Four ways improv can help you succeed at work

Four ways improv can help you succeed at workFour ways improv can help you succeed at workAs improv comedians, the same philosophyandprinciples that work so well for us on stage also work very well when we apply them to our business.Here are four ways you canapply improv techniques to help you succeed at work.1. Become an active listenerEveryone thinks that to be an improviser that you have to be super quick. We hear that comment after every show You guys are so quick. We always smile and take the compliment, but its notlage really the truth.The truth is that we listen very well. And we dont just listen we actively listen.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreYou have to be present, you have to be in the moment, and you have to be non-judgmental. You just have to go with anidea. And the way you do that is to listen and then build on that thought.As business leaders and entrepreneurs, weve learned that being a better listener actually makes you a better communicator. Youve heard everyone out so youre able to make decisions without overlooking things. Youre not thinking of the thing you were going to say next youre paying attention to whats happeningnow.In the improv world, we dont know where were going we only know where weve been. So its paramount that we all retain that information because its influencing our decisions, much like in the business world.A lot of people pride themselves on multitasking.But basically all multitasking is is doing a lot of things in an average way.When people are actively listening, theyre retaining anywhere from 90 to 95% of the pertinent information. When theyre multitasking, they may be retaining 40%. If youre at work running around only retaining 40% of the information, youre doing yourself a disservice, and youre certainly doing everyone around you a disservice.2. Practice yes, and . . .The number one rule that we have is to str ike the word no and replace it with the two magic words yes, and . . . Its a philosophy, not a statement.It means that youdont judge anidea. You agree with it by saying yes, and thenyou add your2 cents so that itbecomes a collective idea and both people have by in to its success.People are often no, but . . . Theres a lot of negativity. People will always find the problem or the reason for not doing something.But they arent mistakes in our worldthere are only disruptions from the routine. Improv forces you to solve scenarios on the fly. Were all about finding a work around and moving forward.Becoming a yes, and . . . person is like going to the gym. You have to practice iteveryday and reframe your brain to not go to no first. If it has to be a no, so be it, butmake it a considerate no.3. Embrace all ideasOne of the rules that we live by is that there are no wrong or bad ideas, and nobodys ideas are any better or worse than anyone elses. There are just high- and low-percentage choice s.The creativity comes when you can recognize that every idea has merit. What weve found is that sometimes those low-percentage choices end up being wonderfully creative ideas that we would have never come up with because we would have dismissed them early as wrong. These ideas get the ball rolling.When you do that within your business, you develop a culture where people realize theyre going to be heard andthat theyre not going to be judged or shot down.Imagine how creative you would be if whatever you brought to the table, your team would build upon. Theres no fear involved.The freedom to create is endless.4. Empower yourteamIf you practice these techniques, youre honoring and empowering those around you, and they in turn will honor and empower you.For instance, we noticed that a lot of people wereon their phones before and during ourshow.From our perspective as the performers on the stage, we thought it was rude. But then our technical director, who sits behind the audience and ru ns the lights and sound, told us that he was seeing people give us five-star reviews and tweet about the show.He suggested that instead of being angry, we should incorporate phonesinto the show. Now, we have people upload funny photos on our Facebook page, and we improvise from the photos. As a happy accident to this, our social media numbers are through the roof.When people think about the corporate ladder, they think that the way to get aheadis to step on whomever you need to step on. But thats not how we advance. The way we ascend is by making each other look good. We pull each other up.David Wilk, Frank Ford, and David Ahearn are the co-founders of the improv groupFour Day Weekend and the co-authors of the upcoming book Happy Accidents How Yes, And Thinking Helps You Open Hearts, Change Minds, and Win Together in a No, But World.As told to Kirsten Salyer.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first s even words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people