MAY 20, 2004
Success
Secret # 41 Accept and Build on Other’s Ideas
I
once asked the question, “Do speakers need to
be funny?” The answer was,” Only if they
want to get paid.”
Maybe
this is true across the board, but for a speaker who
prides herself on being entertaining as well as informative,
being “funny” is especially important. As
the youngest child in a large family, I have been trying
to make people laugh for as long as I can remember.
As a speaker who discusses peak performance and customer
service being able to find humor in our daily lives
means being able to truly connect with the audience.
Maybe
a better question, though, is can you actually learn
to be funny? Always up for a challenge, I decided to
try. The funnier the better, right? As a result, I spent
most of last Monday thinking about the Improv Class
that I had signed up to attend that night. OK, I spent
most of last Monday worrying about what I had gotten
myself into.
As
the self-doubt kicked in, I found myself wondering …will
I be as funny as the others? Will I be quick and witty?
Will I be clever and relevant? Will I? Will I? Will
I? And as that fist class approached, I was more than
a little scared. But, I am a risk taker. I know how
important humor is in public speaking. I want to hone
my humor talent and grow as a person…or at least
I kept telling myself that as I drove off to class.
Our
instructor and creator of the class is a Houston woman
named Kim McGraw. Kim is a bright energetic master of
comedy. She was trained in the “Second City”
style of improv where many Saturday Night Live greats
started out, and over the next few weeks it was her
job to teach the class to be funny.
According
to Kim, the most important thing to remember about improv
is the difference between “AND” and “BUT,”
or to put it another way – the group matters.
Everything that you contribute to an improv skit builds
on what your teammates contribute to the bit. When someone
on your team makes a comment, you never say “no
but…” and change the subject for a quick
laugh. Instead, you say “yes, and…”
and add to your teammates work. Similar to an assist
in basketball, you may not be the one who gets the big
laugh, but you pass it on to others and the humor builds.
If one person is funny, that’s one thing; but
if the group is funny, you can bring down the house.
After
a few warm up activities we were ready to put this theory
into practice. Our first team assignment was about to
start, and we were ready to get funny.
We
counted off 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1- I was a one. My group
consisted of four guys and me. My mind instantly began
sizing up the natural talents of the group, but there
was no time for that. Kim was giving the assignment.
We had five minutes to come up with a make-believe product,
a commercial and a jingle. Ready, set, GO…the
five of us just looked at each other.
I
started spewing off ideas and my new teammate Jim started
to add to the mix. Each idea that we came up with was
shot down by one by one by the rest of the group. “That’s
dumb,” they said. “I’m not going to
do that.” “What else can we do?” Before
long, I shut down and stopped thinking. My brain just
emptied out and my mind went completely blank. Jim became
quite too and we stared at our team members. Nobody
was talking and the clock was ticking. A few ideas eventually
came up, but I didn’t hear them. I was too busy
rolling around in rejection.
When
our five minutes were up we had nothing and as luck
would have it we were the first team called on to present
to the rest of the class. We marched on stage and just
stood there in silence. It may not have been so bad
if the other teams were in the same boat, but as our
classmates took the stage it was clear that they had
a very different five-minute experience. On stage they
were creative and worked well together. They were having
fun … and they were funny.
Watching
the others do their great stuff, I began to understand
what had happened in our group. Negativity and judgment
blocked all streams of creativity. When I felt that
my ideas were rejected, I just shut down and I passed
this block on to the others. As I watched the other
teams create and laugh, I started to get the concept
of improv…and guess what…working with others.
I experienced what must happen day after day in meetings.
I was experiencing what I speak about, only it was happening
to me.
As
our class has continued, I have come up with some tips
that I think apply to my improv experience, and could
work for you in your work relationships and personal
relationships.
- Get
out of the ego, “Will I, Am I, I, I, I,”
It’s all about us.
-
Respect the choices that are made by others.
-
Yes and… Accept and build on other’s ideas.
-
Listen and remember.
-
Be Honest. There's nothing funnier/better than the
truth.
-
Take the scene seriously.
- There
is no such thing as a mistake. Everything is justified.
-
Treat others as if they are poets, geniuses, and artists.
. .and they will be.
- The
best way to look good is to make fellow players look
good.
-
Avoid preconceived notions.
- Stay
in the moment. What is happening now will be the key
to discovery.
-
Ignore nothing. Follow the unexpected twist.
-
Keep it simple.
-
Welcome silences. There is action in thought
-
Listen to your inner voice.
I
don’t know if I’ll be any funnier after
my eight weeks of Improv Class, but I do know one thing.
I will be fantastic at having a little fun while building
honest productive teams in the workplace. Thanks, Kim.
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