An important nuance in Improv is the difference between telling gags on the one hand, and the laughter that arises inadvertently, not deliberately instigated by the players. This relates to “scriptwriting”, which is the label my teachers used to identify the behaviour of a player who moves out of the moment and is working to control the story.A lot of brands are doing that sort of scriptwriting: after doing too much research, they try to formulate the perfect outbound communication and in so doing actually stifle the sort of dialogue that might hold a brand together.
Yes … the practice of “brand scriptwriting” by hand-holding micro-managing marketers stifles the dialogue brands and consumers are capable of engaging in. And … isn’t it interesting that “unscripted” reality television seems to engage people into conversation more than does “scripted” television? Hmm.
I've found the biggest misnomer about Improv in business is executives believe Improv is acting. Improv is not about acting ... it's about looking, listening, and reacting.
In business, we aren’t given scripts to tell us how to act in every situation we find ourselves in. Instead, we rely on our instincts to live in the moment and spontaneously react to the situation that confronts us. Living in the moment is about looking, listening, and reacting to the many “gifts” we are given.
In Improv, “gifting” is when someone gives you "information" to react to and play off of and if you listen well and look attentively, you’ll be able to weave that “gift” into your business scene.
I remember a story of a Starbucks barista who because of looking, listening, and reacting was able to take a “gift” and turn it into giving Starbucks some great juju.
In 1998, Mark McGwire, former St. Louis Cardinals home run hitting first baseman, walked into a Starbucks and gave the barista at the register a “gift” by commenting on how cool his Starbucks logo cap was. The barista took the “gift” and responded by giving the cap to McGwire.
A few nights later on the broadcast of the World Series, an NBC television camera spotted Mark McGwire in the stands proudly sporting the Starbucks logo cap the barista had given him. The television camera fixated on McGwire for over a minute as the announcers cooed about McGwire’s home run heroics of that year.
Needless to say, the marketing and PR departments at Starbucks were overjoyed at the visibility the company received during the World Series without having to fork over advertising dollars.
Starbucks didn’t force a “brand script” upon this barista telling him how to act. Instead, the barista looked, listened, and reacted with an improvised move that resulted in giving Starbucks some positive juju on national television.
Improv in business can be as simple as looking, listening, and reacting to the "gifts" you are given.
This example wasn't going to end up on national TV, but it's worth telling. I went to Shop N' Save, a regional supermarket here in Pittsburgh, and had a huge basketful of stuff - about 25 bags when packed. I had bought a bottle of soda to drink on the ride home and it was one of the first things through the checkout. My items were piling up at the bagger's end while I was still emptying my cart. When I unfinished loading, I started looking for my soda among the dozen or so bags that were already filled, not sure what bag it was placed in. The cashier asked me if I was looking for something in particular. I told him I had a soda. He had already set the soda aside, figuring I'd want it. This is a guy who probably makes not much more than minimum wage, but he cared enough about his job to use his intuition and provide value. And to me that's as good as receiving a gift cap. He was my hero for the day and earned Shop N' Save big brownie points.
Posted by: RichW | August 24, 2004 at 01:37 PM