Doug Moe on the Internet

improvnonsense:

Improv can make you funnier, will likely make you a better actor, and could maybe even get you work. But one thing it will definitely do is make you better at having conversations.

You listen better, you speak to the heart of the matter more, you lie less, you speak more concisely.

But also, you…

First of all:  is re-blogging a form of self-promotion?  I hope so.

Second:  I love Will Hines.

Third:  I’m not sure I totally agree with the premise that improvisers are such great conversationalists.  They are probably better listeners overall probably and then you mix in self-promotion, the need for approval and a tendency to do bits and you have a pretty complicated picture.  

I think for me, I like to also mix the following into any conversation, especially with other improv people:  

1. Doing bits about hating the person I actually like.
2. Assessing whether I have any action I need to take on the information the other person is sharing because GTD (Getting Things Done) has forced me to do this.  If I have to do anything about any of this stuff, I will need to write it down moments after we talk.
3. Fear that I don’t know the person’s name or that I am mis-remembering it.
4. Feeling too old.

One thing I really agree with Will about is how frustrating it is to try to teach improv students to listen.  It’s a hard skill to acquire.  I think students have a hard time realizing how much might be meant by what someone said.  For example, player #1 might just lazily say ”Nice dress” but a power player #2 can assume that they meant ”I am in love with you” or “Normally you don’t look so nice.”

Actually, now I realize that this is a standard part of my conversational repertoire:  I pretend to assume meaning from the innocuous statement someone makes.  Example:

“Good to see you Doug”

“Oh!  Didn’t think I could stay up this late, huh?!?  I still get around! [see “Feeling Too Old” above]

Here’s an interesting thought (he says about his own thought):  maybe Everyone Else are good conversationalists and we (the minority Improvisers) are bad at doing it the right (bad) way!