Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses ‘No, But’ Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration

These are all valuable skills in the business world too. In "Yes, And," you'll learn the secrets of improv from one of the world's most successful improv troops, The Second City, based in Chicago. You'll also learn how these techniques could transform your career, your team, and your organization.

If you're still skeptical, we understand. It does sound a bit "out there" at first. But the same skills and techniques you use in improv can really change how you communicate and interact with people at work. How?

Well, improv can help you be more engaged with others. It helps you generate ideas on the fly, become a better listener, work through failures, and learn from your mistakes. Improv training helps you learn how to give up control and work with others to create something truly unique, and it also teaches you to be less afraid of new situations.

It can help boost your self-confidence too, strengthen your relationships with other people, and teach you how to respond calmly when tensions are high. And learning to think on your feet can help when you deal with disgruntled employees, unhappy clients, and intense boardroom discussions.

These are skills that anyone can use, whether you're in a leadership role or just starting out in the workforce.

You'll learn a lot just by reading this book on your own. But improv centers on group collaboration, so it can be more beneficial to work with a team to learn and practice these concepts. If you're in a management role, you can easily use these concepts, lessons and exercises with your team to help everyone grow.

Kelly Leonard is Executive Vice President of The Second City, and President of Second City Theatricals. He's worked at The Second City since 1988.

Tom Yorton is the CEO of Second City Communications, which provides improv training to more than 400 corporate clients annually.

So, keep listening to learn how to help your team members build on each other's ideas, to hear when questions can actually hinder creativity, and to find out how comedy can promote change in your organization.

"Yes, And" is divided into eight chapters, and comes in at just over 200 pages. The book is based on seven key elements that are essential to improv, and the authors devote a chapter to each of them.

Let's start by looking at the improv element that inspired the title of the book: "Yes, And." Yes, And is the foundation of improv, because it helps you create something out of nothing. The concept is what allows all the other concepts in improv to exist. So, it's pretty important.

In a nutshell, Yes, And opens doors no matter what the situation is.

Here's how it works on the stage. One actor will offer an idea. The other actors affirm that idea, and then build something of their own onto it.

For instance, one actor says, "Wow, I've never seen so many stars in the sky." The actor sharing this scene has only one thing to do right now. She has to agree with this sentence, and add something new. So she might say, "I know. Things look so different up here on the moon."

Think of what would have happened if the second actor had said, "I can't see a single star. It's broad daylight."

The scene would have stopped dead in its tracks, and the first actor would have to scramble to build something back up again.

Yes, And sounds like a really simple idea, and it is. But in real life, it can be harder to apply than you might think.

Here's why. In business, support almost always comes with strings attached. You might support someone's idea, with a subconscious expectation that they'll support an idea of yours in the future. Or, someone might support your idea and want something in return.

Yes, And requires that you support ideas unconditionally, even if you don't like them. The authors stress that you don't have to actually act on every idea. But, you have to be willing to build them up to see what happens, at least for a little while.

The authors do a great job of explaining the benefits of this concept, and going over the different settings you can apply it in. Yes, And can help you in a coaching or mentoring relationship or when you're brainstorming with your team. It can help you resolve conflicts, and help others feel heard.

The authors share personal stories from past clients, and their own experiences at Second City, which show what this concept looks like in all its various forms.

This is really helpful, because these examples show you that Yes, And is less about those two words, and more about a mindset. There's also a great section that talks about what Yes, And isn't, and why you need to use this technique with good sense and judgment.

One game you can use to get your team comfortable with Yes, And is called One-Word Story. Gather your team in a circle, and ask them to tell an original story. The catch is that each person can contribute only one word to the narrative. Phrases and criticism are not allowed, and each person has to build on the word that came before theirs.

This exercise is great for several reasons. It forces people to work together equally. It also shows people that they don't have to be the person to come up with "the big idea." A lot of times, the word a person will have to contribute is unimportant, like "the" or "it." But this helps everyone work towards the final group goal: telling a great story. It's impossible for one person to hog the limelight with this game.

The Yes, And concept is the foundation of what improv is all about. But the other elements covered in the book are just as valuable.

Look at building an ensemble, which is another essential element in improv. Improv depends on people working together, and the authors use the word "ensemble" instead of "team," because "team" carries a hint of competition and hierarchy. In an ensemble, all parts are equal and important. Everyone has something valuable to contribute, and turning this idea into reality can transform how everyone operates.

Chances are, you're already involved with a team, whether you're working within one or leading one. There are some great exercises you can use to turn your current team into an ensemble.

