The six golden rules of improvisation | Claudine Ullman | TEDxJohannesburg

Summary

Claudia Norman shares her journey from being told she was 'too large' for netball to becoming a professional improviser. She explains the transformative power of 'yes' in improv and its six golden rules, emphasizing the importance of play, active listening, embracing failure, and trust. Her company, Jittery Citizens, applies these principles to enhance teamwork and creativity in corporate settings, advocating for an 'improv life' that fosters positivity and innovation.

Takeaways

• 🎭 Embrace Authenticity: Claudia Norman shares her journey of self-discovery, emphasizing the importance of being true to oneself and finding joy in authenticity.
• 🏀 Overcoming Rejection: Norman was told she was too large for the netball team, but she defied this rejection and tried out anyway, showing resilience in the face of adversity.
• 🎤 The Power of Improvisation: Claudia discovered her passion for public speaking and improvisation, which helped her express herself and find her calling.
• 🤹‍♂️ Improv as a Life Skill: Improvisation is presented as a skill that can be learned and applied to everyday life, not just for performers.
• 🌟 The Six Golden Rules of Improv: Norman outlines six key principles of improv that can enhance thinking, relationships, and overall life experience.
• 🙌 The 'Yes' Attitude: Saying 'yes' in improv fosters a supportive environment, validates ideas, and encourages creativity to flow.
• 🤡 Embracing Playfulness: Norman encourages being silly and weird, as play is a crucial aspect of creativity that is often lost in adulthood.
• 👂 Active Listening: Improv requires full attention and presence, promoting active listening that can be applied to enhance communication in daily life.
• 💡 Learning from Failure: Improv teaches us to see failure as an opportunity for growth and creativity, rather than something to fear.
• 🔮 Trusting Intuition: Trusting one's initial impulses is a key component of improv, which can lead to better decision-making and group cohesion.
• 🤝 Supporting Each Other: In improv, every person is a supporting actor, highlighting the importance of teamwork and collaboration in both professional and personal relationships.

Q & A

Who is the speaker in the provided transcript?

The speaker in the provided transcript is Claudia Norman.

What sport was Claudia told she was too large for during primary school?

Claudia was told she was too large to make the netball team during primary school.

What position did Claudia initially get on the netball team?

Claudia initially got a position on the netball C team Reserve.

What was the turning point for Claudia in realizing her passion for public speaking?

The turning point for Claudia was when she froze during an impromptu section of a public speaking competition and then surrendered to improvise, discovering the joy of being authentic.

What is the name of the company Claudia works with, and what do they specialize in?

Claudia works with a company called Jittery Citizens, which specializes in improv comedy, corporate entertaining, entertainment, team building, and training.

What are the six golden rules of improv mentioned by Claudia?

The transcript does not list all six golden rules of improv, but it mentions some key principles such as saying yes, playing, active listening, learning to fail, and trusting oneself and others.

Why is saying 'yes' important in improv according to Claudia?

Saying 'yes' is important in improv because it validates participants, puts them in an open and receptive space, allows for the conversation to flow, and ideas to move forward.

What does Claudia suggest we lose as adults that children naturally possess?

Claudia suggests that as adults, we lose the ability to play and be present in the moment, which children naturally possess.

How does Claudia define 'active listening' in the context of improv?

Active listening in the context of improv means listening with the entire body and being, losing all form of agenda, becoming open and receptive to change, and living in the present moment.

What does Claudia believe is the liberating aspect of improv?

Claudia believes that the liberating aspect of improv is the acceptance of failure as an opportunity for something magical to happen, and the understanding that there are no mistakes in a creative space.

How does Claudia connect the principles of improv to personal and professional relationships?

Claudia connects the principles of improv to personal and professional relationships by emphasizing the importance of supporting each other, making the other person look like a genius, and creating an environment of trust and positive social health.

What advice does Claudia give on living an 'improv life'?

Claudia advises to apply the principles of improv by becoming 'yes' people, actively listening, embracing failure, and trusting oneself and others to maintain a positive outlook, enhance relationships, and make life amazing.

