Impro-versation: Staying Present   


A key principle of improvisational theater is “Respond in the 
present.” Improv players get themselves and fellow players into 
trouble when they think ahead and write mental scripts of 
what they'll say later on. Then, by the time another player 
makes them an offer to deal with, their pre-scripted response 
doesn't fit. 
Conversers Often Pre-script 

During everyday conversation, people often pre-script while 
waiting their turn to talk. You can observe such scripting when 
people are self-conscious and want to appear competent, as 
when groups of strangers are asked to briefly introduce themselves. 
In these situations, you can see most people planning ahead instead 
of listening to the others'introductions. The quality of responding 
and accuracy of understanding plummet because so little 
attention is given to listening. 

Even when people are able to pretend to listen because they 
want to appear polite, their attention is divided between scripting 
and responding, and what they say will seem more mechanical 
than spontaneous. 

Conversation Needs Spontaneity 

For the best flow, a conversation needs spontaneity. When 
conversers are able to be in the moment, their phrases will have 
the feeling of freshness and authenticity, even though they may 
not be well-crafted or even grammatical. (The ancient Greeks 
had a phrase to describe oratory that had been too carefully 
planned in advance: “It smells of the lamp.” The speaker had 
stayed up late to work out the perfect language, correct in form, 
but stale in tone when finally uttered.) 

The best-known improv group in North America is 
“Second City,” in existence since the 1950s and franchised 
in both Canada and the U.S. Many of the very best 
improv performers like Mike Nichols and John Belushi 
came to TV and the movies from this professional source. 
However, only a small portion of Second City performances 
are live and “in the moment.” Instead, the players improvise 
the sketches which are then fixed and scripted for performance. 
the result is that the performances use pre-rehearsed and well-worn 
material that, while amusing, often lacks freshness. 

Quality conversation is creative and improvisational and, 
although patterned, is often surprising rather than predictable. 
As with the music of jazz ensembles and the play of young 
children, offers are exchanged and wonderfully creative ideas 
emerge. (For an in-depth exploration of this concept, see 
Keith Sawyer's excellent book, Creating Conversations, 
March 2001.) 

Collaboration Is a Key Goal 

In conversation, as in ensemble theater, achieving collaboration 
is a key goal. To achieve this, conversers must let go of trying 
to pre-plan and control the conversation. When all the talkers 
are thinking about what they'll say next, the result is only 
co-blaboration, not real collaboration. 

When you take a chance and stay in the moment, even if 
you're not sure what you're going to say next; when you 
trust your experience and your intuition, the right words will 
come forth and will fit nicely into the open moment.