I am a HUGE fan of improv comedy and for over twenty years our family has frequently attended an improv comedy house in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area called Comedy Sportz.
The ability to take ideas from the audience and mold them into a hilarious skit on the spot is truly an art form.
One of my bucket list items in life is to do a stand up comedy routine at an open mic night somewhere, sometime. I took a small step towards that list item a couple of years ago when I took an improv class in the twin cities at a place called Stevie Ray’s.
Each week we would work on a particular improv skill and they would also apply a business principle to this skill that we could use in our everyday lives. One lesson, in particular, sticks with me to this day and I have applied it on many occasions.
The principle is simply this, Never Say No. In essence, when you are doing a scene that is being made up on the spot and another person in the scene says something to you NEVER reject it. As an example, if someone says, “let’s go to Miami” you are not to respond with, “no, I don’t want to,” or, “no, let’s go to Los Angeles.” Take the idea they have given you and run with it and build on that idea.
I am blessed to have a friend who is a highly sought after speaker and author. I was in his office a while back and he said that he had a phone conversation that afternoon with a client of his who wanted him to come and do some additional work for them. My friend said he was booked when they wanted him and is there anything I could do for them.
My initial fearful reaction was to immediately give a resounding no. What did I have to offer them after my highly acclaimed friend had already been with them on multiple occasions? I remembered my improv training and sheepishly said I thought I could offer them something of value. As a guy who speaks about courage this was an opportunity to put up or shut up. The event was booked and everything went extremely well!
Once, on a trip to Disney World I remembered someone telling me that Disney Cast Members (they don’t use the word employees) were never to say “no” to anyone asking them questions but to always provide a positive response and to provide a solution or offer alternatives. With every question I asked I was never given a “no” and always provided with the help I needed or a more than reasonable alternative. Maybe there is some validity to this never say no thing.
Another great resource I recently came across that has helped me to be more courageous and not say “no” is a book called 3 Seconds – The Power of Thinking Twice. For me and for many people I have talked with our initial reactions are often fear based and keep us from doing things we don’t think we are capable of doing. This book challenges us to wait for three seconds before providing our first instinct to say no or decline an opportunity. I highly recommend it!
What would it take for you to have the courage to not say no but to pause for three seconds and consider the opportunities? What have you missed because you were quick to respond with no? How have you grown as a result of saying yes when you wanted to say no?
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Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
This post originally ran on June 19, 2014.
I’ve done some improv and it is not easy to do. However, I’ve done many improv appearances while cold calling on potential advertising clients. Both take courage. Good post.
Ron, sales is all about improv! As a former salesperson myself I know firsthand that you never know what the client or prospect is going to throw your way.