May 29, 2024 • 32 mins
How can improv can help ignite your creativity, build confidence, and assist in making decisions and generating ideas? Let’s discuss on this episode of The Success Palette with special guest Linda, a confidence coach with over a decade of experience in improv.
Linda shares her journey from a shy introvert in the finance world to a confident storyteller on stage. Learn how the principles of improv, such as the "Yes, And" technique, can be applied to both creative projects and life challenges.
Linda also offers valuable tips on overcoming creative blocks, the importance of brainstorming, and how to find local or online improv opportunities. Whether you're a writer, artist, musician, or entrepreneur, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you harness the power of improv and boost your creative confidence.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello, hello, everyone. You are listening to The Success Pilot,
a place to discuss everything that you are not taught in school about how to
be successful in the arts.
I'm your host, Soda, and today we are going to talk about how improv can help
us as creatives, how it could help us create that inertia to start a project, to give us confidence,
(00:25):
how to make decisions and how to just come up with ideas.
And to help me out with that, I have Linda, who is a confidence coach in addition
to several other things. I'll let her explain.
But Linda, how did you get into improv? What's your first experience with it?
And how has it gotten you started?
(00:46):
Yes, thank you, Soda. It's been more now than a decade.
I was someone that was always really kind of shy and more the introverted side.
And I still am an introvert at heart, really. But I always had these big dreams
of like, I love writing, I love storytelling.
So I always had this dream of having, you know, seeing myself on stage or having
(01:09):
my, you know, my stories played out on TV or whatnot.
But yeah, but I didn't take that route of, you know, just like writer's class or anything like that.
And about, yeah, about 12 years ago, I was there, I was, I was really like working
in my nine to five and, and, and completely different kind of,
(01:30):
um, yeah, completely different place.
And I told myself, okay, you know what? I, it's time that I take action.
If I really want to do this because I, you know, I always had this burning sensation.
I really want to have my stories out there, but I needed to take action.
I needed to surround myself with.
You know, different kind of people like, you know, writers. And because I was
(01:53):
like in the more in the finance and the numbers world.
Right. So I decided to, OK, maybe look for a writer's group or just to get started.
And I just while I was researching, I saw like kind of an ad for improv class.
So you want, you know, a trial, try out.
And I was like, oh, OK, you know, it seemed interesting. But at the same time,
(02:15):
I didn't really know much about it. So but I decided to just like go with an open mind, try it.
And I was like, OK, you know what? That possibly can help me just like connect
with people, maybe, you know, open myself up a little bit and start dabbling
into a more creative life.
And when I went to that class, I didn't have I didn't know what to expect.
(02:38):
But what I found, it was like a world with people coming from all walks of life
and doing Doing things that we used to do when we were children, right?
Some fun games and a little bit silly for me at first because I was like,
okay, why are these adults who are doing all those kind of silly games?
But it was fun. And the place that I went to was very welcoming.
(03:01):
And that's really how I, you know, I tried and I loved it.
And I decided to come back again. And before I knew it, like I was on stage
doing like shows and stuff like that. I really got kind of sucked back.
Into it. But that was really my first experience.
I didn't know much about it. I really wanted to start connecting to,
(03:23):
you know, writing and storytelling.
So I decided just to try to help me with that.
I love how you have this kind of more technical background, but improv was kind
of that gateway to help you be more creative.
What are some of the ways that improv has helped you in your career.
(03:44):
Oh, yes. For me, improv had like profound effect in my life.
So there's a basic principle in improv that's it's called like yes and.
So basically, you know, saying yes to an offer that's presented in front of
you and kind of adding to up, you know, onto it.
But I feel like it's much more than, you know, we use this in life as well.
(04:07):
And it really is helpful in life because even like as creatives,
like when we're, for instance, since I didn't know a lot about writing at first.
I wrote for myself, but there's a lot of things that I didn't know.
But you have to kind of start somewhere. You don't know necessarily where you're going all the time.
And sometimes you're presented with obstacles or struggles.
(04:28):
You have to kind of work with whatever is presented in front of you.
And it kind of builds the muscle of being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
And that's how I view things. And I apply this principle through life.
Whether it's, you know, an entrepreneurship, like doing my business, we don't know.
Sometimes like we try new stuff and we don't know if it's going to work,
(04:51):
but we do know that, okay, if, even if it doesn't work, whatever is presented
in front of us, we're going to work with it.
Right. And we build that muscle and it's like, okay, we'll get back up and we'll, we will see what's next.
So I say that, like, you know, even in our lives, like we, we,
that's what life is all about, right?
We, we sometimes we are presented with stuff that we're just like, we don't know.
(05:15):
So I feel that it builds that muscle of being like comfortable with the uncomfortable.
And, you know, once you have kind of proof of like, okay, well,
even if I don't know what's next, I do know in the past that I dealt with it.
So you kind of build more of a resistant, more resilience.
And, and yeah, Yeah, I feel like that's I apply it to everything that I do.
(05:40):
I completely agree. And it's very similar to when I first got into jujitsu.
You're put in this situation because I'm a planner. I have to have everything planned out.
And with both jujitsu and improv,
you're put in these situations with at least one other person often.
(06:01):
And you have to choose right there and then what you're going to do.
You don't know ahead of time what is going to be presented to you,
and you have to make that choice.
And it's that mixture of having some sort of plan ahead of time,
but also being willing to go. Yes. How has...
That helped you with flexibility in regards to creativity and life in general?
