| If you enjoyed the post, here are my lessons from improv class from a long time ago: "People who are charming aren't afraid of failure" - Keith Johnstone It's ok to fail, even if there is an audience paying to see you. If you are doing an action like hula-hooping, don't talk about what you are doing. If you are doing an action, do it with some energy. e.g. lame digging vs spirited digging a hole and throwing dirt over your shoulder. Have a strong opinion! Don't be wishy washy. Have a (secret) strong opinion. Don't tell the audience what it is - don't say what it is - let them try to guess it. Lesson #1 - Stick with your offer. On the suggestion 'purple', I went onstage as Barney and then dropped the suggestion. It would have been more effective if I was fully committed to my offer. How does this apply to pickup? Keep a strong frame. Lesson #2 - Don't teach. In the weird love scene with the chainsaw sculpturing, I was telling her to go over to here - the tree was here, etc. Instead, I should have been telling the audience and her how I felt about what she was doing. Lesson here - don't talk about what you're doing, talk about how it feels to be interacting/doing. This is basically what the statement of intent is based on. Lesson #3 - Have a secret. Maybe not as elaborate as Steve Job's marking-his-territory one but have a mystery - you don't have to tell the audience - they won't ever guess but they'll wonder. Lesson #4 - Use freebies. Simple humor. Beep! Beep! Funny and gets a laugh. Simple. Lesson #5 If you don't know what the other person is doing, decide what they're doing. Once you make it verbal/out there, the other person should agree. Lesson #6 - Be in the moment. The audience doesn't know when you play a game if you know what you're doing but if you look like you know what you're doing - they'll be engrossed. |