Outlines

00:00

🏀 Overcoming Rejection and Finding One's Passion

Claudia Norman shares her childhood experience of being told she was too large for the netball team, which led her to defy expectations and join anyway, resulting in making the reserve team. Despite being labeled as disruptive and erratic, she sought an outlet for self-expression and discovered her talent for public speaking. Claudia's high school experience in a speaking competition taught her the value of authenticity and improvisation, which she now applies as a professional improviser. She thanks the audience and introduces her work with 'Jittery Citizens,' a company specializing in improv comedy and training.

05:02

🎭 Embracing Improvisation and its Benefits

Claudia explains the concept of improvisation as the art of creating something special from nothing and emphasizes that it's a skill everyone can learn. She introduces the six golden rules of improv, starting with 'say yes,' which fosters a culture of acceptance and collaboration. Through an interactive exercise, she demonstrates the positive impact of affirmation versus rejection on creativity and idea generation. Claudia highlights the importance of play, active listening, and embracing failure as integral parts of the improv process, which can be applied to personal and professional development.

10:04

🤝 Building Stronger Teams Through Improv Principles

The final paragraph focuses on the application of improv principles to enhance teamwork and personal relationships. Claudia discusses the importance of supporting each other, having each other's backs, and creating an environment that encourages idea generation and a strong work ethic. She emphasizes the value of trust in fostering group cohesion and positive social health among colleagues. By living an 'improv life,' one can maintain a positive outlook, enhance relationships, and unlock their creative potential. Claudia concludes by encouraging the audience to apply these principles to improve their lives, ending with a heartfelt thank you.

Keywords

💡Defiance

Defiance refers to the act of resisting or opposing authority or a set of rules. In the video, Claudia Norman's defiance is shown when she tries out for the netball team despite being told she was too large, demonstrating her determination to challenge expectations and norms.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity is the quality of being genuine and true to oneself. Claudia discovered the importance of authenticity during her impromptu public speaking experience, where she found her voice and realized that being true to herself was both acceptable and enjoyable.

💡Improvisation

Improvisation, or 'improv,' is the process of creating something spontaneously without prior planning or preparation. The video's main theme revolves around the power of improv in personal and professional development, as it encourages creativity, adaptability, and the ability to make something special from nothing.

💡Golden Rules of Improv

These are fundamental principles that guide improvisational performance. The video mentions six golden rules, which, when applied to everyday life, can change thinking, relationships, and overall life experience. The first rule highlighted is 'say yes,' emphasizing the importance of acceptance and collaboration.

💡Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present and engaged in the current moment. In the context of improv, it is likened to the way children play, being aware and receptive to the unfolding scene, which is crucial for responding intuitively and spontaneously.

💡Active Listening

Active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and then remembering what is being said. The video emphasizes the importance of active listening in improv, where it allows performers to be open to change and react intuitively based on their partner's contributions.

💡Failure

Failure, in the context of the video, is redefined as an opportunity for learning and growth. Improv encourages embracing failure as a part of the creative process, where mistakes are seen as chances for innovation and discovery.

💡Trust

Trust is the reliance on the integrity, strength, or ability of a person or thing. In improv, trust is essential for performers to feel safe and to work effectively as a team. The video suggests that trust can lead to greater group cohesion and positive social health in various settings.

💡Team Building

Team building refers to the process of improving relationships and communication among team members. The video discusses how improv can be used for team building in corporate settings, fostering stronger collaboration and enhancing productivity.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to produce something new and valuable. The video highlights that saying 'yes' in improv fosters creativity by allowing ideas to flow and develop without the constraints of preconceived notions.

💡Jittery Citizens

Jittery Citizens is the company owned by Claudia and her team, specializing in improv comedy, corporate entertainment, team building, and training. It serves as a practical example of how the principles of improv can be applied in a professional setting.

Highlights

Claudia Norman shares her personal journey from childhood to becoming a professional improviser.

