WEBVTT

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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So what if I told you that the secret to becoming

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a great improviser, the secret of improv,

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isn't to rack up 10,000 hours of practice?

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What if the real secret is to rack up 10,000 failures?

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That might sound terrifying, because that moment in the

scene

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when you fail, when your mind goes blank,

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when you forget a name, when you block an offer,

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it feels awful.

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And we want to avoid that sort of thing at all costs.

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So today, we're going to try to reframe how you think about

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failure in improv.

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And I'm not going to tell you to just do some positive

thinking

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at any point in this video.

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We are going to treat failure as a solvable technical

problem

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that's actually useful because of science.

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And I'm going to give you seven specific actionable things

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that you can try in the exact moment that you

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feel like you're failing in a scene or the scene itself

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is failing.

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And that is so you can turn these moments

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into either a strength in the scene

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or a really useful learning experience, if not,

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or maybe both of those things.

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So by the end of this episode, you

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will have a toolkit of seven different techniques

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to recover from perceived failure in the scene.

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And you'll learn how to use these experiences

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to make your improv practice even better.

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And you'll also be able to understand

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why failing will make you better at improv.

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Hi, I'm Jen deHaan, and this is Your Improv Brain.

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I've taught and coached improv at a few different schools,

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and I perform in long-form improvised audio drama podcasts

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at my production studio, StereoForest.

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And I love to bring nerdy improv monologues to you

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in this show.

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So let's get to it.

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First, I want to say it is pretty inevitable

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that you will fail in an improv scene.

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It's going to happen.

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You're going to have moments where you just

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didn't understand an initiation, or you forgot the name

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of your scene partner's cat, or you accidentally block an

offer,

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or mess up a plot, or your mind suddenly goes blank.

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I talked about what to do if your mind goes blank

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in a recent episode.

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So I'll link to that in the description and the show notes,

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and I'll try to put it up somewhere up here for those of you

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watching the video.

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But our goal today is to stop seeing all of these kind

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of moments as shortcomings.

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They are really valuable data points.

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And there's ways out of all of them.

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Fundamentally, reframing how we think about failure

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is a core improv skill that should really honestly

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have a space in classes everywhere all the time.

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Accepting failure helps remove the burden of fear, of

doubt,

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of judgment from improv.

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And it's one of the best ways to get us out of our heads

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in scenes.

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Failing is an important part of learning,

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and maybe the most important part of learning.

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So let's talk about failure in a bigger sense

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outside of just improv.

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The writer, Naval Ravikant, has this idea

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that to master a skill what you really need

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is 10,000 failures and error corrections,

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not just 10,000 hours like Malcolm Gladwell famously

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suggested.

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Now, why is this?

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Because failures are what help you iterate.

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You learn, and you refine from them.

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And then you repeat what really works for you,

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and you figure out how to recover from what doesn't

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in your improv brain, what works for you.

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And all of this is backed up by research.

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The psychologist Anders Erickson coined the term

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deliberate practice.

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And this was noted by Gladwell, although Erickson then

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challenged the idea that the hours of practice in a domain

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made someone an expert.

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He challenged that and said that in certain domains,

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it could actually happen in way less than 10,000 hours.

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And that was because Erickson found

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that real expertise comes from a systematic approach

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to practice.

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And this includes real challenges, immediate feedback.

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And most importantly, perhaps, is that error correction.

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Practicing those reps deliberately

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means doing meaningful reps that include mistakes.

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And his work suggests that the endpoint, which

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is the real expertise, doesn't really

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depend on things like our personality or our wiring.

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It's the process of change, not duration.

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Another thinker, a favorite of mine, Simon Sinek,

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has an idea that it's better to fail while aiming

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for a larger, harder goal than it is to lower your goals just

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to not fail and feel successful.

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So all of this points to one thing.

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Failure is the engine of learning,

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because failure helps you change and iterate.

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So we got to do it to learn.

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And here's the really cool part for us as improvisers.

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We can actually have fun at this thing.

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When we embrace failure as a part of the process,

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we can play with our mistakes in a scene.

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And learning to do that in a low stakes environment,

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like a class or a rehearsal or even a show with a real

audience,

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might just help us feel better about failure outside

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of the scene, where the stakes can honestly

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be a lot higher than in the make-em-ups.

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So we know that we learn and we change from our own errors.

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We know that we need the reps to have those opportunities

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to fail, because our brain is wired

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to learn effectively doing the thing

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and then correcting the thing.

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So let's talk now about those reps.

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What happens when we make a failure on stage in the scene?

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How can we play with it in the moment

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so we can learn from it and become more adaptable

improvisers?

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So I'm going to call them scene hacks.

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Here are seven hacks that you can use to correct errors

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or what you perceive as errors.

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And so hack number one, play with the failure and make it

loud.

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So you messed up.

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You called your scene partner by the wrong name,

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let's say as an example, which you might not care.

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We can just roll with it.

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But say you do.

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Instead of trying to fix it or pretend that it didn't happen,

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another option is to lean into it.

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Commit really hard to it.

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Address it in character.

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I'm so sorry, Sammy.