(06:26):
Yeah. And, you know, you say like, I completely can, I can relate with you,
like being a planner, because even though like, you know, I come,
like I said, I come from like a world finest numbers, like accounting and,
you know, things are more kind of square.
So sometimes having something like on plan is like, oh, okay.
And I love to have like things know where I'm going.
(06:49):
So So, yes, it did build up like kind of at first when I started improv,
like I was like, oh, my God, like I need to know what's next.
Like what's coming up next?
What are people going to say? And that's the first thing like you have to let go.
Right. To the expectation of like what someone might say to you when you kind
of, you know, you're doing a scene at improv and you can't control,
(07:11):
you can't know what's next.
So for me, yes, it did help me be OK with OK, like I.
Don't have to plan everything. And I can't because like that life happens.
And also to be more open to opportunities that may present because sometimes
it's not only obstacles, right? It can be opportunities.
(07:31):
So if you have something planned and then, you know, someone say,
Hey, would you like to go for this trip right now?
And that could be an opportunity of a lifetime, but because you're just like,
Oh no, I right now I'm focused on this.
And so being more flexible and saying yes to to opportunities.
So again, the yes. And it's just like, well, there's an opportunity right now.
(07:53):
It might not be when I really wanted it to, you know, maybe I have other things,
but let's go, let's say yes to this opportunity and see where that leads me.
And sometimes it leads to the most beautiful things and, you know, beautiful encounters.
Uh, there's a lot of things that I said yes to, you know, without having a plan
(08:14):
and actually it led to, you know.
Bigger opportunities or whatnot. So yeah, I feel like it's it really helped
me be more flexible. Like you said, yeah.
Yes. And it has also for me, again, I don't have as much experience in improv
as you I just I'm a newbie.
(08:35):
But for me, it helps me learn the importance of listening Listening to the person that you're with,
if it's a collaborative improv thing, and also kind of boosting whatever,
if they're telling a story and you're doing your yes and or no,
but kind of building off of that and heading the same direction,
(09:00):
kind of seeing what direction they're going.
How have you been able to implement that aspect into, again,
your creative projects or life in general?
Yes. For instance, I, you know, when I, I, I love to brainstorm, right.
And I love like, even when I have ideas for my stories, because yes, definitely.
(09:22):
Like when it's, we're in a group, for instance, like a writer's group,
and we're kind of like, you're taking notes from people or whatnot,
or someone says something.
And instead of just like being focused on, okay, the story where you want it
to go, or you take the suggestion of that person and you add up on it,
like you said, and even giving feedback to someone, the same thing, right?
(09:44):
You want to kind of boost taking like, okay, what is it, the part of their story,
but here's what I'm bringing.
And then we kind of collaborate together to make this better.
Right. And I like the fact that you said, yes, communication is everything in improv as well.
So when you are building something together, and even in business sometimes,
(10:09):
where you have partners or whatnot, you have a team together.
But listen to, you know, it helps really to listen to people like the feedback
and also, okay, how can I incorporate that feedback into what I'm doing?
And also are, you know, really listen to what the person said,
not as like criticism, but as a way of like, okay, they want to help me.
(10:34):
They want to help the idea that we're constructing together.
So not of something like, oh, no, this is my idea. And this is the way I see it.
But more of like, okay, maybe they have, you know, this is I receive, you know, your idea.
And let's see if we can make something with what is already there.
Right. So I find it is beautiful, like for brainstorming, it's really, really great.
(10:59):
Because it, you know, everyone is open to receive without judgment, right?
And we have one goal is to make like, you know, one idea.
We want to make the best ideas and we want to see like, have every people likes feedback or ideas.
And we put it in a pod together and see like, you know, what we can make and
(11:23):
it really makes things better.
And also I do feel as well, like for a team,
it helps kind of being on the same page and,
and solidified, like just the team spirit and
because everybody knows that they have a
place and you have their racks and we're all in this together so
I feel like improv comes into play that in that way as well yes and I know that
(11:47):
you one of your nicknames is the brain your your brainstorm bestie right yeah
I know that you love to brainstorm with people and I know that most of my listeners are writers,
artists, and musicians.
And sometimes we feel stuck and we just need someone to talk with.
(12:10):
What's some of the benefits of having someone like you to brainstorm ideas off of?
Yes. Yeah. No, thank you. And brainstorming is something that I love. I love just.
For me again you know just like we said like improv
i love sitting with someone because as writers you
(12:33):
know i'm a writer as well so as writers sometimes we have blocks
right sometimes like and as creators when we were training there comes a time
that sometime we would love to discuss with someone but people around us sometimes
they don't totally understand or or we don't have sometimes we don't have people
to whom we can really talk to so having someone.
(12:56):
That you can just like that can be a soundboard that can
we can just go back and forth and even sometimes
you know asking just some questions like how
do we see it and collaboratively like together we you know discuss we we we
make sure that you have someone that is listening but also that you can exchange
(13:18):
and maybe give another eye another kind of like yeah maybe that has another viewpoint.
And for me, I'm not there to, you know, as a brainstorming, I say it's not to
give like, oh, this is how it should go.
No, it's more reflecting and back and forth.
And sometimes just maybe, you know, it's going to be enough to say like,
(13:40):
oh, okay, a spark of another idea.
And I will say like, you know, we sleep on it. It simmers.
But, you know, it's just to have someone, because sometimes we have to exteriorize.
