Reflections of a Musician in Business #2: Improvising

How many times have you prepared really, really hard for an important meeting?  You spent hours rehearsing your script and your key points. You practiced in front of the mirror and colour-coded your notes with highlighter pens.  You even wrote palm cards!

Then two minutes into the meeting someone threw a spanner into your well-prepared works.  You completely lost your place and spent the next hour in hell, fumbling and trying to play catch up. I’ve seen this play out in promotion interviews, sales pitches and steering committees.

This happens in bands as well.  Sometimes a solo goes off the rails, or the band loses its way and we have to keep going without letting the audience realise that we’ve stuffed up.  In either case it’s important to be able to be able to improvise in the moment!

It takes practice to feel confident improvising whether playing music or dealing with a left-field question from the CEO.  Here are 3 tips that I’ve found helpful when preparing for a gig or a meeting.

1.    Concentrate on the shape, not the words. When I’m learning a new piece of music I rehearse until I understand the “shape” of the music – dictated by the format, the chord progression and the hooks (those riffs that are instantly recognisable).  I’ll try to learn the riffs, then explore other notes and rhythms that will fit in the song. For a meeting, I’ll focus on the key concepts, facts and decisions that I want to get across (these are my hooks), and a narrative that will allow the ideas to be expressed (my chord progression).  For format I’ll design a simple, clear agenda. I try to think about different ways the ideas could be woven together - rather than learning an exhaustive script.

2.    The audience doesn’t know how it’s supposed to sound. There have been a number of times where I’ve completely stuffed up a solo, only to have people tell me I’d nailed it.  I realised that they don’t actually know how it’s supposed to sound!  While I might have rehearsed the solo a hundred times, others might have only heard it a few times on the radio. Similarly when preparing for a meeting, I try to remember that as long as I can get the key messages across, my client or boss isn’t reading and critiquing my script. They are looking for a narrative that makes sense and answers the questions that are top of mind for them – which might be slightly different to what I’ve rehearsed.

3.    Keep going – don’t freeze! The worst thing you can do on stage is to freeze and stop playing.  The show must go on! We’ve had guitar amps blowing up, keyboards breaking down and beer spilled on effect pedals by enthusiastic dancers. As much as possible just try to keep going, keep a drumbeat, keep the energy high. It’s the same in a meeting.  If my planned agenda starts to go out of the window, I try to go with the energy and steer back when able, even if it means throwing out some of my meticulously planned points.

While I’ve focused on improvising to deal with the unexpected here, improvisation can also create magic. Jazz is based on improvisation and many iconic songs were created in the moment (yes, that blows my mind!)

Last November on stage in Avalon a group of backpackers in the crowd started really responding to one of our songs that had a Latin beat, so we kept the song going and brought in audience participation. It was magic and great fun – and would not have happened if we were not prepared to throw out the script. Some of my best client conversations have also been when I was confident enough to throw out my agenda and concentrate on theirs.

I hope these reflections resonate with you. Let me know! I'd love to hear from other #bizmusos and get your feedback.