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GLOSSARY OF IMPROV TERMS
Their Relation to Creativity and Organizational Development
Below is a glossary of Improv terms and
their relationship and to business creativity and
organizational activity. Notice the close parallel between
successful Improv practices and those of business and
organizational development.
Accepting: Acceptance is essential to
all Improv activities. It is the actor's role to accept and build upon any offer
from another player. As in business, the
refusal to accept an offer or idea in
Improv immediately blocks its development, possibly forever.
Authenticity: The act of being one's self and no
one else. In Improv, an actor cannot be someone else pretending
to be a particular character. If the audience senses a "this
is not really me" or an "Aren't I funny"
attitude it will reject all the information coming from
that character. The most unpardonable of these non-authentic
offenses is gagging. Mastering this form requires total
commitment to a scene and the actors contained within it.
Whether in business or Improv, authenticity is at the center
of all successful communication. Improv provides the tools
to effectively utilize the authentic self within the communication
process.
"Be Spontaneous Paradox": The fact that the
act of commanding someone to "be spontaneous"
negates itself. Being commanded to "be creative"
takes its toll on the process of innovation as well. No
matter how intense our efforts, the creative moment can't
be forced; it has to come on its own terms (with a little
help of course). The structures and rules of Improv create
a natural context that empowers participants to stretch
their inherent creative ability without having to worry
about "being creative."
Blocking: The denial of a specific offer. Blocking
prevents action from advancing and is boring to watch. There
is ample opportunity for blocking in every Improv or organizational
interaction. Profound blocking occurs when one actor directly
says "no" to an offer.
For example (2 actors):
A: "How do you like my new elephant?"
B: "What are you talking about? There is no elephant
there."
B's blocking response ends the possibilities for that scene.
It also disrespects A. Blocking in a business or organizational
context often results in resentment, which can eventually
result in serious conflict. Denial of an offer in Improv
(and in life) extinguishes all future possibilities. See
building (below) for the antidote to this dilemma.
Utilization of blocking structures is essential to any
serious Improv training. Participants quickly learn the
ways in which blocking can give the illusion of control,
kill the innovative spirit, and completely invalidate the
person making the offer. Profound blocking is easily identifiable,
however other types of blocking such as wimping and waffling
are not as apparent.
Building: The opposite of blocking, building is
the act of accepting what a previous actor has done or said
and adding on to the offer. Also referred to as advancing
and extending in the Improv literature, building is the
classic application of "yes, and" rather than
"yes, but."
For example:
A: "How do you like my new elephant?"
B: "Kind of gives a new meaning to SUV. I see you traded
in last year's model."
A: "Yeah, these new ones get much better peanut mileage."
B: "Gee I wonder what kind of mileage the new giraffes
are getting?"
A: "Hey let's go test drive one."
B: "Ok, but you drive, I don't want mine to get the
idea that I might be trading him in. Besides my daughter
is going to need transportation for college."
This (corny) example is meant to illustrate the possibilities
that exist when an offer is accepted built upon rather than
blocking it. Without the presence of building there can
be no progress much less creativity.
Choice: A decision point(s) in which an offer can be
accepted or rejected. These are junctures that further (or
change) the direction of a scene and provide the actors
opportunities to adopt characterizations and advance objectives.
Improv teaches that choice is essential and that "some
choices are better than others." Human history can
be understood as a long series of strategic choice points.
What if those in charge of the Titanic, when given the choice,
would have included more lifeboats instead of being so concerned
about speed? Or, what if, instead of seeing it as an "electric
plaything," Western Union had snapped up the rights
to the telephone? Has anyone sent a telegram lately?
Collaboration: The defining concept of Improv, best
described by business writer Michael Schrage** as, "The
process of shared creation: two or more individuals with
complimentary skills interacting to create a shared understanding
that none had previously possessed or could have come to
on their own." Improv training, with its central focus
on collaboration, transforms teams, groups, and organizations
into mediums of exchange.
Creativity: The act of producing something useful
and innovative. The fact that the anagram for reactivity
is creativity is key. Creativity is the central metaphor
of our training because nothing is more fragile or more
powerful than an idea. Ideas fuel the life of an organization.
Successful, high-performance organizations do things faster,
cheaper, and better because of their ability to protect,
nurture and fully develop (initially) fragile ideas. Improv
training provides the tools and the framework to make ideas
and organizational creativity flourish. It enables previously
unconnected ideas and concepts to be combined in ways that
never existed before.