We need to talk to someone. one we need to talk to someone
that understand and also that will be you know
that's not going to be judging us so that's why
(14:01):
i say like i offer like this space that's non-judgmental
where we can freely discuss you know go back
and forth asking questions we ask questions and and
make sure that you know we what right words and we do
i you know i have some exercises as well like just to
see like okay what other things that sparks you know sometimes we we start with
(14:21):
something and it evolves into something else and then we sleep on it and then
it evolves again and so giving that that space or you know for us to to make
sure that okay we have someone that's.
Receiving that's listening it's feel
it's that's great for me i i i know i needed
(14:42):
that so i love that i can offer that
as well to people and it's something that i love to do as well so and it's so
creative that you even thought of that as a service that you can provide for
people and get paid for because i know for me lots of times i'll try to brainstorm
off other people And they're just kind of getting overwhelmed because,
(15:04):
you know, I'm basically asking them to do that for free when they have their busy lives.
So just being able to have someone completely dedicated to brainstorming those
ideas, like, I think that's genius.
And I know that you also are a confidence coach.
How does confidence in your experience relate to improv?
(15:27):
And how can that help with your creative projects? Oh, definitely.
You know, I feel like a lot of us, you know, whether it's a creative,
but even like entrepreneurs or whatnot, we sometimes have this little voice
that's like in their head saying like, oh, are we really going to do that? Are you sure?
Or, you know, that's kind of the imposter syndrome that might be talking like,
(15:50):
and you're just like, oh, okay.
Is it like, am I good enough for that? Is it like, so we question there's,
there's a lot of like, Like sometimes we question ourselves.
We don't know if we're ready. We don't know if this is okay or if we're on the right path.
So there's a lot of like questioning and confidence.
And sometimes, for instance, even an idea or vision, we sleep on it.
(16:14):
We don't think like it's good enough or whatnot.
So I know like, you know, even clients in the past, they just like having the
confidence is important for us to put ourselves out there.
I think it's very important, like, if we have a vision, if we have an idea,
if we're creating something, to put it out in the world.
And sometimes, yes, we do, like I said, we do have imposter syndrome.
(16:39):
We don't feel that or we dismiss our ideas.
We dismiss our voice.
So there is a lot of work with that to make sure that we...
We are proud to put ourselves out there. We are confident in the ideas and the vision that we have.
And also once we have that, now how do we communicate it in the world, right?
(17:03):
We have to put ourselves out there. We need to share our stories.
We need to share our work with the world. And that's sometimes another aspect.
Sometimes it's clear in our mind, but then to communicate it,
we don't know how to, or we're shy, we become shy.
We don't know how to share it. And I feel like it's something to work on. How do you communicate?
How do you stand in your power and make sure like, this is my vision,
(17:27):
this is my thing, and I want to share it with the world.
And you can make sure that other people find you, like you can inspire people.
And I feel like our vision, it's needed out there, right?
So we don't want to hide it. it so
yes i so just to to summarize
like the question that improv in the in the sense of
(17:50):
like confidence for me it helped me put myself
out there and it's a it's a process it's step by step showing up even on social
media showing up on video showing up on camera sometimes can be very hard you
know we're not used to that so but it's just a process step by step and i love
working with people because I've been there myself,
(18:11):
you know, just being shy and not talking about like my stories or my dreams
of like having my, my, my stories somewhat, you know, someday on Broadway or Netflix or whatnot,
but, you know, step-by-step you, you develop your confidence and you can,
you're able to talk about what you do and you're able to inspire people as well.
(18:32):
And it's a beautiful thing.
Completely agree. I'm still working on the confidence part, but I really,
really do believe that even just dabbling in improv has helped a lot with that.
And I know that sometimes, at least for me, I want to hear if you have any experiences with this.
Sometimes I'll be in an improv situation and I'm with someone and it's just,
(18:56):
I'm not jiving with a prompt and I can't think of anything to say.
And I just feel so embarrassed because I, you know, they might be doing great,
but I'm just stuck and embarrassed and want to just hide my face.
What kind of experiences do you have similar to that? And what are some ways
(19:17):
that you were able to kind of get through that?
I've been in a situation like that, that's you just like, oh,
there's a blank or, you know, oh, darn, I was not funny. And, you know, it's fine.
Or, I thought of a line later on, you know, what to say later on.
What I learned is to live in the moment.
(19:40):
And once the moment is passed, you kind of just like, okay, what did I learn from that situation?
And then I let it go. And improv is the same thing.
It's created in the moment, right? Right. So we cannot dwell too much on it
because like there's a there's another scene.
There's another moment that we're creating with someone else.
(20:02):
And it's something else we can't we just have to learn.
OK, here's what happened. Maybe I froze. Maybe.
But it's OK. We we move on and we we learn from it and we get back up. Right.
And I think that's creative as well. Well, you know, sometimes,
you know, for me as a writer, when I read stories, sometimes I was like,
(20:22):
wow, okay, I'm stuck there.
I don't know. Or the story that I thought like that I had in my mind,
like it turned into something else.
And you're just like, oh, this is not totally what I expected.
It's not as good as what, but you know, you kind of have to go,
you know, for me, I was just like, okay, what can I do?
(20:43):
What did I learn in the past? Let's go. So let's just continue and see what,
you know, what the product will be at the end and learn from it.
If it's not like maybe it's not the story that we wanted to tell, but it is a story.
It's an output and we can learn from it and then apply to the next one.
