BE A FOUNTAIN, NOT A DRAIN.

Making positive choices to inspire others.

Saying Yes, And! is the #1 rule of Improv. It’s not only saying yes to your scene partners’ ideas, but adding enthusiastically to them with another idea to advance the scene. Saying yes to your scene partner nurtures their idea and helps it grow into something new.

Making positive choices in Improv also helps generate synergy between the players. Momentum is more likely to build within the scene not only if players are saying yes to each other’s offers, but when those offers are of a positive nature. Isn’t this true elsewhere? Someone showing genuine kindness or acts of selflessness and making positive choices lifts others around them. Who doesn’t love the colleague who brightens everyone’s day with some genuine optimism or a little levity? Making positive choices while working with others can make a big difference.

Who doesn’t love the colleague who brightens everyone’s day with some genuine optimism or a little levity? Making positive choices while working with others can make a big difference.

To be sure, making positive choices—in language, intent and actions—nurtures working relationships. Teams are stronger when relationships, foundations and bridges are formed. The R in C.R.O.W. reminds improvisers to establish and develop relationships with others onstage. When players know who their characters are, they must figure out how those characters relate to each other—their dynamics—which will influence and guide how they behave with one another.

Teams that build trust with each other through making positive choices are better equipped to support each other when the going gets tough on their journey.

And being a fountain is all about nurturing relationships with those around you. Remember, you want to make your scene partners look good. Imagine if part of everyone’s objective at work was to be a fountain for those around them.