Crisis: A forced choice that may involve conflict
as well as discovery. In relation to innovation and collaboration,
Improv takes the Eastern philosophical view of "crisis
as opportunity" and often (playfully) constructs obstacles
to create it. The challenges of global competition are can
be characterized by the fact that individuals and organizations
often must perform under crisis conditions.
Endowments: Characteristics, attitudes, emotions, relationships
and behavior that an actor might adopt in a particular scene.
Some structures dictate particular endowments that are suggested
by the audience. In training Improv they are suggested by
the instructor or the group. Endowments always make a scene
more interesting and construct challenging obstacles for
actors to overcome.
Failing Fast: A process contained in a number of
Improv structures directing actors to fail as quickly possible,
learn from the failure, and utilize the information to change
directions in a way in which might bear more fruit. John
C. Maxwell refers to this (in his book of the same title)
Failing Forward:**
In today's New Economy, the emphasis on fast speed to market,
speed to serve customers, and rush to develop products means
that true innovation is often accompanied by a healthy dose
of failure. Information Week Online authors Murphy and Rezdendes
Khirallah make the well-argued point that, "For managers
and employees to experiment, failure must be an option.
In fast-paced economic environments, failure needs an exalted
place (May, 1, 2000)." Lack of creativity is often
the result of an atmosphere that won't tolerate failure
and/or and the incapacity to quickly move on from it - essentially
resulting in an innovative process that is frozen in time.
Focus: Where an actor's (and the audience's) attention
is drawn at any given moment. The focus in Improv should
be on the reality of "here and now" and involves
concentrated listening and purposeful responding. Because
Improv requires quick thinking under challenging conditions,
Improv training significantly improves focus. It excels
at teaching creative responsiveness to unusual circumstances
through the development of the ability to maintain a (relaxed)
focus on what's going on in any interaction.
Gagging: When an actor intentionally breaks the reality
of the scene to get a laugh from an audience. In addition
to diminishing collaboration, gagging destroys the direction
of the scene and marginalizes the contributions of the other
actors. The competition to "be clever" on a team,
in a meeting, or within an organization often results in
the same phenomenon.
Humor, exclusive: This exists when humor is used to
marginalize or separate a person or group from another group
or the culture at large. It can diminish morale and represent
a significant deterioration in an organization's vitality.
Jokes told in a negative context usually target unwilling
victims. Negative uses of humor, even when applied unconsciously,
can create scars that are difficult, if not impossible to
heal. In addition to fermenting defensiveness and resentment,
exclusive humor has resulted in hundreds of millions of
dollars in legal bills for Corporate America. When humor
becomes negative in a business context it is often a sign
of an attempt to deflect responsibility and project the
blame somewhere else. Improv, when performed well, never
employs exclusive humor.
Humor, inclusive: Inclusive humor brings people together
in a positive manner. Because everyone feels as if they
have ownership in any interaction, new ideas are generated
and learning is facilitated while laughing. While exclusive
humor depends on stereotypes, inclusive humor provides its
audience with a fresh perspective.
Justification: To demonstrate the validity of a particular
action or choice. Often it is necessary for an actor to
make sense of a chosen characteristic or direction in a
scene. For example, if an actor suddenly chooses to act
crazy in a scene, he or she should justify that choice within
the context of what's going on at the moment and relationships
with the other actors. Actors can do this by giving the
character a little history and specific reasons why that
choice makes sense. Ultimately, justification is essential
to the creative process as well. In the end, a successful
act of creation should make sense to the group as a whole.
Laughter: The physiological response that occurs
when one experiences logic colliding with absurdity. Laughter
is critical in virtually every culture on Earth. Recently,
anthropologists have discovered that jokes constitute a
highly ritualized mode of diffusing conflict among even
the most primitive of tribes.
Laughter occurs spontaneously in most Improv experiences.
Part of its elegance resides in the fact that the form doesn't
rely on wearing silly costumes, memorized jokes or artificially
constructed "fun" activities for its humor. One
of the key characteristics of Improv is that the humor it
generates is inclusive rather than the marginalizing type
of exclusive humor that is unfortunately generated within
some other group contexts.
Objective: The specific intention an actor has in a
scene. This might be a goal, motivation, or desired reaction
from other actors. A number of structures are dedicated
to one actor trying to determine and utilize the intention
of another. In Improv, as in an organization or business,
an individual must have a specific intention or the scene
(or activity) grinds to a halt. Improv teaches how to successfully
communicate and recognize intention on stage as well as
in business or organizational contexts.
