How improv can boost your communication skills | David James Hamilton | TEDxUniversityofMississippi

[Music] [Applause] we are all improvisers moving through life with no script no rehearsals and no second takes just a handful of guidelines and a lot of positive energy if you know anything about the art of improv it's likely that you know the fundamental principle of yes and yes and is the foundation of all improv and it's a powerful force for positive change it teaches active listening competent communication and collaboration vital skills for healthy personal and professional lives but much has been written and said about yes and so I ask what comes next what's beyond yes

and I offer three less discussed dare I say hidden lessons of improv that have the power to transform our lives in deeper and more impactful ways mindfulness Discovery and wonder mindfulness is a familiar concept defined by the American Psychological Association as an awareness of our internal States and surroundings through observation of our thoughts emotions and Present Moment experiences mindfulness and improv is similar of course but I find it to be more active we're creating and and Performing while maintaining a state of mindfulness and therefore I find improv mindfulness easier to apply to my everyday life

when I was first learning improv at a theater in New Orleans I would pump myself up before shows preparing myself to perform in the way that I had grown accustomed to playing sports my performance suffered I was too active involving myself in every scene talking more than listening and trying to drive the scene in the direction that I thought it should go I was nearly unplayable it's an industry term thankfully a great teacher named Caitlyn morrone pulled me aside one day and recommended that I relax before shows instead of trying to Rocky bboa myself up

she suggested that I had energy to spare which is all too true so if I needed to get excited in a scene I'd be able to get there it would serve me better to be able to comprehend what was happening in The Improv scene to listen and follow instead of talk and drive before my next show I sat quietly in the green room and this simple act revolutionized the way I played I could not only see what was happening in the scene more quickly but I could support my troop mates with more spontaneity and playfulness

as my pre-show ritual has evolved I found that what I'm doing in this meditation is clearing my mind to make room for new stimuli I check in with all five senses and prepare them to receive information in all of the Myriad forms that it arrives in improv whether that be through dialogue tone body language stage picture or otherwise I'm ready to accept yes in add and this active mindfulness is also a valuable asset in my life outside of improv shows in my personal life I find conversations easier I'm less anxious about getting in on the

conversation desperately trying to find my moment to talk I listen I add when it's appropriate and I don't add anything when I'm not needed I gain more from talking with others because I'm truly hearing what they're saying instead of just waiting for my turn to talk in my romantic life I'm able to understand more clearly what my partner needs for me when I'm being actively mindful does she simply need me to listen and acknowledge her emotions or is she hoping for support or advice on how to deal with a difficult situation in my professional life

I'm less defensive when receiving feedback or performance reviews I'm less precious with my contributions to team projects and and more comfortable if my ideas aren't used as long as they're received I'm more attuned to my co-workers moods and tendencies and therefore better equipped to approach collaborating with each individual active improv mindfulness opens me up to a new heightened way to view the world making me more receptive to the gift of Discovery Discovery is more fun than invention it's a saying used regularly in classes to remind students that improv is only effective as an art form

when we create our scenes in the moment planning ahead of time or trying too hard to steer the direction of the scene will inevitably take the the magic out of the experience for both the audience and the performers challenging and ultimately releasing our preconceptions of who we are and believing that our creativity will guide us to who we're meant to be is part of the natural process in improv training we begin to push the idea of who we are as performers or as was my case the misconception that I wasn't capable of being a performer

at all I started taking improv classes when I was 33 years old I had just finished my first career in concert production and while I loved being behind the scenes helping set the stage often literally for others to express themselves creatively I knew in the back of my mind that something was missing from my life I thought back to when I was 11 12 years old and I had acted in a few safety videos these corporate films that schools would use on field trips or assemblies and I thought maybe I would enjoy acting again but

somewhere along the line I had convinced myself that I didn't have what it takes to be on the stage or in front of the camera that I was meant to be behind the scenes as much as I enjoyed that work as much as I value that work it just didn't fulfill me as fate would have it I saw an ad for improv classes and I thought this might be an easy way for me to see if I really had the desire and dedication to be a performer from the first week of classes I knew my

life had changed forever I was passionate about improv in a way I had never been about anything before I took all the classes all the workshops volunteered at all the shows slowly I began to realize that inside of this art form at its very core were the tools to transform the way that I felt about myself and what I was capable of I started training as an actor I started producing shows I learned how to teach improv I created a life centered around performance that was unimaginable just a few years earlier improv training forces us

by way of the very nature of the art to be open-minded to discover new things and to Revel in that experience with wonder wonder in improv is the enjoyment of the process of discovering new things while being actively mindful as improvisers we create brand new worlds with each other each and every scene and we want to discover those worlds with a childlike wonder and Fascination think about what it was like to be a child the world is new everything's amazing how do those giants walk on their two feet what are those noises coming out of

their head chocolate tastes incredible that's the energy we try to tap into when we're doing improv I was an intense young man I did not approach the world with a childlike wonder and Fascination I got compared to Henry Rollins he's kind of like the the like disappointed father figure of the punk rock Community I was I was wound too tight I I took things too seriously and I had such a hard time having fun even when I was doing things that I enjoyed because I was too concerned with controlling the outcomes I couldn't find a

way to approach things with Wonder and joy now in improv without fail the scenes that are the most difficult to create are the least successful the ones that come to us easily are always the best and it's because if we can tap into wonder and discover the scene with that energy we're along for the ride with the audience we're surprised when they're surprised we're grossed out when they're grossed out we're impressed when they're impressed the more I did improv the more I was able to tap into that that sense of wonder the more I was

able to carry that energy energ into my personal and professional lives whether that was changing careers or up and moving to Scotland I found that the fear of the unknown was slowly replaced with an excitement for new adventures obstacles became opportunities for exploration challenges became puzzles to solve the world became a less difficult and more interesting place when I opened myself to wonder I genuinely believe the art of improv is for everyone if we're all going to be improvising our way through life anyway why not try to approach that experience being open to discovering New

Opportunities and exploring those opportunities with a sense of wonder I was fortunate enough to have had a brief moment of Bravery that allowed me to challenge myself to try something new something that was admittedly pretty scary but whose benefits both hidden and not changed my life in profound and unexpected ways thank [Applause] [Music] you