[ 5] Portigal, S. “Yes, My Iguana Loves to Cha-Cha: Improv, Creativity and Collaboration.” IXDA NYC event, November 2009.

[ 6] Spagnuolo, C. “Pixar’s Randy Nelson on Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age.” Chris Spagnuolo’s EdgeHopper, Feb 11, 2009; http://edgehop-per.com/pixars-randy-nelson-on-learning-and-working-in-the-collaborative-age/ [ 7] Gerber, E. “Using Improvisation to Enhance the Effectiveness of Brainstorming.” Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2009): 97-104.

[ 8] Kaplan, J. “Angry Middle-Aged Man.” Ne w Yorker, January 19, 2004.

March + April 2010

[ 9] Todd, C. Personal interview, November 2009.

interactions

untangling complex problems that require teamwork or just getting a client unstuck.

At the intersection of improv and collaboration, we can consider:

1. Concentrate on listening.

On stage, it’s critical to listen to what your partner says; each word or gesture provides valuable information. At an Interaction Design Association NYC talk in November 2009, Portigal suggested that one can make the best contribution by not talking. Not talking allows people to “speak in paragraphs instead of a sentence,” instead of the collaborator or interviewer suggesting the words. He teaches his clients that “it’s active to choose to hold back.” Evidenced in ethnography, there is power in the let-there-be-silence method as a questioning technique. When you concentrate on listening and noticing instead of talking and being noticed, you’ll pick up a whole new set of information around you [ 5].

2. Support your partner. When you’re in a scene, you want to make your partner look good because, in turn, you’ll look good. Randy Nelson, Dean of Pixar University, explains that at Pixar, they use improvisation as a collaborative method, and they “accept every offer.… It’s an offer, and you don’t know where it’s going to go, but the guarantee you have is that if you don’t accept that offer, it goes nowhere.” When you can choose between a dead end and possibility, support your partner and choose the possibility [ 6].

3. “Yes, and...” One of the
fundamental tenants of improv,
“Yes, and” has the ability of
adding to, unlike “no,” which
has the ability of stopping a
scene. In brainstorming terms,
the method is called, “withhold
judgment”; at Pixar, it’s called
“plus-ing.” Nelson explains, “It’s
not about judgment or saying,
‘This is pretty good. How can I
make it better?’ It’s about saying,
‘Here’s where I’m starting. What
can I do with this?’” Yes carries
forward the conversation.

Beyond Brainstorming
Outside the organizational
walls, people use improv to gain
unfiltered responses from their
creative teams. In Hollywood,
Larry David, the co-creator and
executive producer of the HBO
television show “Curb Your
Enthusiasm,” has been using a
model, not unlike Miles Davis’s,
on his series since it began air-
ing in 1999. The entire series
is improvised by its cast, who
perform each episode from
only detailed synopses written
by David. But it’s not always
easy. “I’m not gonna lie,” David
admits in a New Yorker article.
“There are times when I’m driv-
ing home after a day’s shooting,
thinking to myself, ‘That scene
would’ve been so much bet-
ter if I had written it out.’ But
that’s the exception. Most of
the time I’m thinking, ‘I’m glad
that scene was improvised.’” On
“Curb” actors co-create the story
(although David does meticu-
lously edit the final product) [ 8].