I Taught an Improv Comedy Workshop at Work: Here’s What Happened
Most people associate improv comedy with “Whose Line is it Anyway?” or the Second City. I’ve never heard it associated with work. But maybe it should be.
Introduce applied improv.
Applied improv takes the building blocks of improv comedy and translates them to less theatrical situations. In fields like company culture, therapy, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship, applied improv can help immensely.
But how can this be? How can “being funny” help our careers? Sure… maybe for salespeople or customer-facing employees. But what about everyone else?
Surprisingly, the heart of improv is soft skills. The comedy doesn’t depend on how funny you are. Instead, it arises from improvisers who are focused, present, and actively listening.
These are the skills applied improv utilizes. And what I focused on in my workshop.
I split the workshop into three components:
- Pre-Workshop
- Warmups
- Exercises
The Pre-Workshop
This was the simplest of the three. I invited the New Graduate Leadership Development Program to a Soft Skills Learn then Lunch.
The wording here is important.
“Soft Skills” instead of “Improv Comedy.” The latter is daunting. It implies goofiness, humor, and ability to draft brilliant zingers on the spot.
Soft skills is more digestible. Moreover, the focus was on presence, active listening, and focus.
“Learn then Lunch” is a spin on the classic “Lunch and Learn.” I needed us to be agile and nimble, not full and sluggish. Plus, a retrospective discussion with lunch tends to be more enjoyable than without.
Warmups
Warmups are used in improv comedy to increase ideation, energy, and cohesion on teams.
I use them in a workshops to get everyone comfortable with being silly and putting themselves out there.
One of my favorites is “Everybody Go.”
It’s a simple game with simple rules:
- Form a circle.
- Someone does a silly noise and silly action.
- The rest of the group shouts “Yes!” and mimics them.
- Repeat until everyone in the circle has gone.
The premise is simple but the outcome is substantial. Fear melts away. Everyone goes bigger with their choices. There’s laughter. And it hits all three focal points.
- Focus. You have to be focused on what the starter is doing and saying to mimic it.
- Presence. Your mind can’t be elsewhere. It has to be on the here-and-now.
- Listening. Listening to both the sound and action is necessary.
“You’ll be silly. But we all will be. In this workshop, we’ll accept everyone’s silliness and support it wholeheartedly.”
This is the attitude we need.
Once we get there, we can move on to exercises.
Exercises
Improv exercises serve as a way to practice soft skills in a controlled environment.
The exercise for this group? “Clams are Great.”
- Form a circle. One person steps in to the center.
- They start claiming why clams are great. Reasons can be accurate or fictitious (“Clams are great because they live in the sea. Clams are great because they are genetically complex. Clams are great because they were a major factor in the collapse of Dot Com Bubble.” etc.).
- Someone from the circle steps in as the new claimer as to why clams are great. The previous claimer steps back into the circle and stops talking.
- Repeat.
I like to run this exercise twice.
The first time, the energy is low. People hesitate.
They pause due to discomfort with interrupting, trying to come up with the perfect reason, or being the center of attention.
After four or five reasons, the claimer is visibly struggling to come up with more reasons. This prompts someone from the circle to step in as a new claimer.
Once everyone has gone, I run it again. But this time, with a new rule:
Don’t let the claimer get two reasons out.
There’s no time to hesitate! Don’t let the claimer get two reasons out!
This is a magical unlock. People fly in and out of the center. There’s laughter. Energy. Movement.
The “Two Reason” rule encourages interrupting, imperfect reasons, and being in the center.
Of course, these were encouraged in Round 1. But unlike the Round 1 rules, the “Two Reason” rule emphasizes focus outward. It’s okay if you interrupt or say something silly. The goal isn’t to justify why clams are great.
The goal is to support the person in the center. To save them from struggle. To have fun.
And of course, we hit the three criteria:
- Focus. The focus is outward. The focus isn’t on what to say or how to play. The focus is on supporting the rest of the group.
- Presence. You have to be in the here-and-now. Paying attention. Jumping in!
- Listening. How many reasons did they get out? Oh- that was a fast first reason!
After 45 minutes of improvising, I got a call from Jimmy John’s. It was time for lunch.
With sandwiches in hand, the group started telling me their experiences at the Learn then Lunch. What they liked. What they got out of it.
Some Comments and Takeaways
- “Simple rules can create complex behaviors.”
- “Blindly supporting each other is fun and funny.”
- “Trust allowed me to be silly and take risks.”
- “I haven’t had so much fun at work.”
- “If you lost focus or stopped being present, it’s harder to work together.”
- “I never realized how much just listening can help collaboration.”
And my favorite?
“I want to do this again.”
Gus Vieweg is the creator and host of Raleigh’s Triangle Improv Comedy Meetup. When he’s not improvising, you can find him programming, playing piano, and actively correcting his posture.