Maybe there's some things that we need to work on or whatnot, but that's OK.
(21:06):
I feel like the best way is to just really learn and let it go and not dwell
too much on it. And I know it's easier said than done because,
you know, sometimes you're just like, oh, my God, no, this is embarrassing.
And but you learn to just like, OK, especially if it's something that is,
you know, as creative, we we we have like passion.
(21:28):
We're passionate about things. Right.
And we want to put like at the end of the day, we want to put our work out there.
And we want also to just finish our work, right?
And create something. So...
I say like, you know, go with the things that, you know, give you energy and
(21:50):
don't dwell too much on those little things, those little hiccups,
because like we grow from it. Like everybody, it's fine.
We fail and we learn from it.
But that's really what I can say. But it's harder.
It's easier said than done. done and but i i see
to it like the also the more that we do it for
(22:11):
instance like improv the more that i
you know you're just like okay let's just go to the next one you kind of build
a resistance you're just like okay that's fine i know like i i got back up from
this embarrassing scene last time so it's not the end of the world you have
kind of proof you know to to say like okay i did it before I,
(22:32):
you know, nothing happened.
People are not just like, people forget about it.
It's fine. So let's just move on and move on to the next thing.
It reminds me, yeah, I've had a lot of embarrassing improv moments that I'm
still trying to move on from, even though nobody, I'm sure nobody remembers or nobody even cared.
(22:55):
And it kind of reminds me of when I first started working retail and I was terrified
of using the PA system and making an announcement.
Every time I would just be so embarrassed if I did the slightest mess up.
And after a while, it just became second nature to me.
And if I messed up, I was like, whatever, because I had done it so many times
(23:16):
and it's like not even that embarrassing.
And just customers, they don't, they're not gonna remember me,
you know, unless you do something really, really embarrassing.
But how important is just, And repetition and because I know for me,
I tend to give up on things a lot and, you know, kind of switch into something else.
(23:37):
How important has it been for you to kind of keep going with things and not
give up when they seem hard?
Yes, that is key, honestly. And I, I can relate with you.
Sometimes you just feel like, okay, for instance, like I write a story and I'm
blocked and I don't know.
And, and sometimes you're just like, okay, I'm going to put it aside.
(23:59):
But things is like, sometimes like when we create things, it will call us back.
Like there's an unfinished business.
I don't know if you know, sometimes you're just like, oh, there's this thing I need to go back to.
So even if it's like, I feel like even if you're stuck and you feel like,
okay, this is not working, you can put it aside and maybe work on it.
(24:22):
I know for me, that's what I do.
Sometimes I put it aside, I'll work on something else, and then I come back to it.
Because also sometimes like you need to give yourself a little break because you know you're.
You need to kind of like have this fresh
mind to to go back
into whatever you were creating because you're you have a block sometimes you
(24:44):
need we need to take a step back we need to experiment other things too you
know sometimes before we get back to the thing and maybe Maybe sometimes it
is the way it is supposed to be need to kind of like, let it go for a moment.
And, you know, if it's something if it's like your vision, if it's something
that's really it will call the you will feel it that you need to finish whatever you started.
(25:09):
So but but yes, it's hard, especially sometimes like you're just like,
okay, I don't know how to do it. This is too complicated. I give up.
But I say, you know, before giving up sometimes like ask for help.
I know sometimes this is, this is hard as well, but asking for help or going,
you know, looking for resources, like, because we don't know everything.
(25:31):
Like sometimes, for instance, you know, you're doing a podcast or whatnot,
you don't know the technicalities and you have this vision and then you're like,
oh, I give up because like, I don't know all of these like technical stuff, but.
Maybe ask someone who has done it before, maybe just before completing giving up.
I say sometimes we can also ask people for help, look for resources before giving up.
(25:58):
And sometimes it's not that it's really hard. It's just because we don't know
and we just need someone to help us or we might look for a resource to guide us.
So i would say like yeah do
that before because i do believe like if there's something if
you have something that you want to do you know
(26:20):
do it and don't give up don't give up because like i know if it's it's if it's
but like it's in your mind for a reason it is like you know it's in your heart
for a reason so i always say like don't give up can put it aside for a while
but But come back to it and ask for help.
Ask for people who've done it before to help you or an extra pair of eyes or whatnot.
(26:46):
And I know some people listening might kind of want to get into improv,
but maybe don't know where to go or how to get that confidence. in.
I know that you have a few different services that you have,
or I know that sometimes people can find places online or in their local communities.
(27:07):
What would you suggest for someone who is interested but not sure how to get started?
Yes. So definitely the first things, I do think like.
Most major cities like there's an improv group
somewhere for sure so with a little bit of research you
can just like type improv in your city and you might find
(27:28):
some improv groups that are playing there's some
improv theaters there so i would say like you know if you you because if you
don't know anything about improv maybe you can go and just see it sometimes
they have like they have shows so maybe go see a show maybe just like also they
have sometimes like uh tryouts or open houses or whatnot.
(27:49):
So it's always good to get to know, look at their website, look at the videos,
look at, and maybe go see a show to get acquainted a little bit with the,
what is improv in general.
And, and then if there's any tryouts, you know, we might want to ask about that
just to see like to dabble into it a little bit, but I would say go see an improv show.
(28:13):
And also there, There are, you know, we can also watch some clips on YouTube.
They're different. You know, there's improv, there's like match.
Like here we have like improv leagues with match. Like they have like,
this looks like a hockey match.
