How to Improvise

Co-authored by Dan Klein

Last Updated: March 15, 2023 References

Improvising your way through life can seem reckless and intimidating, but in actuality, learning how to improvise can actually prepare you to navigate through life more effectively. After all, you can never quite know what waits for you around the corner, no matter how much you try to prepare. Improvising well requires both intentional action and meaningful reaction.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Setting Out

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Skip the planning stage. Life rarely runs according to plan, yet people have a tendency to cling to their to-do lists with stubborn determination. This can blind you to new opportunities, though, since you might be too fixated on your own plans to look beyond them at something even better.^{[1]
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- Additionally, it's also easy to spend your life making plans instead of actually getting things done.
- If you tend to be an excessive planner, ease yourself out of your planning mode by tearing up your to-do list at least one day each week. Once you feel comfortable with one day, live spontaneously for two days each week. Continue in this manner until you've completely set aside the practice of planning everything beyond appointments and other scheduling essentials.
2
Make up your own rules. There is no one set path toward the future. You can look to others for examples of how life might work out, but ultimately, you need to step off the trail before you and create your own.
- Understanding how the world works doesn't hurt, of course. Time-tested wisdom has its place, and general advice you receive on making progress personally and professionally often helps. The key is applying this general wisdom while planning your own steps instead of trying to exactly mimic the steps of others.
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3
Remember your ultimate goal. Even though you shouldn't plan things out step-by-step, you still need to have a destination in mind. Otherwise, your life will become directionless instead of simply being improvised.^{[2]
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- Stay true to your hopes, dreams, and other primary goals. Instead of letting those things go in response to the actions and feelings of others, cling to your own wants while adjusting the path you take to reach them in response to others.
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Move immediately. It isn't enough to talk about getting things done. You need to actually get moving, which means taking action as soon as the desire strikes you.
- Do not wait for the perfect starting point. The longer you wait, the greater your expectations will be, and the more difficult it will be for you to actually take those first few steps. Say or do the first thing that comes to mind and work from there.
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Take your time. Even though you should start moving immediately, you also need to fall into a pace that feels comfortable and right to you.^{[3]
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- Don't expect to find your dream job as soon as enter the workforce. Aside from being unrealistic, fixating on the ideal job you have in your thoughts shuts the door on other opportunities lying directly in front of you.
- This also means you'll need to quit looking around at your peers. It doesn't matter if the friends you had in school are financially more stable or settled into domestic tranquility. Their lives aren't yours and your life isn't theirs, so it stands to reason that your life will run at a separate pace.
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Try new things. Put yourself into unfamiliar situations to build your confidence and open yourself to new possibilities. Start small, then work your way up to bigger and better adventures.^{[4]
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- For instance, a small risk might be trying a new food or learning a new hobby. Once you become comfortable with small risks like these, you can move onto bigger ones, like traveling to a foreign country or investing money in a new business venture.
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Practice daily. You likely improvise in your daily life without even realizing it. Passive improvising will only help to a certain point, however. If you really want to get good at it, you need to intentionally improvise a little each day.
- Throughout the day, look for opportunities to confront the unknown and the unexpected. Talk to a stranger. Engage in a conversation covering an unfamiliar topic. Take a different route on your way home from work.
- Simply changing one small aspect of your daily routine will force you to improvise in a small way, making it easier for you to grow comfortable with the practice of improvising in general.
8
Prepare for chaos. Life is chaotic, whether you're actively improvising your way through it or not. When you commit to improvising, though, you also commit to accepting the inevitable and unpredictable change life introduces to you.
- It's okay to feel insecure at times, but once you grow to expect the unexpected, it should gradually seem less intimidating overall. As such, the insecurity you feel now may lessen later on.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Confronting the Unexpected

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Fearlessly face failure. Failure is inevitable. If you live your life being afraid to fail, you won't move forward and you won't be able to make the most of each mistake you're confronted with.^{[5]
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- Each mistake doubles as an opportunity, so think of failure as an essential part of growing stronger and smarter. When you fail, reflect on what happened and figure out how to avoid the same sort of difficulty in the future.^{[6]
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- As you let go of fear,^{[7]
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2
Watch and listen closely. Before you can react to something, you will need to have a good understanding of what you're reacting to. When considering someone's words and actions, though, you need to look at the deeper meaning as well as the surface meaning.^{[8]
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- Resist the temptation to multitask. The vast majority of people don't actually multitask well, so focusing on one task at a time will keep you more focused and improve your understanding.^{[9]
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- Maintain eye contact when talking with people to let them know that you're actively engaged in conversation.^{[10]
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  Research source} Eye contact also allows you to read nonverbal communication more effectively.
- Try to empathize with the people you're around in any situation. Put yourself in their shoes so that you can understand their needs and wants, and react accordingly.
3
Give special attention to the little details. While it's true that grand gestures can leave lasting impressions, remembering and using the little details of everyday life can actually impress people more.
- Little details, like the names of a coworker's children or beloved pet, are easy to miss when you're fixated on big plans. Most people tend to ignore them completely unless they really care about someone. By taking the time to acknowledge these details, you show others that you care about them and leave a more favorable impression with those people.
- Leaving good impressions with the people around you can help propel you forward and open up the door to new opportunities you couldn't find on your own.
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Trust yourself. Your past and current experiences have informed you and shaped you into the person you are today. It can be easy to doubt yourself, especially in the midst of other experienced individuals, but you need to trust your intuition, thoughts, and feelings.^{[11]
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- Public speaking is a good way to practice this principle. Instead of writing out exact notes the next time you need to make a speech, write questions that you need to address during that speech. As a result, it should be easier to weave details into the presentation as you go along, making the whole thing appear more natural.
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Say "yes" to nearly everything. You don't have to accept every proposed solution, but you do need to accept every set of circumstances life throws at you.^{[12]
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- In other words, you need to remain positive. Instead of fixating on how unpleasant a given situation feels, acknowledge the situation and focus on making the most of it.
- Keep an open mind, too. Instead of immediately discrediting an idea, take the time to look at things from the other person's perspective, even when you ultimately disagree with that perspective. Make saying “no” to someone or something your last option, only to be used after thoroughly reviewing all of the evidence before you.
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Contribute. Instead of merely saying "yes" to things, you should be saying, "yes, and..." Add your own value to each set of circumstances or ideas to guide things toward your ultimate goal.
- For instance, when you're given a project to work on with a group of your peers, don't be afraid to voice your thoughts. Do so even when the others in your group are more experienced than you. You may not have the final answer, but your thoughts could still help move the project along in the right direction.
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Commit with confidence. Have confidence in the things you say and do, and stand behind your conclusions instead of questioning them under pressure.
- Indecision is the enemy of both improvising and progress in general. Don't apologize for your thoughts and don't be shy about sharing them. Instead, simply make an informed choice and see it through, worrying about the results only as they actually happen.
- As soon as you commit to something, you need to sharpen your focus on that thought, idea, or action. Second-guessing yourself will weaken your ability to react to all aspects of the situation, and it may cause you to prematurely abandon a plan that was actually quite decent.

Expert Q&A

Question

How do I get better at improv acting?

Dan Klein
Improvisation Coach
Dan Klein is an improvisation expert and coach who teaches at the Stanford University Department of Theater and Performance Studies as well as at Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Dan has been teaching improvisation, creativity, and storytelling to students and organizations around the world for over 20 years. Dan received his BA from Stanford University in 1991.

Dan Klein

Improvisation Coach

Expert Answer

Set reasonable expectations for yourself. When you're improving on stage, the goal is to shoot for average and fail cheerfully. That means you have to learn to let go of the pressure you put on yourself to be perfect.