I suppose this weeks look at improv is an actual real life scenario where I can show that improv has had an impact on my life and the way it has altered me a bit as a person. As I have said a few times on this feature, I am an outgoing person – I don’t mind being put into situations when I don’t know people and getting to know them but if I am around really strong characters a lot of the time i tend to say the bare minimum and be quiet. A lot of the time this is due to shyness and other times this is because I don’t want to really compete with the other characters.

Back in July, i was hired to work a motorsport festival and to get there I had to drive down with two members of the freelance staff. The two people that I had to share a car with were very strong personalities and knew each other for years as they went to University together so they automatically had a lot of inside jokes and laughs between them.

Now, usually in these situations I would just sit there say the odd thing and sort of just be quiet –  I don’t mind listening or not really participating when I am around strong characters however this time round I felt myself pushing myself to actually participate and be part of the conversation.

When I am not that comfortable in situations like this my truer personality hides behind the facade of a person who is a more professional environment sort of person. However this time I pushed myself to participate and actually get involved. I decided to crack jokes when I felt a natural fit, not just asking standard ice breaker questions but actually just treat the situation that I was around friends.

I suppose improv has made me a more confident person. All of the above I didn’t notice I was really doing it until one of them said a comment that sort of stuck with me. They didn’t find out I did improv comedy until well into the trip and then one of them said “I could tell you did something in comedy because of the way that you are.”

This comment sort of shocked me because I felt a little out of my depth in this situation as I was just trying to come out of my confident zone and i must of come across as highly confident. I suppose improv has made me more confident in areas I never thought it could.

Whilst it may of been only a car ride i felt it was a turning point in some ways as to how I should now realise how I come across to others. They are both really great guys and even now I am good friends with them. But just to think if that car ride never happened and I got the train, I may not of realised something about myself and I owe them both a lot for that.