In my recent Ripples of Change podcast, Bob Faw talked about getting in touch with his authenticity – and when I asked him, “What does it take to get there?”, he said – “Improv comedy”, especially the “YES, AND” activity, as in:
Person A: I think we should invite our marketing colleagues to our product launch party…
Person B: YES, AND – we could invite them to talk about the beautiful ads they created for the product!
“Yes, and” is about accepting the premise (the “gift”) that your partner gives you, rather than dismissing their idea as stupid or even correcting them.
When Bob’s comedy mentor told him: Your job is to make everyone on the stage look good, Bob said, “it changed the way my brain worked” – and he immediately wanted to apply this new method.
The result?
“I went from sometimes having power struggles with clients to having much more rapport building, really listening to them, seeking to understand.”
That’s a perfect illustration of the benefits of Improv as a relational practice. The stance toward not-knowing, and being responsive to other’s ideas clearly generates rapport and connection.
In addition to using this approach with his clients, Bob has also been using this exercise in his trainings, which led to this inspiring feedback: “I feel like you embody what you’re teaching us.”
Wow.
What a gift to hear that – and a confirmation of authenticity!
How can we all get more of that in our lives? (in case you’re still wondering…) 😊
Watch the 4 min. clip here, or pull up a chair to watch the 30 min. interview.
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