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I mean, Susan, I always get you and your sister confused.

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Or a very trusted scene partner might respond to you and say,

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I'm sorry, what?

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Susan, you must be thinking of my ex-wife again.

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Explore it for as long as it makes sense for the scene.

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And then just move on.

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The audience might love this moment.

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They often do.

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They see the human mistake and they

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love watching you turn it into a gift or maybe even

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sweat a little if you commit to it hard and make it big.

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This helps you avoid hesitating.

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It helps you avoid overcomplicating the scene

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by trying to furiously fix your mistake.

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But it's really a very important part

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of this error-based learning concept or deliberate

practice.

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So hack number two.

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If you freeze, do something, anything.

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This is related to my earlier episode

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on your mind going blank, which you can check out.

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Find out the link in the description or the show notes.

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But the short version or one part of this episode

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is if you freeze, just do a physical action of some sort.

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You might pick up a phone like that, not like that, right?

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You might start sweeping the floor,

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straightening a picture on the wall.

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Or you might just emote something with your body

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and really feel it and then make something up about whatever

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you're doing or feeling in the moment.

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Like you have to call your mom or something.

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And then just move on.

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And this action can sometimes just unstick your brain

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and then you can learn from whatever

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you find when that happens and just keep practicing that way

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out of your mind going blank.

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All right.

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Hack number three.

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If you're trying too hard to be funny, try to be boring.

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So this sounds really wild, but it can work.

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So if you find yourself just really straining to be funny

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or you're trying to invent or write the scene,

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that's probably a little bit more common for you.

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Maybe just flip it.

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Try to be really mundane and just normal, generic.

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Or just be you.

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I'm not saying you're boring or mundane or generic,

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but just be as you as you can be.

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Be your authentic self in that situation.

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I've been in scenes where I've had no idea what's happening

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and I just started reacting as honestly as I can.

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And it works.

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The authentic grounded response can or often will be

funnier

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than trying to do a joke that you try to just force

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into the scene.

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You'll eventually be funny.

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So just be you.

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Hack number four.

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If a scene is failing, you can just breathe life into it.

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So let's say for the sake of argument,

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your scene is dead in the water.

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It's stagnant.

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And you and your scene partner are maybe treading

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and no one on the back line is ending the scene.

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But you have a lot of options here.

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This is like a lot of hacks in one.

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Make a confession.

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God, I have to tell you something.

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I no longer like our Radio Shack Thursdays.

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Or again, emote something really strong.

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Be suddenly terrified of that hamster cage of the corner.

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Did Sean just look at me wearing?

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I don't know.

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Bring something back from earlier in the scene

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and raise the stakes on it.

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Like you mentioned your gambling problem earlier, right?

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I just-- I bet our Camry on the big game.

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But don't worry about failing with the offer

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or what those details are.

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They can be a lot simpler or hopefully better

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than those examples.

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But make a choice.

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Commit to it.

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Maybe add some emotion if you can.

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But care.

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And just see what happens.

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And if you're the scene partner receiving whatever

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this is, your job is to just yes and the heck out of it.

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And maybe that new idea fails too.

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But that's OK because you'll learn from it.

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Hack number five.

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You're stuck in your head.

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So focus on your partner.

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This is like a lot of people say to do this, right?

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It's classic.

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You're lost.

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You're worried about the seed and you just

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don't know what to do.

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Just stop thinking about yourself.

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Put all of your attention, everything,

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on your scene partner.

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Be really curious about them.

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Watch everything they do.

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Scrutinize them.

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Listen to what they say and just respond the hell out of it.

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It moves your focus from inside your head

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to outside your head, which is where the improv lives.

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So you want to be there.

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All right.

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Hack number six.

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Find an out.

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Sometimes the scene just needs to come to an end.

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If no one else is ending up for you, just find a way out.

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Make a choice that logically ends the scene

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or makes a huge signal to your backline to help you out.

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And if you are on the backline, just edit that scene.

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Don't be afraid to edit a scene that has run its course.

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Edit more.

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Edit quicker.

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And don't worry about failing by ending the scene too early.

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A good short scene or even a bad short scene

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is better than a long bad scene.

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All right.

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The last hack.

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Hack number seven.

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If your failure is a constant fear of failure,

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make mistakes on purpose.

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So this one might be the most powerful hack of all.

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Or maybe is just my favorite one because I love it.

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In scientific literature, this is related to something

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that is called the daring effect, D-E-R-R-I-N-G,

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if you're listening.

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If you are afraid of failing, you

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need to start doing it on purpose in low stakes environments

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to just normalize it.

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In a class or a practice session, that means you just jump.

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Make a bold, physical, or verbal move before you have time

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to think about it.

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And then just figure out how to justify it afterwards.

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And this is a fantastic way to learn.

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I can't emphasize this enough.

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This is so useful.

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Jump before you look.

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You're not messing up a show and you're

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in a safe environment anyway.

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So just act and then figure it out.

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See how it goes.

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Even if your scene partner doesn't have your back for some

reason,

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science has your back on this one.

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But honestly, jumping before you look can be so frickin'

fun.

