I am by no means a great improviser. And I am by no means a great leader. But I am both an improviser and a leader. And I have seen the value first-hand of linking the two together.
How do we get there?
As my friend, instructor, and amazing improviser, Brad McMurran (of Push Comedy Theater), has said to me over and over again, "Don't think. Get out of your head and just react."
There exists a clear intersection of improvisation comedy and cognitive psychology and this blog aims to explore exactly that. Don't Think Blog recognizes that improv training is exercise for the brain. It's training in collaboration, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, and beyond. And, I'm here to argue, it's backed by science.
Just as the practical application of the guidelines of improv do not stop at the stage, the science behind why improv helps doesn't stop with cognitive psychology, nor does the science support only the "Don't think" guideline. My hope is to explore any and all intersections of improv and science.
This blog is a passion project that I firmly believe in as a leader in both military and civilian organizations, an anthropologist, a long-time improviser, and a human being. I truly assert that the traits of a good improviser are the traits of a good human.
This blog aims at connecting the lessons I have learned and am learning along my journeys in both.
I have been performing improvisational comedy off and on since I was in high school (nearly twenty years ago!), with longer periods off than on. For most of that time, I was performing short-form improv, which is primarily focused on games. For the last year, I have focused on long-form, with a particular interest in instructing as well as in the business applications of improv.
It's hard to define when someone becomes a leader, so it's nearly impossible to put a number on that. What I can offer is that I have been leading teams professionally since 2005. I don't have a particularly tight philosophy on leadership, but if I had to sum it up, it would look something like this:
It's hard to define when someone becomes a leader, so it's nearly impossible to put a number on that. What I can offer is that I have been leading teams professionally since 2005. I don't have a particularly tight philosophy on leadership, but if I had to sum it up, it would look something like this:
A leader's job is to create the environment and provide the resources for all to reach their potential, both individually and collectively, as well as remove the obstacles that might prevent the same, for in the end, the goal of a leader is to create more leaders.
There are many guidelines in improv and they all work toward a common goal: to create real interactions with real reactions as an ensemble. That realness - a combination of passion and sincerity (and probably some other things) - make those scenes both enjoyable and believable, no matter how crazy and off the rails they go.
How do we get there?
As my friend, instructor, and amazing improviser, Brad McMurran (of Push Comedy Theater), has said to me over and over again, "Don't think. Get out of your head and just react."
There exists a clear intersection of improvisation comedy and cognitive psychology and this blog aims to explore exactly that. Don't Think Blog recognizes that improv training is exercise for the brain. It's training in collaboration, creativity, empathy, emotional intelligence, and beyond. And, I'm here to argue, it's backed by science.
Just as the practical application of the guidelines of improv do not stop at the stage, the science behind why improv helps doesn't stop with cognitive psychology, nor does the science support only the "Don't think" guideline. My hope is to explore any and all intersections of improv and science.
This blog is a passion project that I firmly believe in as a leader in both military and civilian organizations, an anthropologist, a long-time improviser, and a human being. I truly assert that the traits of a good improviser are the traits of a good human.
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