You’re Not Owed an Audience: An Improv Lesson for the Workplace
TBD the Improvised Musical
February 2026
Respect Your Audience
A lesson improvisers must learn early in their performance careers is to respect their audience. Beyond just putting on a good show, professional improvisers do this intentionally in a variety of ways. Here's a short list, non-comprehensive list:
We groom ourselves and show up looking and smelling presentable.
We warm up our bodies and voices to make sure we're bringing the right energy to the stage.
We never tell the audience what they should find funny.
We end on time.
We thank the audience for coming
The best improvisers understand that having an audience is a privilege. For those of us who have been around a while, we've done those uncomfortable 5-person-audience gigs in the backs of dive bars, and basements of pizza places... Those nights teach you quickly that attention is earned, never owed.
We also know when performers don't have this humble mindset, it shows. In my experience those are the moments that audiences are most likely to turn on the comedians. The energy shifts and maybe they get quiet, or they heckle, or they leave.
The opposite is also true in my experience. Big positive energy from performers begets big positive energy from their audience. For improvisers, showing up respectfully is truly the bare minimum, and it immediately benefits us. And with an art form as unpredictable as improv, we can at least always get that part right.
Respecting Your Audience Off the Stage
Years ago, I had a former tech/ops colleague reach out to me about a role on their team. This was a peer I enjoyed working with, and they were super excited about the company, so I was flattered and excited to learn more. I got booked to interview with a VP the following week.
An hour before the interview I got an email that the interviewer had changed. Instead of the VP, I would be meeting with a brand new director. Let's call him Jon.
At the top of the interview, Jon admitted to me that he did not read my resume. It wasn't that he didn't have time, he explained, “I'm really good at reading people" he said. Over the next 30 minutes Jon spoke a lot about himself. In fact my speaking time felt to be about 5 of those 30 minutes. I found this strange and unpleasant, but I'd experienced this before. In fact in at least two other prior interviews in my career, both from which I received offers. I remember thinking, “Wow. No questions for me. That internal referral must be carrying A LOT of weight”.
The strange theme continued when a woman passed twice behind Jon wearing nothing but a bath towel. I kindly ignored it. “Friendly fodder for teasing my future co-worker perhaps”, I thought.
But the end of the interview brought the biggest surprise. Jon told me that he didn't think I was a fit for the role I was interviewing for. In the 30 minutes of his own talking he somehow “read” that I was a fit for a lower paying role, one that I had already turned down prior to the interview.
I told him that role wasn’t an appropriate fit with my experience. The interview ended shortly after. Little gained. And I left certain I would never want to work with him in any capacity.
Improv at Work
Just like on stage, recruiters, and anyone with the privilege of being an interviewer, should make it their priority to be a respectful host. Someone expressing interest, taking time to prepare, and share about themselves, is effort that should be appreciated. Handle these people with care. Reading a resume, being on time, coming in with the right attitude, being present, are truly bare minimum requirements.
And just because the job market is in a rough place, and people show tolerance for less-than behavior, first impressions matter. For folks you hire, your interaction can either inspire them to share their best work, or quietly encourage them to do the bare minimum. And for those you don't hire, if it was you who didn't show up right in the interaction, you may be the reason your team missed out on its key to success.
This improv principle, “respect your audience”, applies anywhere you’re asking for attention. In interviews, in meetings, on stage, or on screen…
So leaders, receive your audience like an improviser, and encourage your teams to do them same. Show up prepared. Show up humble. Show up energized. The energy you bring is the energy you’ll get back. That’s improv at work.