But there are different arts of improv. So I would say, honestly,
look at your local improv theater and see if they have any open like house or
(28:39):
open like kind of like one time you can try or go see a show.
Just to get acquainted before you know just
jumping into it especially if you don't know anything about it
it can be very intimidating sometimes like
just to see like oh am i going to go on stage at first no you're not going to
go on stage like the first time but you know it's going to be a lot of fun like
(29:00):
so yeah i would say that's that's those are the first things that i would suggest
but if not like definitely for instance like for me like we have a company that But with what we do,
we use improv to do like networking events as well.
So we have networking events with like some games, you know,
theatrical games so people can connect and listen better and a lot of fun at the same time.
(29:24):
So it's loosely it's not an improv class per se.
It's just using improv to just like connect people better.
And so we do also team building activities for companies in order for them to
get to know each other better and connect.
So, you know, using Impov to kind of connect people. So that's like been really fun as well.
(29:45):
I feel like that would be really useful for me when someone asks me, what's your book about?
And us as writers, we're like, okay, so it's about this and this and this.
Maybe if I could just, you know, quickly say what it's about,
that is a very useful skill just or like an elevator pitch if you're out and
(30:08):
about like, what kind of music do you do?
What kind of art do you do? and just being able to quickly be able to say what you do.
That's a skill that a lot of us struggle with.
Yes. And speaking of networking, just final thoughts, where can people find you?
And what are some last words of wisdom you would like to give anyone who is-
(30:31):
Yes, okay, well, yes, thank you.
So you can definitely find me, well, for me, like Instagram, on Instagram,
I have an Instagram page, a yes to you coaching
so yes to the number
two you coaching so you can find me there
for any you know confidence tips and for
and also some double band problems as well
(30:54):
like in terms of just brainstorming and and your ideas but also the company
i was telling you about like where we do networking events you can look we have
our website it's at mycreativebreak.com and we're They're almost on social medias
as my creative break as well.
So yes, if you want to see a little bit like how improv can be applied into other settings,
(31:17):
you can look at our page and you'll see like how we kind of bring improv into
different settings to have fun and to connect people.
Yeah, I'm good. I've seen a little bit on your Instagram, but I'm gonna have
to check out more. That sounds really fun.
So yeah, thanks again for all of this awesome information.
(31:39):
And we should have like, improv right for writers group.
Yes yes yes and i will say like my
last value of parting words is just like yeah try it
you know let it simmer but the i i feel
for me i it had it had an impact on my life in terms like i said confidence
and and just all throughout like you know whether it's like my creative life
(32:02):
or entrepreneurship life and also you get to meet great people you know i didn't
mention that but But you get to meet like great supportive people and long life friends.
And so it is a way as well to connect and to meet people and to meet other creatives
as well. There are people from all walks of life there.
So I would say, you know, if you didn't know anything about improv,
(32:24):
just, you know, have a look and see if it's something that could help you.
And I feel it's a skill that I feel everyone should kind of at least explore
a little bit more. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of The Success Palette.
For social media links and information on bonus episodes, you can go to thesuccesspalette.com.
(32:49):
And please, let's make it a successful week.
Hello, hello, everyone. You are listening to The Success Pilot,
a place to discuss everything that you are not taught in school about how to
be successful in the arts.
I'm your host, Soda, and today we are going to talk about how improv can help
us as creatives, how it could help us create that inertia to start a project, to give us confidence,
(00:25):
how to make decisions and how to just come up with ideas.
And to help me out with that, I have Linda, who is a confidence coach in addition
to several other things. I'll let her explain.
But Linda, how did you get into improv? What's your first experience with it?
And how has it gotten you started?
(00:46):
Yes, thank you, Soda. It's been more now than a decade.
I was someone that was always really kind of shy and more the introverted side.
And I still am an introvert at heart, really. But I always had these big dreams
of like, I love writing, I love storytelling.
So I always had this dream of having, you know, seeing myself on stage or having
(01:09):
my, you know, my stories played out on TV or whatnot.
But yeah, but I didn't take that route of, you know, just like writer's class or anything like that.
And about, yeah, about 12 years ago, I was there, I was, I was really like working
in my nine to five and, and, and completely different kind of,
(01:30):
um, yeah, completely different place.
And I told myself, okay, you know what? I, it's time that I take action.
If I really want to do this because I, you know, I always had this burning sensation.
I really want to have my stories out there, but I needed to take action.
I needed to surround myself with.
You know, different kind of people like, you know, writers. And because I was
(01:53):
like in the more in the finance and the numbers world.
Right. So I decided to, OK, maybe look for a writer's group or just to get started.
And I just while I was researching, I saw like kind of an ad for improv class.
So you want, you know, a trial, try out.
And I was like, oh, OK, you know, it seemed interesting. But at the same time,
(02:15):
I didn't really know much about it. So but I decided to just like go with an open mind, try it.
And I was like, OK, you know what? That possibly can help me just like connect
with people, maybe, you know, open myself up a little bit and start dabbling
into a more creative life.
And when I went to that class, I didn't have I didn't know what to expect.
(02:38):
But what I found, it was like a world with people coming from all walks of life
and doing Doing things that we used to do when we were children, right?
Some fun games and a little bit silly for me at first because I was like,
okay, why are these adults who are doing all those kind of silly games?
But it was fun. And the place that I went to was very welcoming.
(03:01):
And that's really how I, you know, I tried and I loved it.