Despite being told she was too large for the netball team, Claudia tried out and became a reserve, showing dedication and determination.

Claudia's experience with public speaking and improvisation led to her realization that being authentic is both acceptable and enjoyable.

Improvisation is defined as the ability to create something special from nothing, a skill that can be learned by everyone.

Claudia's company, Jittery Citizens, specializes in improv comedy, corporate entertainment, team building, and training.

The six golden rules of improv are introduced as principles that can change thinking, relationships, and make life more awesome.

Rule number one in improv is to say 'yes', fostering a culture of acceptance and contribution to the scene.

The importance of play and silliness in adulthood, as a means to foster creativity and mindfulness.

Active listening is emphasized as a key to being present and responsive in conversations and scenes.

Learning to fail and embracing failure as an opportunity for growth and creativity in improv.

Trusting one's initial impulses and the importance of trust in building group cohesion and positive social health.

Amy Poehler's quote about improv being like the military, where no one is left behind, highlights the importance of teamwork.

Applying improv principles to life can lead to a positive outlook, enhanced relationships, and an amazing life.

Becoming a 'yes' person allows for embracing silliness and trying new things, fostering a more open and creative mindset.

Active listening with the whole body and letting go of agendas enables being in the present moment.

Loving failure and seeing it as a brave act that leads to revelation and growth.

Trusting oneself and others is key to achieving anything and everything, as shown through the framework of improv.

Improv serves as a framework to find one's creative genius and can significantly improve one's life.

Transcripts

[Music]

