Practice Presence with Improv

We’ve seen the motivational quotes, research, countless books, multi-step guides and they all point to presence as a way to improve our lives. Less anxiety. More inner peace. Better connection with others. Improved ability to handle unexpected circumstances. The ability to be present is the super power that seems to combat all. Pretty soon we’ll see a Marvel movie featuring a superhero with the power of presence (hadn’t thought of that one yet, Marvel, well, you’re welcome!)

As improvisers all we have is the present moment, meaning we’re practicing presence every time we improvise, whether onstage or in rehearsal. Since there’s no script in improv we don’t actually know where the story is going. We build that story line by line, moment by moment, word by word. To do that, as improvisers, we must remain present. We must listen to everything happening in the scene, verbally and non verbally, and respond and build the scene based on how we experience each present moment.

If you’ve ever improvised you may have experienced this phenomena when you start to anticipate where the scene is going. Maybe you’re on the back line of the stage waiting for your shot at an improv scene and you’re formulating the perfect comedic scene before even stepping foot into a scene. Then, you get your shot to be in a scene, fully fueled with your brilliant idea for a scene, and BAM, your scene partner bestows upon you a character that wasn’t in your perfectly formulated scene in your head. Your palms start to sweat and heart races as you’re flung back into the scene you’re actually in, the one right in front of you, in the present moment. See, planning ahead doesn’t work when improvising. It just leads us to get rattled up in that present moment like this improsiver in the above example. Had the improviser been present in the actual scene, they can respond to the scene they’re actually in because that’s the only scene that really matters at that time.

Same is true in life. Ever experienced the phenomena when you start to anticipate where life is going and then life hits you with something you didn’t envision? (Hello, 2020 anyone?!) When our formulations of the future don’t go exactly as planned, well, it can be rattling in the present moment. Heck, I think we all kind of noticeably experienced this in 2020. So many things did not go as we might have expected. Did you have a planned vacation that didn’t end up happening? I did. My mom organized a trip to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in April 2020 to celebrate my grandmother’s 90th birthday. Family members from all around the country were planning to join for the celebration. Did that trip happen? Nope. Was it disappointing? Sure was. Did we play the scene we were in and improvise based on the present moment? We had to!

We all had to improvise a bit in 2020. And then in 2021, and now in 2022. Whether you realize it or not, you improvise every day. Rarely do our days go exactly as we imagine. Meetings run long. A child gets sick. An appliance breaks. The Zoom meeting tells you your internet connection is unstable.

Key to improvising and overcoming the unexpected obstacles life inevitably throws at us is the same key to improvising on stage — presence.

Absent of expectations of how things will go in life we would just have to respond, scene by scene, in each present moment of our lives. Could you imagine? All of that energy your brain was using to fret about the future could be reallocated toward noticing what’s actually happening right in front of you at this very moment?

Look, I’m not saying never make plans. Plans are great. Plans help us achieve goals. Plans help us save for retirement, buy houses, get new jobs, have babies, etc etc etc. What I’m advocating for though is a little more balance and bringing presence into your daily life, to smooth out those moments that feel rattling due to being too tied up into a desired future outcome.

I’m saying practicing presence with improv can help us practice presence in our lives. In doing this, being a little more present during our days, we might just reduce anxiety, have more inner peace, improve our connection with others, and be better prepared to handle unexpected circumstances that come our way.

Meditation is a common tool people turn to to improve presence. Great. AND practice improv. Improv allows us to practice presence in the presence of others (see what I did there). It’s one thing to be able to sit in a quiet room, by yourself, and be present and mindful in meditation. It’s another to be present while in a group setting and someone talking is losing your interest. That’s where improv comes in. Improv helps us be present, listen, and better communicate with others in any given situation.

Here’s an improv exercise you can do to improve presence: One Word Story

With a friend, colleague, child, or new acquaintance (I’m looking at you first daters out there :) tell a story, together, one word at a time. Keep alternating back and forth, one word after one word, until your story has an ending. You can also do this in a small group, each sharing a word of the story and continuing until the story hits a conclusion.

This exercise requires presence. You cannot anticipate the story or write it in advance. You only get one word to contribute and then your partner (or group members) add their words which you have absolutely no control over. You then add more words based on what you hear happening in the story. If you try to write a story in advance, you’ll notice that it won’t work. The story won’t make sense. Everyone will be confused.

Instead of planning the story ahead of time, you must remain present. Listen to what your partner (or group members) say and add a word that makes sense in the story as it is in the present moment.

I love this exercise because not only is it very fun, it’s a very simple way to test and practice presence. If you think you’re someone who remains present, still, try this exercise. Notice if you truly are remaining present in the story or if you’re anticipating the story or pre-thinking which words you’re going to contribute. Notice what happens if you think of a word before it's actually your turn to share a word – that word you pre thought of probably won’t make sense in the story. You must remain present in order to collaborate for a story that actually makes sense. Keep practicing presence. Practice this exercise regularly and you’ll start to notice your ability to be present improving in other aspects of your life as well.

If you do try it, please share with me how it goes, what you learn, and any fun stories you and your partner/group members come up with! And if you do want to practice presence MORE with improv, say “yes, and” join us on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7 pm EST / 4 pm PST / 6 pm CST for a virtual Improve PRESENCE experience, where you’ll get to practice more exercises, like One Word Story, to improve presence in your life and work. Use code LINKEDINSAYSYESAND to get half off the registration price.

Happy presence practicing,

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Mary