Every week we like to talk to members of the Improv community about why they got into improv and how it changed their life. Today we speak to James Barrass-Banks, a member of the improv troupe Punderstandably. 

How Improv Made Me Awesome At My Job

Do you want to be better at the job you do every day? If so read on about how playing around can help you do just that.

Firstly a little bit of context, I do marketing as a job but these lessons apply to almost any career.

How?

1. Presentations
2. Quick thinking
3. Creativity
4. Dealing with uncomfortable situations
5. Commitment

So I’ll start with the easy ones, presentations and quick thinking; nerve wracking for some and easy as pie for others. What makes a good presentation though is the ability to do it confidently and engage your audience. It’s the second part that is the trickiest. You need to be interesting and get your point across clearly.

Thinking clearly about the audience of your improv, where are they coming from and what do you need to tell them. This happily condenses the slide count from 50 to 20 as you realise a lot of the other stuff in there is not what you really need to tell them.

I’d note that improv does give your confidence a boost but Holly talks a lot about this and I agree with a lot of it. Yes it works, no I’m not going to cover it in here.

Photo Credit: Rich Spence Photography

Back to presentations. The scariest bit of presentations and come to think of it interviews are the questions. The unknowns that lurk out there that you can’t possibly know.

This is where improv is a huge help. You’re constantly being asked to think on your feet, to adapt to the scene and other people’s reality. Oh look a troll just appeared in our scene. You don’t get to pause and think up an answer. You’ve got 2-3 seconds at the absolute max to come up with something convincing to say or do.

The same is true in an interview where reacting to that pressure is key. With presentations it could easily be considering how the plan will react in different sitations.

Aside from that I’ve worked closely with a lot of journalists. I’ve had story ideas that I think are perfect for them that are shot down in a few brief seconds. Improv helped me come up with ideas that I know are relevant to both the journalist and my client on the spot.

That’s a 2 second turn around on a brand new idea that takes into account their feedback and could well end up being featured. Tough for sure but it encapsulates what improv will teach you; an understanding of your surroundings, an appreciation for your audience, a quick response all delivered confidently. You will literally do this in every improv scene but without the pressure of a journalist or boss breathing down your neck.

It’s great training.

Moving on, creativity is another skill that improv will hone, it’s a factory of exciting ideas. In a scene anything can happen. Let me repeat that because it’s so crucial to being creative and thinking outside of the box. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. There are no restrictions, no barriers and no criticism. Want to have a scene about a moon cowboy called Soup or a scene about a volcano prematurely erupting it’s all possible and others will join in and support you.

This means your imagination and that of others gets to run wild. It’s a complete mishmash of randomness. This is not only a good thing but improv will also help you to identify when others are putting forward fun ideas that you want to play with (commonly called ‘gifts’).

This has three applications in the corporate environment. Firstly, thinking creatively will help you to overcome different problems and challenges as you see different perspectives and think outside of what is conventionally possible. Secondly it will help you to get better at listening and understand what the other person is saying. This means more productive meetings and more food for thought. Finally this will provide fresh stimuli for those of you within the creative industries which will help you come up with new ideas.

Dealing with uncomfortable situations as the next point may seem a little odd given the last few words about letting imagination run wild but it’s true. Sometimes you have to play a role in a scene that you’d rather not. Whether that’s a trash monster, a fan of a rival football team or a villain to make the scene work you have to take these on. Not only that but you have to do so willingly.

It’s tough realising that you have to say ‘that’ line or have to do ‘that’ thing. I was at an improv show a few nights back and watched someone take on the role of a person that adored sniffing feet. It was hilarious but could have been quite uncomfortable for the performer. So be prepared to get uncomfortable and embrace it.

This will push you out of your comfort zone and make uncomfortable feel more comfortable. Oxymoronic I know but this will help you when you have to have difficult conversations at work or if you are avoiding doing something even though you know you really should do it to help the team.

The added benefit for this is that if you tackle those things first you spend less time worrying and thinking about having to do it. As a result, all that time can now be focused on doing the things you want to be doing.

If you’re going to have these uncomfortable conversations though you do need to be committed to them. No point in scheduling the meeting and then making a woolly and overly subtle hint. Get to it and commit to the conversation.

On that note improv helps you to commit to everything you do. You quickly realise that within improv that the only way to make it seem real is to commit to it 100%. Not 50%. Not 75%. Not even 98%. 100%. You need to react genuinely as a character and have real emotions. The world needs to exist in your mind and you have to believe in it if you want to stand any chance of the audience doing it. This means believing in yourself and that of your team, no matter the scene, no matter the character, no matter what.

Standing on the edge looks weird so you commit to doing it to the absolute best of your ability. When it comes to work do the same. Doing the filing? Commit. New business pitch? Believe that this will be the best pitch ever. Doing budgets? Get on with it and commit to doing it.

Overall improv has made me an awesome professional from presentations internally to quick thinking when answering questions, from being creative to dealing with uncomfortable situations. Even through to committing to things, this post was originally 1,300 words and I told Holly that I’d struggle to make it to 300. Look what happened when I committed.

One last note from me. If you’re reading this you’re probably already interested in improv so you know the benefits I’ve talked about. So here’s my challenge to you, Invite someone new along with you to your next class or show you’re going to. Let others see the benefit of something you love. Let them share in it and enjoy it with you.

About the author: James Barrass-Banks has been an improviser for the better part of a year and is a member of the Punderstandably improv troupe who bring short form fun to audiences across London.