Yeah I know that title is corny, but you’ll understand when you read point #2 below.

But before I even knew what improv was, I remember seeing the show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” I won’t post a video clip because pretty much all of them are funny. Just go YouTube it if you’ve never heard of the show.

Anyways, when I first saw it, I was so impressed by these performers by how spontaneous, quick, and witty they are. I couldn’t believe how funny these people can be in just a blink of an eye. Without a script or preparing, these talented folks are saying and doing some freaking hilarious stuff! It was so amazing that one day I knew I wanted to learn how to do improv. And being a left-brained kind of guy, I thought about the:

Benefits of Taking Improv

• Cultivates humor, spontaneity, and creativity.
• Being able to think quickly on my feet.
• I learn how to STOP thinking, let my mind go (left brain), be present in the situation, and just feel and flow.
• Teaches me to emote and explore other aspects of communication: facial expressions, gestures, tonality, volume, etc.
• Teaches me to care less about looking “stupid” in front of other people.
• Makes a great experience and story to tell.
• Public speaking is scary, but improv is worse. For the most part, people that do public speaking have time to prepare and deliver their speech. With improv, there is no time. How scary is it to be thrown on stage with no idea what the topic is going to be and having people look at you and expecting you to make them laugh? But the better question to ask is how much of a better person, communicator, lover, entrepreneur, family member, etc. will you become if you can conquer that and acquire the skills from all the bullet points listed above?

With that in mind, I began in November 2008 taking improv classes from Mission Improvable (formerly known as Westside Eclectic) in Santa Monica and completed their first three levels of improv (3 hours per class for 6-8 weeks for each level) for a total of 70+ hours of improv over 6 months. Everyone from my classmates to the instructors made those classes so much fun. During that same time period, I supplemented with another 25 hours of improv from The Magic Meathands in West Los Angeles, another awesome group of people.

All-in-all, I think I’ve racked up about 100 hours of improv. So now the question is: what have I learned after going through all that? I definitely accomplished a lot of the things I listed in the bullet points, but I want to emphasize these related takeaways:

#1- Don’t think about what to say. Just be present, connect with your partner and audience, and just do.
One of the worst things to do that will really mess you up is thinking about what to say. This is especially true if you’re trying to think of something funny. Instead of doing that, be present with your partner on stage and your audience. This means listening, feeling, and connecting with them and they will give you all the conscious and subconscious gifts you need to come up with something genius to say or do. It will spontaneously and magically happen.

I found this to be useful not just in improv, but also when it comes to meeting women. The last thing I should be asking myself before approaching a woman is: what should I say to her? Instead, I’m better off being open and observant and she and/or the situation will give me something to talk about or I’ll suddenly remember something to talk about.

#2 – Don’t filter your words or actions. Just trust and go with it.
Trusting myself was one of the hardest things to do. Having faith and belief that your brain and body will come through for you during the times of your greatest need is one of the greatest gifts you can give it. Because time and time again, your mind and body will always serve you in the highest light possible if you just let it.

In improv, that meant trusting the first words and ideas that come to mind and going with it. Of course you sacrifice in the short-term by bombing a LOT, but it’s a necessary evil for developing this extremely valuable habit. Your job now is to just go with it and the feedback you get from your partner and audience will train your brain. It’s only through trial and error will you build that sense of calibration and your mind will automatically know what to give you and what NOT to give you in the future. For now, just execute. Because in the long-run, you’ll be more pleasantly surprised by the brilliance of the things that come out of your mouth when you just do it. And that will never happen in the future if you don’t stop filtering (and punishing) your brain now.

#3 – No hesitation. Just go. And go all the way.
In improv, one of the worst things you can do to your partner is leave them hanging on stage and out to dry. Not only does it make them look awkward, but it makes you and everyone on your team look awkward. Instead, once you get a topic from the audience or the scene has started, you have 1-2 seconds for a pregnant pause to collect yourself before you GO. And whatever that idea is, as “stupid” as you may think, commit 110% to it. Even at 80% commitment, it’ll still look stupid. But at 110%, it’s funny. Check out this clip of Peter Griffin from the Family Guy when he hurts his knee.

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When he first falls and hurts his knee, it looks like a normal scene. After a little while, it’s stupid because he’s still hurting. But then after that moment passes, it starts becoming hysterical. Peter went with the hurt knee and committed 110% and it went from something normal to something funny.

In terms of hesitation, it definitely applies to meeting women. For the most part, you’re better off 9 times out of 10 to just go approach her the moment you see here, rather than lingering around to figure out what to say or waiting for that “perfect” moment, which usually never comes anyways. Because the more you wait, the more self-doubt will surface and women DO notice the creepy weird guys that hover around but don’t say anything to her. They can spot (and feel) them from a mile away. Conversely, if a woman is within your proximity, they want you to talk to them – so say something, anything!

And in life, very rarely does something just fall into your lap. (Law of attraction is an element at play though.) But for the most part, nothing good just happens – you have to get off your ass and get it NOW. God, luck, the Universe, your subconscious, or whatever you call it will open the door, but you must walk through it (credit Morpheus). And when you do go for it, fully commit and truly go for it because you’re only wasting your time if you’re just half-assing it.

So that’s my rant on improv. It was one of the scariest, yet most fulfilling experiences in my life. I definitely wouldn’t have won the LA Air Sex Championships without the experience, nor would I have become the person I am today. So if improv scares you, then you know what you have to do – go do it.