Make your partner look good
One of the key tenets of improv is “yes, and” where you acknowledge and build on the ideas that your partners bring to a scene.
When I first started my improv journey, I soon realised that my default mode tended to be “no, but” where there was always a good reason for why my ideas were better than someone else’s. Improv helped me realise how this mode can obscure opportunities, block creativity, and dismantle partnerships. Because who wants to always have their ideas shot down or dismissed?
It’s not a mindset that is easily broken but reminding myself to “yes,and” both in and out of the improv classroom has helped me be a better partner and collaborator, I think!
When I “yes, and”, I make my partner look good. They are then more likely to reciprocate in a virtuous cycle. When I go first, they look good, and together we look good. It’s quite amazing to think how making our partners – be it at home, at work, or in our community – look good could shape the world around us!