John Moore at Brand Autopsy and I have been having a good email conversation about Improv in marketing. I was delighted to discover that he and his fellow coroner are big fans of Improv and have worked to use it more in organisations. I thought I'd open the conversation up...

John made this point

The conventional business set seems to immediately connect Improv with comedy/humor. One can't blame them. Most, if not all, of the improv business folks have experienced has been from a comedy act, comedic television show, or an offsite corporate retreat game involving Improv which is used as a funny icebreaker "get your mind loose" activity.

Before gaining a better understanding that Improv is more about listening and reacting than about delivering on an off-the-cuff punchline, I too associated Improv with more with comedy

Of course, I want to say that I’m in favour of laughter at work and I think there’s a crucial difference between solemnity and seriousness.

And then there’s laughter and laughter.

An important nuance in Improv is the difference between telling gags on the one hand, and the laughter that arises inadvertently, not deliberately instigated by the players. This relates to “scriptwriting”, which is the label my teachers used to identify the behaviour of a player who moves out of the moment and is working to control the story.

A lot of brands are doing that sort of scriptwriting: after doing too much research, they try to formulate the perfect outbound communication and in so doing actually stifle the sort of dialogue that might hold a brand together.

A friend also offered me this thought: that the laughter at good improv is often not because the words said are funny; in a script, they might not raise a laugh. He said people often laugh because something deeply satisfying is happening. That satisfaction is – I believe – that in true Improv, human beings are truly present and spontaneous. An experience organisational life often suppresses. If Improv is just seen as a just a funny way to warm up a group, something really important is overlooked...