Practising improvisation means you have a basic framework to play together. The very basic improvisation principle is simply “saying yes”. Yes, no matter what would come up in a scene.

The entire text as Video:

An example from improvisational theatre: 

Hey dad, can you see the elephant trying to steal an apple from the neighbour’s tree? – No I think you hallucinate. 

→ The story can’t move forward←

Hey dad, can you see the elephant trying to steal an apple from the neighbour’s tree?

Yes, and can you see the neighbour trying to catch the elephant with the hose pipe?

→ The story moves on ← 

In our lives, we often learned to say no, because of different reasons. Sometimes there is no time, it’s fear or not your field of competence. Saying yes would open up new possibilities, generate new opportunities, gain confidence and open up your mind. For example, if you say yes to something you are not so good at, you learn a lot by just trying it. You don’t need to be the best and you can still ask for help. 

Once a day, try to impact your life by saying yes to something you normally won’t. Take it easy and don’t want to do it perfectly but do it and enjoy the moment of learning something new or creating a story or have an impact together with someone else.

Your action plan:

Try to say yes once a day for a week, and I would love to read about the experiences you had. Write me a message or post your experience here or with the hashtag #basicimproprinciple.