And I decided to come back again. And before I knew it, like I was on stage
doing like shows and stuff like that. I really got kind of sucked back.
Into it. But that was really my first experience.
I didn't know much about it. I really wanted to start connecting to,
(03:23):
you know, writing and storytelling.
So I decided just to try to help me with that.
I love how you have this kind of more technical background, but improv was kind
of that gateway to help you be more creative.
What are some of the ways that improv has helped you in your career.
(03:44):
Oh, yes. For me, improv had like profound effect in my life.
So there's a basic principle in improv that's it's called like yes and.
So basically, you know, saying yes to an offer that's presented in front of
you and kind of adding to up, you know, onto it.
But I feel like it's much more than, you know, we use this in life as well.
(04:07):
And it really is helpful in life because even like as creatives,
like when we're, for instance, since I didn't know a lot about writing at first.
I wrote for myself, but there's a lot of things that I didn't know.
But you have to kind of start somewhere. You don't know necessarily where you're going all the time.
And sometimes you're presented with obstacles or struggles.
(04:28):
You have to kind of work with whatever is presented in front of you.
And it kind of builds the muscle of being comfortable with the uncomfortable.
And that's how I view things. And I apply this principle through life.
Whether it's, you know, an entrepreneurship, like doing my business, we don't know.
Sometimes like we try new stuff and we don't know if it's going to work,
(04:51):
but we do know that, okay, if, even if it doesn't work, whatever is presented
in front of us, we're going to work with it.
Right. And we build that muscle and it's like, okay, we'll get back up and we'll, we will see what's next.
So I say that, like, you know, even in our lives, like we, we,
that's what life is all about, right?
We, we sometimes we are presented with stuff that we're just like, we don't know.
(05:15):
So I feel that it builds that muscle of being like comfortable with the uncomfortable.
And, you know, once you have kind of proof of like, okay, well,
even if I don't know what's next, I do know in the past that I dealt with it.
So you kind of build more of a resistant, more resilience.
And, and yeah, Yeah, I feel like that's I apply it to everything that I do.
(05:40):
I completely agree. And it's very similar to when I first got into jujitsu.
You're put in this situation because I'm a planner. I have to have everything planned out.
And with both jujitsu and improv,
you're put in these situations with at least one other person often.
(06:01):
And you have to choose right there and then what you're going to do.
You don't know ahead of time what is going to be presented to you,
and you have to make that choice.
And it's that mixture of having some sort of plan ahead of time,
but also being willing to go. Yes. How has...
That helped you with flexibility in regards to creativity and life in general?
(06:26):
Yeah. And, you know, you say like, I completely can, I can relate with you,
like being a planner, because even though like, you know, I come,
like I said, I come from like a world finest numbers, like accounting and,
you know, things are more kind of square.
So sometimes having something like on plan is like, oh, okay.
And I love to have like things know where I'm going.
(06:49):
So So, yes, it did build up like kind of at first when I started improv,
like I was like, oh, my God, like I need to know what's next.
Like what's coming up next?
What are people going to say? And that's the first thing like you have to let go.
Right. To the expectation of like what someone might say to you when you kind
of, you know, you're doing a scene at improv and you can't control,
(07:11):
you can't know what's next.
So for me, yes, it did help me be OK with OK, like I.
Don't have to plan everything. And I can't because like that life happens.
And also to be more open to opportunities that may present because sometimes
it's not only obstacles, right? It can be opportunities.
(07:31):
So if you have something planned and then, you know, someone say,
Hey, would you like to go for this trip right now?
And that could be an opportunity of a lifetime, but because you're just like,
Oh no, I right now I'm focused on this.
And so being more flexible and saying yes to to opportunities.
So again, the yes. And it's just like, well, there's an opportunity right now.
(07:53):
It might not be when I really wanted it to, you know, maybe I have other things,
but let's go, let's say yes to this opportunity and see where that leads me.
And sometimes it leads to the most beautiful things and, you know, beautiful encounters.
Uh, there's a lot of things that I said yes to, you know, without having a plan
(08:14):
and actually it led to, you know.
Bigger opportunities or whatnot. So yeah, I feel like it's it really helped
me be more flexible. Like you said, yeah.
Yes. And it has also for me, again, I don't have as much experience in improv
as you I just I'm a newbie.
(08:35):
But for me, it helps me learn the importance of listening Listening to the person that you're with,
if it's a collaborative improv thing, and also kind of boosting whatever,
if they're telling a story and you're doing your yes and or no,
but kind of building off of that and heading the same direction,
(09:00):
kind of seeing what direction they're going.
How have you been able to implement that aspect into, again,
your creative projects or life in general?
Yes. For instance, I, you know, when I, I, I love to brainstorm, right.
And I love like, even when I have ideas for my stories, because yes, definitely.
(09:22):
Like when it's, we're in a group, for instance, like a writer's group,
and we're kind of like, you're taking notes from people or whatnot,
or someone says something.
And instead of just like being focused on, okay, the story where you want it
to go, or you take the suggestion of that person and you add up on it,
like you said, and even giving feedback to someone, the same thing, right?
(09:44):
You want to kind of boost taking like, okay, what is it, the part of their story,
but here's what I'm bringing.
And then we kind of collaborate together to make this better.
Right. And I like the fact that you said, yes, communication is everything in improv as well.
So when you are building something together, and even in business sometimes,
(10:09):
where you have partners or whatnot, you have a team together.
