded by bad press. Any time you refuse to admit a mistake, the press finds more mistakes from your past. More customers/Clients come forward with their bad experiences.

2) Don't give broad answers.

Broad answers (like "I do everything. We are a full service...") are sales killers because they force your potential customer/client to stop whatever they are doing and wonder what exactly you are good at. Ask yourself to honestly answer what you do best? Who is your target market? For example, the margins at Costa Vida are really low. We really can't afford to have free taco days. Our target market is not coupon clippers. So advertising with a coupon doesn't make sense. We need to target professional who want a quick and healthy lunch and/or dinner. So Find your niche, narrow your view and be more specific.

3) You don't have to be convincing.

The hidden riddle of improv is that the harder you try not to be convincing the more convincing your marketing is going to be. Why? Because it's the very best kind of improv marketing you can do is an "interesting" marketing piece, not necessarily a "convincing" one. When you do an interesting marketing piece, a very surprising thing happens the convincing comes out all by it's self.

The best ways to go are to stick to your branding, stick to the story that is being told, and to stay within the reality of the marketing you are doing.

4) You can look good if you make your customer/client look good.

When you are in a sales situation, the better you make your customer/client look the better the sale is going to be and, as a direct result, the better you are going to look. All too often, I've seen salesman enter a company and bully their way into the sale. And no matter how brilliant your product might be, it's practically worthless if the customer/client doesn't feel the love.

5) Tell a story.

Storytelling is probably the easiest rule to remember but the hardest one to do. The real magic of improv is when we see the players take totally random suggestions (like a Mexican Restaurant helping Amatos in the Maine mall with their grand opening) and somehow "make it work". If all these unrelated elements are going to come together then it's going to happen in the course of an interesting tale. So that's just what the players are going to try and do, tell us all a story.