• By Walt Frasier, Artistic Director, New York Improv Theater

I’ve had dozens tell me “you should be a motivational speaker” but I feel I would hate being just another mouth babbling on a microphone, when teaching improv workshops a certain way, backing wisdom up with games that actually put many amazing life skills into muscle memory….

My improv workshops succeed where 1000s of books/lectures merely discuss.

I’ve worked with dozens of fortune 500 companies, 100s of others, 1000s of k12 schools and colleges and entertained 7000+ audiences with clean comedy.

My theory of the case….

• Our #1 rule/mantra is HAVE FUN but never at another’s expense. 
• #1 Improv Rule YES! And… (Which basically equals Psychological Safety, the cornerstone of team success)
• The #1 skill we teach is listening (the cornerstone of great leadership)
• HOMEWORK: Start every day with a smile! Want the world to be a better place, to smile at you, lead by example.

Playing improv games helps k12 students, teachers, leaders, teams, sales staff, customer service and interpersonal relationship skills.

It starts with self confidence. Ego and Insecurity destroys team, creativity, sales, service, etc. Ego/Arrogance is overcompensation for fear, not true self confidence.

So we start creating a fun safe space playing simple silly games. We even the playing field. These ice breakers are powerful for both team and individual development. Within seconds we are laughing. Research shows that when the brain starts creating, it actually shuts down the negative nerve centers. Laughing also gets oxygen to the brain, reduces stress, blood pressure etc. We become five year olds, going back before the times in middle school when we learned to fear, judge, hate etc.

We work on our pantomime with a game called WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Body language is such a huge part of communication AND self confidence. In order to get out of our head, we let go of our physical restrains. We have fun pretending, again, playing like 5yo, riding a bije, climbing a mountain, playing ball, etc. If your constantly worried about physical appearance you are not confident. But discovering our physical selves through movement unlocks new power. Not to mention, getting O2 to the entire body.

Before doing any “performing” we break into smaller groups for a game called ten scenes, ten minutes. In groups of 3-5 we simply have conversations based on a simple prompt. No need to fear stage, staring eyes, we are just in a small circle talking, pretending. Every 3-4 scene prompts we mix up teams.

Around this time I look for teaching moments to introduce a few basic improv tips and tricks.

Make simple choices….

• WHO (characters, relationships)
• WHERE (setting, place, time, etc)
• WHAT (action, plot etc)

Don’t Think

• Never try to be funny
• Never try to be clever
• Never try to be perfect
• Never try to impress

All of the above usually involve looking into back of eyes, up to the left or right, you know like when we lie etc.

Instead trust first ideas that flow into your consciousness. Let your subconscious mind open up on it’s own. Trust yourself AND be OK with being terrible. Make HUGE mistakes (not on purpose).

Let go and just play.

Don’t Control Others

Give other strength and the space to fall on their face without judgement.

Your need to control comes from a place of insecurity as well.

Let go and just play.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

We’ve been playing for an hour or so now. NOW that we have let go of some preconceptions, some fears, some ego, some….. (insert your thing here)… let’s go back to some games many teachers lead with.These games build certain techniques, YES AND… connections, basic story telling, free association word games etc. Games that would have seemed beyond silly and childish before, now seem silly and childish in a good way.

We are finally ready to rethink our approach to simple concepts.

The final 20-30 minutes I include some performance games. Many are surprised how comfortable they are now on stage after just 90 minutes of play.

WHY?

Most people barely hear let alone truly listen. We teach listen with your eyes. Listening with the willingness to change. AKA EMPATHY. We better understand.

We tap into our best selves when we get our ego out of the way. We stop telling folks how great we are, and start showing what we can really do.

We tap into our best selves when we get insecurity out of the way. We take more risks. We communicate our needs and wants clearly.

We truly start to HAVE FUN!

Walt Frasier international credits include theater, comedy, music and TV (Blacklist, Billions, Blue Bloods, Letterman, HBO, MTV etc)

The New York Improv Theater is a one stop edutainment center for corporate team building, office / holiday parties and more. Our comedy shows and workshops deliver high impact results. Clients include Google, Mercedes Benz, META /Facebook, TikTok, JP Morgan Chase, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, Twitter, Roblox, Rimowa, EI Digital, Accenture, Datadog HQ, Milbank, BING/Microsoft, Band of America – Merrill Lynch, Home Depot, Ernst & Young, Johnson & Johnson, Louis Vuitton, Coach, UBS, BDO, AMEX, Master Card, Macy’s, 360i, IBM, GM, Kraft, UNILEAVER, HBO, Prudential, Convene, Conference Board and many more…