But listen to, you know, it helps really to listen to people like the feedback
and also, okay, how can I incorporate that feedback into what I'm doing?
And also are, you know, really listen to what the person said,
not as like criticism, but as a way of like, okay, they want to help me.
(10:34):
They want to help the idea that we're constructing together.
So not of something like, oh, no, this is my idea. And this is the way I see it.
But more of like, okay, maybe they have, you know, this is I receive, you know, your idea.
And let's see if we can make something with what is already there.
Right. So I find it is beautiful, like for brainstorming, it's really, really great.
(10:59):
Because it, you know, everyone is open to receive without judgment, right?
And we have one goal is to make like, you know, one idea.
We want to make the best ideas and we want to see like, have every people likes feedback or ideas.
And we put it in a pod together and see like, you know, what we can make and
(11:23):
it really makes things better.
And also I do feel as well, like for a team,
it helps kind of being on the same page and,
and solidified, like just the team spirit and
because everybody knows that they have a
place and you have their racks and we're all in this together so
I feel like improv comes into play that in that way as well yes and I know that
(11:47):
you one of your nicknames is the brain your your brainstorm bestie right yeah
I know that you love to brainstorm with people and I know that most of my listeners are writers,
artists, and musicians.
And sometimes we feel stuck and we just need someone to talk with.
(12:10):
What's some of the benefits of having someone like you to brainstorm ideas off of?
Yes. Yeah. No, thank you. And brainstorming is something that I love. I love just.
For me again you know just like we said like improv
i love sitting with someone because as writers you
(12:33):
know i'm a writer as well so as writers sometimes we have blocks
right sometimes like and as creators when we were training there comes a time
that sometime we would love to discuss with someone but people around us sometimes
they don't totally understand or or we don't have sometimes we don't have people
to whom we can really talk to so having someone.
(12:56):
That you can just like that can be a soundboard that can
we can just go back and forth and even sometimes
you know asking just some questions like how
do we see it and collaboratively like together we you know discuss we we we
make sure that you have someone that is listening but also that you can exchange
(13:18):
and maybe give another eye another kind of like yeah maybe that has another viewpoint.
And for me, I'm not there to, you know, as a brainstorming, I say it's not to
give like, oh, this is how it should go.
No, it's more reflecting and back and forth.
And sometimes just maybe, you know, it's going to be enough to say like,
(13:40):
oh, okay, a spark of another idea.
And I will say like, you know, we sleep on it. It simmers.
But, you know, it's just to have someone, because sometimes we have to exteriorize.
We need to talk to someone. one we need to talk to someone
that understand and also that will be you know
that's not going to be judging us so that's why
(14:01):
i say like i offer like this space that's non-judgmental
where we can freely discuss you know go back
and forth asking questions we ask questions and and
make sure that you know we what right words and we do
i you know i have some exercises as well like just to
see like okay what other things that sparks you know sometimes we we start with
(14:21):
something and it evolves into something else and then we sleep on it and then
it evolves again and so giving that that space or you know for us to to make
sure that okay we have someone that's.
Receiving that's listening it's feel
it's that's great for me i i i know i needed
(14:42):
that so i love that i can offer that
as well to people and it's something that i love to do as well so and it's so
creative that you even thought of that as a service that you can provide for
people and get paid for because i know for me lots of times i'll try to brainstorm
off other people And they're just kind of getting overwhelmed because,
(15:04):
you know, I'm basically asking them to do that for free when they have their busy lives.
So just being able to have someone completely dedicated to brainstorming those
ideas, like, I think that's genius.
And I know that you also are a confidence coach.
How does confidence in your experience relate to improv?
(15:27):
And how can that help with your creative projects? Oh, definitely.
You know, I feel like a lot of us, you know, whether it's a creative,
but even like entrepreneurs or whatnot, we sometimes have this little voice
that's like in their head saying like, oh, are we really going to do that? Are you sure?
Or, you know, that's kind of the imposter syndrome that might be talking like,
(15:50):
and you're just like, oh, okay.
Is it like, am I good enough for that? Is it like, so we question there's,
there's a lot of like, Like sometimes we question ourselves.
We don't know if we're ready. We don't know if this is okay or if we're on the right path.
So there's a lot of like questioning and confidence.
And sometimes, for instance, even an idea or vision, we sleep on it.
(16:14):
We don't think like it's good enough or whatnot.
So I know like, you know, even clients in the past, they just like having the
confidence is important for us to put ourselves out there.
I think it's very important, like, if we have a vision, if we have an idea,
if we're creating something, to put it out in the world.
And sometimes, yes, we do, like I said, we do have imposter syndrome.
(16:39):
We don't feel that or we dismiss our ideas.
We dismiss our voice.
So there is a lot of work with that to make sure that we...
We are proud to put ourselves out there. We are confident in the ideas and the vision that we have.
And also once we have that, now how do we communicate it in the world, right?
(17:03):
We have to put ourselves out there. We need to share our stories.
We need to share our work with the world. And that's sometimes another aspect.
Sometimes it's clear in our mind, but then to communicate it,
we don't know how to, or we're shy, we become shy.
We don't know how to share it. And I feel like it's something to work on. How do you communicate?
How do you stand in your power and make sure like, this is my vision,
(17:27):
this is my thing, and I want to share it with the world.
And you can make sure that other people find you, like you can inspire people.
And I feel like our vision, it's needed out there, right?