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And it will absolutely, definitely, for sure,

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make you a better improviser.

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All right.

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So how do we reframe all of this in our minds?

00:15:06.640 --> 00:15:11.280

You can think that you failed and you can have fun with it.

00:15:11.280 --> 00:15:14.680

So in a scene I did, I thought I completely botched my

response

00:15:14.680 --> 00:15:15.800

to an initiation.

00:15:15.800 --> 00:15:18.400

So I just did the scene and rolled with it.

00:15:18.400 --> 00:15:19.760

And I had fun.

00:15:19.760 --> 00:15:22.600

But thinking I'd failed at the end,

00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.840

I was about to learn more about that scene

00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:26.040

than I ever thought I would.

00:15:26.040 --> 00:15:29.400

I learned, first of all, that I could just do that.

00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:30.800

I could just roll with it.

00:15:30.800 --> 00:15:34.160

And second, I thought that the scene was awful.

00:15:34.160 --> 00:15:35.680

That was my perception.

00:15:35.680 --> 00:15:39.480

But the coach said I should do more scenes like with that kind

00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:40.320

of weird logic.

00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:43.560

So I learned to throw away my own judgment

00:15:43.560 --> 00:15:47.280

that it was probably useless and that I'm not good at

judging.

00:15:47.280 --> 00:15:49.600

And that was a big learning moment for me.

00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.400

And without that immediate direct feedback,

00:15:52.400 --> 00:15:57.440

internally and externally, and doing that bad scene,

00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.960

I wouldn't have learned all of that stuff.

00:15:59.960 --> 00:16:02.080

It was a huge learning experience for me.

00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:05.800

So I'm so thankful I failed that scene

00:16:05.800 --> 00:16:10.080

and got immediate internal and external feedback.

00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:13.840

So remember that failing is the best way to learn.

00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:18.800

And what you notice as a failure might not be one at all.

00:16:18.800 --> 00:16:22.840

And even if it is, it's probably amplified 100 times

00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:24.960

in your own brain.

00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:29.160

The audience or your coach likely might not even notice.

00:16:29.160 --> 00:16:31.400

And even if they did, they probably

00:16:31.400 --> 00:16:35.200

don't care nearly as much as you do.

00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:38.680

So let's go back to our big question for today.

00:16:38.680 --> 00:16:45.040

How can we actually use all of this to make our improv better?

00:16:45.040 --> 00:16:47.560

But first, if you like this episode,

00:16:47.560 --> 00:16:50.720

I would love it if you would click that Like button on it

00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:51.800

if you're watching.

00:16:51.800 --> 00:16:53.840

And if you're listening, I would love it

00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:56.560

if you would join myself and other improvisers

00:16:56.560 --> 00:16:59.400

in the improv update discord.

00:16:59.400 --> 00:17:03.480

And please share this episode with anyone who you think

00:17:03.480 --> 00:17:05.480

might find it useful.

00:17:05.480 --> 00:17:09.120

So the answer to using failure, as we've seen today,

00:17:09.120 --> 00:17:14.840

is to reframe it as data and the best way to learn and get

00:17:14.840 --> 00:17:15.800

good.

00:17:15.800 --> 00:17:18.560

So reframe these moments in your scene.

00:17:18.560 --> 00:17:20.680

When you think you failed, reframe it

00:17:20.680 --> 00:17:23.560

to a discovery about your improv brain.

00:17:23.560 --> 00:17:26.840

If you think you made a mistake, call it weird.

00:17:26.840 --> 00:17:29.280

Call it an unexpected offer.

00:17:29.280 --> 00:17:32.880

Your I'm Not Good at improv is a little bit more

00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:35.720

like I'm Get My Reps In.

00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:37.840

So every time you fail and then you

00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:41.600

recover using these hacks, or even if you don't,

00:17:41.600 --> 00:17:42.920

you get stronger.

00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:45.160

You get smarter.

00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:46.520

You're more well-rounded.

00:17:46.520 --> 00:17:49.960

You're more adaptable in improv.

00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:54.840

Then you can get out of your head and use much more of it.

00:17:54.840 --> 00:17:58.280

And that makes improv so much more fun.

00:17:58.280 --> 00:18:01.640

And it makes it more fun for everyone around you, too.

00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.360

And that is the whole point.

00:18:04.360 --> 00:18:05.760

So thanks for tuning in.

00:18:05.760 --> 00:18:09.680

And I'll be back next Monday for the next episode.

00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:10.280

Bye for now.

00:18:10.280 --> 00:18:15.040

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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You have been listening to Your Improv Brain, a

StereoForrest

00:18:18.760 --> 00:18:19.800

production.

00:18:19.800 --> 00:18:23.280

This show is created and is written, edited, and produced

00:18:23.280 --> 00:18:26.680

by jendhawnofsterioforest.com.

00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:30.080

You can find show information, show notes, transcripts,

00:18:30.080 --> 00:18:33.320

and contact information at the show's page

00:18:33.320 --> 00:18:37.080

at stereoforest.com/improvbrain.

00:18:37.080 --> 00:18:39.200

Thanks for listening.

00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:42.560

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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