Scott Berkun, author of Confessions of a Public Speaker, once took an improv class on a dare. His reaction afterward?
I was surprised how much the class helped me in daily life. It made me a better speaker and teacher too.” – Scott Berkun
That tends to be people’s first reaction: surprise.
Because most people have a very specific (and very wrong) picture of what Improv is.
The Fear Everyone Has
When people hear about my workshops, there’s usually interest, followed immediately by hesitation.
Not about the benefits. But about what they think they’ll be forced to do.
They imagine being shoved onto a dark stage while someone yells, “Be funny. Now! Go.”
Which sounds less like learning and more like a socially acceptable nightmare.
That’s not what happens.
What It’s Actually Like
Improv, at its core, is built on support.
Good Improv isn’t about being the funniest person in the room. It’s about making your partner look good, paying attention, and building something together.
Which means the environment ends up being surprisingly safe.
No one’s put on the spot. No one’s left hanging. No one’s twisting in the wind.
(And if they were, that would just be bad teaching, not “edgy training.”)
Why It Works
Here’s the part that matters.
Every conversation in life is an act of improvisation: no one gives you a script for the day when you wake up… going to Improv class makes me comfortable in dealing with whatever happens.” – Scott Berkun
That’s the whole game.
You don’t get scripts in real life. Not in meetings. Not in difficult conversations. Not when something goes sideways and everyone turns to you.
Improv trains the skill underneath all of that.
Being able to think, respond, and create… even when you’re unsure.
Not perfectly. Just effectively. That’s where things start to change.
What We’re Really Practicing
In my workshops, Improv is just the tool.
What we’re actually working on is:
• Communicating clearly under pressure
• Speaking up instead of waiting for the perfect moment
• Listening well enough to actually respond (not just loading up your next point)
• Getting comfortable when things feel uncertain
In other words, the stuff that makes people better at their jobs and easier to work with.
If You’ve Been Curious but Hesitant
That hesitation you feel? Totally normal.
Almost everyone walks in thinking, “I’m not sure this is for me.”
Then they realize two things pretty quickly:
It’s not what they expected, and they’re better at it than they thought.
And more importantly, they leave with something they can actually use.
If you’ve ever thought, “This might be useful, but I’m not sure I’d be good at it,” you’re exactly the kind of person this was built for.
Want to read the full article from Scott Berkun? It’s here:
http://scottberkun.com/2013/what-i-learned-from-improv-class/
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