Improvisers Train to Fail and Recover. Here's Why Your Employees Should Too.
TBD the Musical’s “Springtime Post Nuclear Fallout”
April 2024
Seasoned improvisers have a unique perspective on failure, likely because we do it a lot. In warmups, practices, and shows, improvisers make mistakes, and sometimes we lose. Perhaps we have a low audience turnout for a show, perhaps we completely miss a game in a scene, or maybe we get a name wrong on stage. Fun fact: Remembering the names of freshly made-up characters is one of the most difficult aspects of longform improv! We forget them all the time. Beyond fake names, I've actually witnessed one of my favorite professional improvisers forget his teammate's real name on stage during cast introductions. His intro was rapid fire and high energy and sounded something like this: "Please welcome to the stage our cast! We've got Katie, Sarah, Chris, Alex, Sheree, Shannon, Peter, and this guy…!"
So yes, we occasionally crash and burn. Big and small. Because of this, seasoned improvisers grow calluses on our egos that spare us from the sting of failure that most experience. This isn't just something that happens in our subconscious though. Improvisers actively enforce this mindset. How do we do this? In improv practice, we run exercises that are meant to fail! Here’s one exercise for example:
Imagine a group of 10 people standing shoulder to shoulder in a circle. Heads are down so that no one can see each other’s faces. The group must count to 10 one person at a time, but…
They cannot go in the order in which they are standing.
A person cannot say consecutive numbers.
If a number is interrupted, or two people begin to speak at the same time the count must start over.
This exercise perhaps sounds simple, but it's not easy to do. It typically takes a few tries to get to 10. The group can't help but experience disappointment when they have to start over, especially once they're so close to 10. But instead of getting angry and giving up when we mess up, the group quickly and briefly claps and cheers when the mistake is made, and then starts over. We take a moment to intentionally celebrate our failure to adjust our mindset, and then we get back to the task at hand.
The above exercise is one of many examples where improvisers set themselves up for failure before a win. Improvisers train to fail and recover because mistakes are inevitable, especially when you're figuring things out as you go. We simply can't have teammates giving up or getting angry when mistakes happen. If that were the case, the show wouldn't be fun for anyone. No one wants to see defeated improvisers! Instead, we work to change our mindset so that despite the fails, we can keep having fun and making magic for audiences. MAGIC! The show must go on.
The way we see it, the value of this mindset on stage is equally important in the workplace. Do you want your employees to create more efficient processes? Do you want your team to develop new and innovative products and services? Do you want to reach new audiences? If you want your business to keep evolving, it’s time to encourage your staff to build those ego calluses, and change your workplace’s mindset around failure. This is where WitWorks comes in! With our workshops, we can start the conversation and enforce the principle with fun games and exercises that your team won't forget. Let us help you capture your team's creative potential and build the culture your organization deserves.
