While improvisation and software development seem divergent, Ted DesMaisons and Lisa Rowland describe several pieces of advice they’ve learned from improv that will help when working with others in any environment. Through a variety of improvisational tools, Ted DesMaisons and Lisa Rowland identified three \u00ab\u00a0hacks\u00a0\u00bb for building a better life.
First, embrace failure. Lisa and Ted guided the audience through a paired activity, of increasing difficulty and silliness. The audience learned the \u00ab\u00a0failure bow\u00a0\u00bb – a way to cheer when a mistake was made. Rowland stated that \u00ab\u00a0Boldness is cultivated when you don’t fear being wrong. \u00a0\u00bb Being able to acknowledge failure, then get on with the task at hand makes it less scary to fail. It normalizes failure and \u00ab\u00a0retrain[s] the flinch [to failure] to fruitfulness. \u00a0\u00bb Ted described a scene the two did in a performance where technical problems arose. Through responding to the issue within the moment, the scene worked out quite well. Ted encouraged the audience to look at mistakes as gifts, something potentially better than the situation you had before. Lisa encouraged the audience to own their mistake, \u00ab\u00a0Get over it,\u00a0\u00bb so that you can focus more on the group and new ideas, rather than focusing internally.
Second, say \u00ab\u00a0Yes. \u00a0\u00bb Through a set of exercises where responses to ideas included \u00ab\u00a0No,\u00a0\u00bb \u00ab\u00a0Yes, but,\u00a0\u00bb or \u00ab\u00a0Yes, and\u00a0\u00bb the duo showed how saying yes can help people bring out more possibilities through collaboration. Simply saying no to another’s ideas quickly shuts the other down. Saying \u00ab\u00a0yes, but\u00a0\u00bb followed with a counter proposal also reduces the flow of ideas. Saying \u00ab\u00a0yes and\u00a0\u00bb allows for a greater flow of ideas. Saying yes encourages an outpouring of ideas, and encourages open discussion, where all involved are more focused on finding the best ideas, rather than being the one to provide them. Rowland notes that you may not be able to say yes to any idea brought up in a business setting. There may, however, be a part of the idea, or the expression of the idea, that you can support \u00ab\u00a0I like that you keep coming up with ideas\u00a0\u00bb is a fine way to support an element of the suggestion.
The final hack is to share control. DesMaisons and Rowland led the audience in a game called \u00ab\u00a0two-headed letter\u00a0\u00bb where pairs alternate words in a composing a letter. The audience learned that accepting what you have, and acknowledging that you share in the creation of a situation \u00ab\u00a0Create[d] something I couldn’t have done by myself,\u00a0\u00bb said Ted. Letting go of control of the situation reduces set expectations and allows others to contribute more to a solution. Rowland states that improv actors spend their energy getting to discover what is available in the present moment, rather than regretting what might have been.
DesMaisons closed by noting how these hacks build on each other. If you have a changed relationship to failure, it’s easier to say yes. And if you know that your colleague will say yes, it’s easier to share control.<\/p>\n

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