(4 of 4) Great listening: An improv class will do wonders

Flex those listening muscles to build it into a habit.

I was helping someone with their communication skills once, and I pulled up the active listening techniques on this list. We practiced a bit and then I asked them to try it with someone at home. The next time we met, I noticed they were glowing. They told me they tried it with their teenage son and had an actual conversation for the first time in recent memory. The son even called out that this person was different somehow.

Anyone with teenage kids out there? You probably know that getting a response out of them is like squeezing blood out of a rock. I’ve personally been advised to use open-ended questions to avoid the yes/no response, or “fine.” But even then, sometimes all I get is a “I dunno.” 

It’s astounding how immediately you can enjoy the rewards of listening. However, it’s a habit to be built. One successful outing doesn’t necessarily mean it’s part of your nature. To practice it deliberately - while having fun - I highly recommend taking an improv class. In improv, you make up stuff on the spot. In certain activities they do, it’s vital that you pay attention to what other people are saying. Otherwise, the stuff you made up won’t fit in and may fall flat.

Consider long-form improv, specifically. In this style, an improv team puts up a sequence of scenes that are related to each other. For example, the scenes could comprise a full story, like an improvised play or movie. Whether they’re on stage, or waiting off stage to go up, team members must listen carefully to what’s going on. They need to know what’s happened so far, so that they know what will be consistent. This is really hard, because your brain is so busy generating ideas for a later scene.

The improv duo Middleditch and Schwartz performs long-form improv masterfully with only two people. Because they’re only two people, each one plays multiple characters, and neither has a chance to stand by offstage to watch as they come up with new ideas. Here’s a clip (warning: it contains profanity). The full show is on Netflix at the time of this writing (August, 2024).

TL;DR

An improv class is a fun way to exercise listening muscles.

Action

Find an improv class in your area, or DM me for suggestions for online classes.

Question

Have you ever watched an improv show? Share your experience in the comments.