I just got back from my first improv class after a three-month hiatus and had a great conversation afterward with a guy named Juan, who I had met about a year ago in my first-ever class. Juan mentioned that the reason he was taking improv was mostly to help him develop his listening skills. He originally thought that in order to contribute something to a conversation, he needed to focus on coming up with a great response…while the person was still talking to him. Yeah, me too, Juan. Me too.
But after taking a number of improv classes over the past couple of years, he has learned that in order to come up with a great response, he has to actually be listening to what the person speaking to him is saying…until they completely finish talking. Easier said than done, I’ve found! In improv, if you are standing there brainstorming about a clever line during a scene, you’re basically screwed because your partner could literally throw something to you out of left field.
Like, you both could be standing on a baseball outfield and he or she could decide to throw a giant octopus at you. If you’ve been brainstorming about a funny thing you are going to say when a baseball comes your way, you either 1) won’t know what to do when those eight tentacles start sucking on your legs because you haven’t been paying attention to the conversation or 2) you are going to mindlessly swat the giant octopus off and move ahead with your planned “funny” line. Either way, not really a great way to move the scene forward! And with option two, you’re kind of being a dick, as it’s making your partner who threw the octopus at you look bad.
So the best plan of attack is to listen carefully to your partner and play off whatever it is they are saying. And ultimately try to make them look good because when both of you are up there having fun and supporting each other and LISTENING, you are much more likely to produce a great scene. And yeah, that sounds a little like the foundation of a great friendship or relationship, as well.