Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
The most basic concept in all of improvisation is ‘Yes and’. If we are in a scene together and you make a statement, it is my obligation as an improviser to ‘yes-and’ your statement. By ‘yes-anding’ you, I not only agree to your reality, I add to it with perspective of my own. In this way, we can ‘triangulate’ on the problem to be solved, and also bring dimension, and new levels of collaboration to the scene.
The words ‘yes’ and ‘and’ do not have to be spoken literally, of course. It is the spirit of the phrase that matters. A common improv exericise invokes this spirit by having players begin every exchange of dialogue with those two powerful words, spoken literally.
If we are in a scene together and are ‘yes-anding’ one another, by the third line of the scene, it will not be about your reality, or my reality, it will be about our reality. Now we have the ability to work together toward an objective. It is the ‘and’ that makes all the difference. Anyone can say ‘yes’. It might get me a reputation as a being a positive person around the office, but it will not necessarily make me a productive player. (more…)
Tags: communicators, Crazy Town, Dialogue, entrepreneurs, Players, Positive, Productivity, reputation, Sales, salespeople, Scenes, yes, Yes And, yes man
Posted in Additions and Edits, Agreement Principle, Communication, Dialogue, Entrepreneurship, Fundamentals, Games, Objectives, Sales, Scenes | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
I had dinner Monday night with my friend, the CEO of Twelve Horses Interactive, Dave LaPlante. During the course of our conversation the subject of ‘Scripting’ came up. Scripting, we agreed, is one of the most egregious sins a businessperson operating in the Networked World can commit. LaPlante and I decided that from now on, a ’scripter’ is what we’ll call anyone with an Industrial Age mindset.
Scripting happens when a player tries to steer the outcome of a scene according to the narrative he or she has ‘written ahead of time’. A weak player (like the one in the video below) gets lost immediately when the way he has envisioned the scene goes poof with the first thing that comes out of his scene partner’s mouth. A player who scripts will try to control or dominate the narrative, dictating (and therefore diminishing) the roles and contributions of the other players. This seriously hampers a scene’s potential. It’s like trying to fly without wings. All thrust, no lift or direction. (more…)
Tags: David LaPlante, Fantasizing, Judging, Pimping, Productivity, Scripting, Second City, Twelve Horses Interactive
Posted in Issues | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
I had been carrying around the Feb. 17, 2008 New York Times Magazine with the cover story entitled ‘Why Do We Play?’ by Robin Marantz Henig for the past ten days, mildly dreading the time when I’d finally read it, because I sensed that I was going to have issues with it. The cover art was composed solely of children playing. That tipped me off. (If the cover art were to have added some baby otters getting eaten by sea lions, rats with half their brains cut out, and children crying with bloody noses, it would have even more accurately reflected what was within.) Henig’s article starts promisingly, with a psychiatrist explaining to parents why play is important to all ages, but then proceeds to make a series of turns down increasingly narrow passages dealing with parenting and scientific research, and leaving a lot of vital stuff unsaid. (more…)
Tags: Brian Sutton-Smith, Children, GameChangers, Games, Improvisation, NY Times, Play, Productivity, Robin Marantz Henig
Posted in Games, Networked World | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
Dear GameChangers:
What are some of the worst things a person can say in a work setting?
All the Very Best,
Lalita Amos
Total Team Solutions
Setting aside the volumes of sexually graphic or suggestive, offensive, uncouth, uninteresting, drunken, gossipy, charmless, and downright stupid things people are capable of saying in a work setting…there are volumes more composed of statements made every day in workplaces the world over that masquerade as helpful but are actually unproductive or counter-productive. These constitute their own category of ‘Bad’. Here are three of the more insidious that come to mind: (more…)
Tags: Behavior, Dear GameChangers, Issues, Productivity, Questions, Yes And
Posted in Dear GameChangers | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
‘That Reminds Me of a Story’ is an example of an unproductive game. Digression in a scene can be useful, especially when creative, off-the-beaten-path solutions are required. But when a long-winded anecdote leads down a side road completely unrelated to the scene, it can be a business buzz kill.
Before I learned to improvise, I wore this game out. It was easy for me – everything reminds me of a story, and I’m good at telling them. I often justified the game by imagining I was ‘bringing the brand narrative to life’. True? Maybe. Maybe I just liked hearing myself talk. Listen, here’s the pertinent truth about telling stories in business meetings, a truth I realized only after I learned improvisation: (more…)
Tags: Diversion, Games, Improvisation, Issues, Monologue, Productivity, That Reminds Me of a Story
Posted in Games, Issues, Photos & Videos | No Comments »