Obstacle: Something or someone interfering with an
actor's objective. Obstacles can be represented by internal
attributes such as jealousy or perfectionism or external
societal characteristics such as status. Obstacles can increase
conflict and present opportunities through the creation
of a crisis. Obstacles can be constructed through a structure,
endowments, and/or playfully introduced by another actor.
Offer: Any information or opportunity introduced by
a character into a scene. Unquestionably the key ingredient
of both Improv and creative collaboration, offers can be
accepted, built upon, denied or blocked. In any given set
of communication it is impossible not have the opportunity
to make, accept, or block an offer. As the communication
theorists put it, one "cannot not communicate."
Offers may be verbal or non-verbal.
The ways in which individuals, teams and organizations
respond to offers determines their creative futures. Because
the foundation of Improv is built on the recognition and
creative utilization of offers, it serves as a perfect vehicle
to "rehearse" creativity and collaboration. Initially
recognizing an offer's potential is key to its future possibilities.
Does anyone remember the name of the company that passed
on IBM's offer to develop their personal computer's original
operating system, before they approached Microsoft?
Rules: A set of immutable laws that create a framework
that will safely cradle and protect the spontaneous development
of ideas; no matter how (initially) surprising or unconventional
they may appear. These simple rules, when followed, construct
an atmosphere that consistently produces a wide variety
of creative possibilities enabling people to accept and
cooperate with each other, listen interactively, and jointly
advance the action of a (given) task while continually supporting
each other to be successful. In fact, it is impossible to
be successful in Improv without following the rules. The
Annotated Rules of Improv are contained elsewhere on this
website.
Safety: The psychological construct that allows an individual
the freedom to act and interact without fear. Creating a
safe context is essential for Improv training. Participants
must feel safe to take risks and "stretch" a little
farther than they have before. A safe training context also
guarantees success and that the material will be easily
integrated into daily life.
Scripting: When one actor directly defines other actors'
characteristics or actions without their agreement. Scripting
kills the spontaneity of the other actor, devalues their
intentions, and reduces chances for collaboration.
Spontaneity: An action or idea that occurs without
previous planning. Improv structures provide participants
with a reliable framework enabling them to act and think
spontaneously within a safe context. Improv training empowers
participants to achieve previously unthought of levels of
creativity given that its structures and rules avoid the
pitfalls of the "Be Spontaneous Paradox." This
insures that "inner censors" don't get in the
way of creative potential.
Status: A social construct characterizing an individual's
or group's relationship to another in regard to levels of
dominance and submission. Improv utilizes the concept of
status to make observations about characteristics embodied
in the different hierarchical levels present in society
and the organization. Advanced Improv training frameworks
examine results of status conflict, transfer, perception
and triangulation. These structures are also useful in examining
the status blocking that occurs in the organization in relation
to innovation, collaboration and communication.
Structures: Central to all training and theatrical
Improv, these skill building and performance exercises construct
a framework in which two or more people must spontaneously
solve a problem or engage in an activity while working collaboratively.
Improv structures are (protected) virtual incubators for
creativity, innovation, and change, encouraging continual
experimentation and risk taking. Whether in art, music,
or theater, Improv is a paradoxical mix of the opposites
of tremendous discipline and spontaneity combined with the
art of listening and playing "the moment." Ironically,
the more (seemingly) constricting that a particular structure
appears, the greater the possibilities for freedom and creativity
for the artist.
A good structure should employ the rules of Improv to engage
participants in making and accepting offers while taking
risks and advancing the action of the exercise. Almost all
structures place participants in a situation in which they
must continually innovate in relation to an unknown future
while learning new skills. There are a wide variety of Improv
structures that address organizational issues of risk, collaboration,
conflict resolution, status, innovation, diversity and communication.
Waffling: Blocking an offer through tangential, unproductive
questioning. The waffling actor appears to passively accept
the offer while simultaneously sidetracking it. For example:
A: "I just got a new elephant."
B: "Oh, was it new when you bought it?"
Wimping: A form of blocking, when an offer is resisted
without overt negation. For example:
A: "I just got a new elephant."
B: "What new elephant?"
*Schrage's book: No More Teams: Mastering
the Dynamics of Creative Collaboration provides some excellent
tools for tapping the interpersonal power of creativity.
**Maxwell's book: Failing Forward: Turning
mistakes into stepping stones for success
(Thomas Nelson Publishers - 2000), is worth a read.
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