That awkward moment when … you find yourself in a sticky interview situation, unable to answer what should be a simple question. Your palms are sweating, your foot shakes like a maraca, your slick attempt to dodge the question with a joke – well, that runs flat. Suddenly, your nightmare is becoming a reality.
So how do you stop awkward situations like this – in an interview, on a date, or during a meeting – from interfering with your life? The answer might not be what you expect: Improvisation and sketch comedy classes.
Laugh all you want, but it’s quite possibly the truth. Over the years numerous publications including Fast Co., CNN, and Bloomberg Businessweek have profiled how improv skills can be applied to real-life situations, and bail you out of those sticky ones. Just ask Tina Fey, who credits her swift thinking and confidence to the improvisational skills learned at Chicago’s Second City. In her book, Bossypants, she states: “In improv there are no mistakes, only beautiful accidents.”
To learn more, I met with Jeremy Brothers, Improv Asylum’s Artistic Director and Director of the Training Center, not to mention a main stage veteran himself. You may have seen him (albeit briefly) in the movie Bride Wars, or perhaps heard him host NPR’s, “The Moth” story slams in Boston.
Jeremy shared his thoughts with me on how improv classes can not only help improve your lifestyle, but also your professional development.
Why Improv?
“Improv is a no brainer,” he claims. “The classes help you get out of your own way,” allowing the improv student to “kill that part of the brain that slows you down, that edits your thoughts and questions your actions. It teaches you how to be okay with not knowing what’s going to happen.”
Jeremy goes on to explain that, with improv, there’s more than meets the eye. “There’s something very Buddhist about it, focusing on yourself and what you’re responding to at any given moment and not worrying … about all the things that should be happening.”
And for you job seekers out there (or those climbing the ladder), taking improv classes can teach you real-world “soft skills that allow you to absolutely crush a job interview.” Jeremy, a self-described introvert, explains that improv classes will “improve your presentation skills, creative brainstorming and critical thinking skills.” Not to mention, “it will force you out of your comfort zone and before long, your comfort zone is a whole lot wider.” It’s also just fun if you’re looking for a good time.
Need proof ? Here’s the puddin’.
Jeremy tells me he’s “received numerous emails and letters from people saying they owe their jobs to improv training. One former student, a consultant,” he went on, “credited his promotion to what he had been picking up in these classes. It was incredible to see the immediate takeaways this guy was getting from classes.”
In addition to individual training, Red Bull has used Improv Asylum extensively over the years and, Jeremy says, “I believe we’re the ‘official’ improv trainers for the Celtics now. Maybe if the Patriots had brought us in, we could have saved Tebow.” Maybe.
And even large corporations are hiring Improv Asylum including Google, Fidelity, Sloan, Merk, and PWC, to teach their employees how to improvise. After all, “every company wants to set themselves apart from tired business archetypes, they want to create a workplace where people want to be, where they’re energized. To me, that starts with creating a culture that fosters supporting each other and moving big ideas forward to dominate as an organization.”
Most recently, Twitter hired Improv Asylum to do a series of weekly classes at their office in Kendall Square. These weekly lunchtime improv classes will soon be offered for all professionals this October at the UMass Club in the Financial District. Jeremy describes them as “abbreviated for people who want to do something quick but don’t have the time to dedicate to an eight-week training in the North End.”
So if you’re looking to grow both personally and professionally, consider signing up for a class. Explore their website and class offerings. It just may improv(e) your whole outlook on life.