One is called "Talk Without I." In this game, you pair people up and instruct them to have a conversation without using the word "I." This helps the participants recognize how they filter information through their own perspectives. They learn how to frame things so that information is more accessible to the person they're speaking with.

You can also help create an ensemble by being ‘in the moment.' Part of this means truly listening when someone else is speaking. All your energy needs to be focused on the here and now. If you spend time and energy worrying about something else, or thinking about what you want to say, your response to this person will be weaker.

One way to train yourself, or your team, to stay in the moment is to use a game called "Mirror."

Have the members of your group split up into pairs and face each other. One person has the job of initiating small movements with their face or body. The other person's job is to mirror the first person's every action, gesture or expression. After a short time, have them reverse roles. Then, see if they can mirror each other when no one is leading the movements.

The authors cover other concepts like Give and Take, and Surrender the Need to Be Right. You'll learn more about each of these in this chapter, and the authors go over several games to help you and your team strengthen each of these skills.

One thing that stops a lot of us in our careers is fear. And it plays a part in improv too. Fear is a closed door that can cause all kinds of dysfunction. It will limit your ideas, stop you from speaking up, and prevent your team from working together to create something new and unique.

In improv, and in your personal life, fear can manifest itself in myriad ways. One of these is asking questions.

Now, before we get into this deeply, the authors says that, of course, there's a time and place to ask questions. But questions can be used out of fear, to put the spotlight or pressure on another person.

Leonard and Yorton say that people who improvise in fear ask questions because they're too afraid to put themselves on the line and take responsibility for making the kinds of declarations that can build a scene.

There are several examples in the book that show how this can play out, both on the stage and in a meeting. Once the details of an idea have been shared with the group, questions can be a creativity killer.

Next time you're in a meeting, stop and think about the questions you're asking. Are you asking them out of fear? Are you using your questions to stall or to block an idea, instead of building on it?

If so, you might want to stop asking questions, and adopt a Yes, And mindset.

Another way fear plays out is waffling. This is when you're too afraid to take a real position on anything. You say things like "Maybe," "If you say so," or ;"I'm not sure."

Waffling is just a delay tactic – something people do when they're too afraid to leap into the unknown.

If you're a waffler, one way to be more decisive is to practice making decisions. Give yourself as many opportunities as possible to make decisions in real time, and learn to ignore your doubts and insecurities.

We can't really talk about improv without talking about comedy. And comedy is just as important in business as it is on stage. When it's used with intelligence, comedy can help you get other people's attention, manage challenges, and show authenticity.

The authors say comedy has three essential elements: recognition, pain and distance.

We laugh at what's familiar – that's recognition. Most of what's funny is also a bit uncomfortable, tense ;or awkward – that's pain.

Pain and recognition together create a tragedy, but it's the element of distance that turns it into a comedy. Distance is when you put pain and comedy into a context that makes an audience feel safe and free to laugh. Time is a form of distance, and so is repeated exposure to something.

A joke or skit needs all three of these elements to be funny. And, you can use these elements to bring more humor into your everyday communications.

Think about how humor could help your team overcome tension and get back to work in a tough situation. Shared laughter can help bring people together who otherwise have nothing in common. It can challenge assumptions, and help people, or an entire organization, get on board with a new idea.

You can also use comedy to help ease your people into a change initiative. You could create a skit or narrative that takes a humorous look at something broken in your organization, and use that opportunity to make the case for change.

So, what's our last word on "Yes, And?"

We think this book has a lot to offer readers. The idea that improv can help you develop professionally, and even transform your entire team or organization, might be a bit "out of the box" for some. But after reading the book, we think you'll be convinced that these techniques really can be transformational.

Improv demands that you approach situations without fear, that you know how to think on your feet and listen to others, and that you're not afraid to work through failures. You have to know how to communicate well, and how to follow instead of lead.

You'll probably agree that these qualities are important for career success. And, improv can help you improve in all of these areas in a very fun way.

"Yes, And" is full of tips, games and exercises that help you put these ideas into practice. It's also full of stories that show what each of these elements looks like in real life. Reading the book is a fun exercise in and of itself, but we think you'll feel excited to try some of these games, especially if you're in a leadership role and work with a team.

We also appreciate that Leonard and Yorton take a balanced approach to their advice. They're very clear that there's a time and a place for all these techniques, and they're quick to set appropriate guidelines for some of these tips. If you follow their lead, though, you'll find the ideas in this book to be valuable, and useful at work.

All in all, we have no trouble recommending this book.

"Yes, And" by Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton is published by Harper Business.

That's the end of this episode of Book Insights. Thanks for listening.