testing hi these lights are very

dramatic I love it

everyone can see me hi everybody so my

name is Claudia Norman and when I was in

primary school I was told that I was too

large to make the netball team I know

what but anyway in an act of defiance or

to try and give my Jewish mother some

nos some pride I decided I'm gonna try

out anyway and that's exactly what I did

and I got and baby bear thank you

netball C team Reserve but let me tell

you something I was dedicated okay I was

at every single match mostly for the

oranges at halftime but I was there I

was there and what I was desperately

trying to do is I was desperately trying

to find something I could be good at

something

I was fantastic at I was constantly

kicked out of class and told that I was

disruptive on my progress reports I got

Clawdeen is erratic erratic I remember

running to my mother crying I'm here

otic and I was erratic I was I

desperately needed to express myself

that is better so I tried out for the

public speaking team when I got into

high school and I got into the finals of

the junior public speaking competition

and to my shock and my horror I found

out that there was an impromptu section

now we had half an hour to write house

features and in that half an hour I did

nothing and when my name was called up

to come out on stage I froze

I went blank I started to shake and then

I took a deep breath and something truly

amazing happened I surrendered I began

to improvise I started to talk talk as

if I was talking to my family talk as if

I was talking to my friends and for the

first time in my life I realized that

being authentic was okay not only was it

okay it was fun and it was at that

moment I realized what I needed to do

for the rest of my life so cut to my

adult life who knows if I've grown up

yet but I am a professional improviser

thank you thank you to the one person at

the back for shouting yay um thank you

so what that means that means that I am

in the business of faking it till you

make it

I get to perform but I also get to help

people whether they want to be

professional improvisers or not I get to

help them incorporate the fundamental

principles of improv into their everyday

lives I work with the most incredible

team of people and sometimes I have to

pinch myself when I look at who I work

with and we own a company called jittery

citizens we specialize in improv comedy

corporate entertaining entertainment

team building and training the question

I get asked the most is what is improv

what is improvisation it is the ability

to make something totally special out of

nothing

now improv is a learned skill which

means everyone can do it it just means

that some people are going to be better

than improv than others look at Jacob

Zuma fantastic improviser give him a

script with some numbers and not exactly

the same story so what I'm going to do

today is I am going to show you the six

golden rules of improv and if you can

incorporate these rules into your

everyday lives

it will change your

thinking change your relationships and

make your lives more abundantly awesome

rule number one is say yes and now a lot

of people think that improv comedy is

all about me being funny me being the

star of the show but it's not improv is

all about making the other guy look like

a genius and we do that by creating a

culture of yes and now everything you

and I do in improv is called an offer

and in order to move the scene along we

need to accept each other's offers and

we have to add to them so I'm gonna do

an exercise with you all now after

everything I say I want you to shout yes

that's awesome okay so I want to teach

you about improv comedy we're feeling

people I want to tell you about the

benefits thereof and I want to tell you

how improv can make your lives amazing

great now I want to do the exact same

thing but to everything I say you're

gonna shout no I want to teach you about

improv comedy so as you can see from

their example saying yes feels awesome

it feels awesome because it validates us

it puts us in an open receptive space

okay it allows for the conversation to

flow and ideas to move forward what

saying no does is saying no halts

creativity it destroys ideas and it

feels really cook am I allowed to say

caca Telex I don't know I've just said

it twice anyway so can you imagine if

you walked into your board room and the

moment you gave an idea or you shared a

thought everyone stood up on the table

and shouted yes that's awesome your work

environment would be a very different

place wouldn't it the next role is to

play be silly be weird

so we lose versus adults we lose this

ability because we taught to think

rationally think critically but we're

not really taught how to play so what we

as jittery citizens do is we go into the

workplace and we encourage people to use

play as a method of creation now if

you've ever watched a child play you'll

see the children play in the present

moment the excitement lies in the

uncertainty of what comes next

now children are mindful when they play

an improv and mindfulness is one in the

same thing so it's fair to say that

improv is mindfulness in a social

situation active listening now in

everyday conversations we listen enough

to each other just to respond

we're so pre cons are we so caught up

with preconceived ideas of how the

conversation should flow we worried

about what should be rather than what is

and what active listening does is it

allows us to listen with our entire

bodies with our entire beings and by

doing that we lose all form of agenda we

become open and receptive to change and

we live in the present moment and

because we are in the present moment we

are able to react intuitively learn to

fail so we fail all the time on my first

day of studying at second city in

Chicago we were told that this is a

totally creative space and all our ideas

are valid there are no mistakes and this

is why I find improv so liberating

because every time we stuffed up a scene

we'd laugh about it we'd learn from it

and we'd move on as adults were so

fearful we're so fearful of what other

people think we're so fearful of making

mistakes because we associate failing

with being a failure in improv we see

failure for what it is

an opportunity for something magical to

happen trust in improv we work from top

of mind consciousness okay

that means we trust our initial impulses

when we trust our initial impulses we go

with our first ideas it serves us in

improv to trust and actually hinders us

to distrust you'll see if you have

co-workers who you don't trust you won't

feel safe with them you won't want to

work with him so what we have found is

that Trust actually leads to greater

group cohesion and leads to positive

social health amongst co-workers Amy

Poehler once said that improv is like

the military you leave no man behind

now improv forms a great framework to

create a positive atmosphere for

productivity teamwork and collaboration

in improv every single person is a

supporting actor and what that means is

making the other guy look like a genius

is just as important in professional and

personal relationships as it is in

comedy what we found through training

through developing an awesome solid

improv troupe is that when we support

each other when we have each other's

backs we create an environment to build

stronger teams to generate better ideas

to create greater work ethic and also to

give people the confidence to speak up

authentically within a group how do I

live an improv life well you got to

apply these principles by applying these

principles you will maintain a positive

outlook in life you will enhance

relationships and your lives will become

amazing okay

now what we need to do in order to do

this is we need to become yes people

because yes people are okay with being

silly they're okay with trying new

things we need to listen actively with

our whole bodies and lose agendas so we

can be in the present moment we need to

fail all and love failure because

failing makes us brave because it's an

opportunity for revelation we need to

trust ourselves and each other and

realize that when we do trust ourselves

in each other anything and everything is

possible

so improv is a wonderful structure it's

a wonderful framework for you to find

your creative genius how amazing would

your lives be if you took the step to

improve your lives thank you very much

thank you

[Music]

you

[Music]