So we don't want to hide it. it so
yes i so just to to summarize
like the question that improv in the in the sense of
(17:50):
like confidence for me it helped me put myself
out there and it's a it's a process it's step by step showing up even on social
media showing up on video showing up on camera sometimes can be very hard you
know we're not used to that so but it's just a process step by step and i love
working with people because I've been there myself,
(18:11):
you know, just being shy and not talking about like my stories or my dreams
of like having my, my, my stories somewhat, you know, someday on Broadway or Netflix or whatnot,
but, you know, step-by-step you, you develop your confidence and you can,
you're able to talk about what you do and you're able to inspire people as well.
(18:32):
And it's a beautiful thing.
Completely agree. I'm still working on the confidence part, but I really,
really do believe that even just dabbling in improv has helped a lot with that.
And I know that sometimes, at least for me, I want to hear if you have any experiences with this.
Sometimes I'll be in an improv situation and I'm with someone and it's just,
(18:56):
I'm not jiving with a prompt and I can't think of anything to say.
And I just feel so embarrassed because I, you know, they might be doing great,
but I'm just stuck and embarrassed and want to just hide my face.
What kind of experiences do you have similar to that? And what are some ways
(19:17):
that you were able to kind of get through that?
I've been in a situation like that, that's you just like, oh,
there's a blank or, you know, oh, darn, I was not funny. And, you know, it's fine.
Or, I thought of a line later on, you know, what to say later on.
What I learned is to live in the moment.
(19:40):
And once the moment is passed, you kind of just like, okay, what did I learn from that situation?
And then I let it go. And improv is the same thing.
It's created in the moment, right? Right. So we cannot dwell too much on it
because like there's a there's another scene.
There's another moment that we're creating with someone else.
(20:02):
And it's something else we can't we just have to learn.
OK, here's what happened. Maybe I froze. Maybe.
But it's OK. We we move on and we we learn from it and we get back up. Right.
And I think that's creative as well. Well, you know, sometimes,
you know, for me as a writer, when I read stories, sometimes I was like,
(20:22):
wow, okay, I'm stuck there.
I don't know. Or the story that I thought like that I had in my mind,
like it turned into something else.
And you're just like, oh, this is not totally what I expected.
It's not as good as what, but you know, you kind of have to go,
you know, for me, I was just like, okay, what can I do?
(20:43):
What did I learn in the past? Let's go. So let's just continue and see what,
you know, what the product will be at the end and learn from it.
If it's not like maybe it's not the story that we wanted to tell, but it is a story.
It's an output and we can learn from it and then apply to the next one.
Maybe there's some things that we need to work on or whatnot, but that's OK.
(21:06):
I feel like the best way is to just really learn and let it go and not dwell
too much on it. And I know it's easier said than done because,
you know, sometimes you're just like, oh, my God, no, this is embarrassing.
And but you learn to just like, OK, especially if it's something that is,
you know, as creative, we we we have like passion.
(21:28):
We're passionate about things. Right.
And we want to put like at the end of the day, we want to put our work out there.
And we want also to just finish our work, right?
And create something. So...
I say like, you know, go with the things that, you know, give you energy and
(21:50):
don't dwell too much on those little things, those little hiccups,
because like we grow from it. Like everybody, it's fine.
We fail and we learn from it.
But that's really what I can say. But it's harder.
It's easier said than done. done and but i i see
to it like the also the more that we do it for
(22:11):
instance like improv the more that i
you know you're just like okay let's just go to the next one you kind of build
a resistance you're just like okay that's fine i know like i i got back up from
this embarrassing scene last time so it's not the end of the world you have
kind of proof you know to to say like okay i did it before I,
(22:32):
you know, nothing happened.
People are not just like, people forget about it.
It's fine. So let's just move on and move on to the next thing.
It reminds me, yeah, I've had a lot of embarrassing improv moments that I'm
still trying to move on from, even though nobody, I'm sure nobody remembers or nobody even cared.
(22:55):
And it kind of reminds me of when I first started working retail and I was terrified
of using the PA system and making an announcement.
Every time I would just be so embarrassed if I did the slightest mess up.
And after a while, it just became second nature to me.
And if I messed up, I was like, whatever, because I had done it so many times
(23:16):
and it's like not even that embarrassing.
And just customers, they don't, they're not gonna remember me,
you know, unless you do something really, really embarrassing.
But how important is just, And repetition and because I know for me,
I tend to give up on things a lot and, you know, kind of switch into something else.
(23:37):
How important has it been for you to kind of keep going with things and not
give up when they seem hard?
Yes, that is key, honestly. And I, I can relate with you.
Sometimes you just feel like, okay, for instance, like I write a story and I'm
blocked and I don't know.
And, and sometimes you're just like, okay, I'm going to put it aside.
(23:59):
But things is like, sometimes like when we create things, it will call us back.
Like there's an unfinished business.
I don't know if you know, sometimes you're just like, oh, there's this thing I need to go back to.
So even if it's like, I feel like even if you're stuck and you feel like,
okay, this is not working, you can put it aside and maybe work on it.
(24:22):
I know for me, that's what I do.
Sometimes I put it aside, I'll work on something else, and then I come back to it.
Because also sometimes like you need to give yourself a little break because you know you're.
You need to kind of like have this fresh
mind to to go back
into whatever you were creating because you're you have a block sometimes you
(24:44):
need we need to take a step back we need to experiment other things too you
know sometimes before we get back to the thing and maybe Maybe sometimes it
is the way it is supposed to be need to kind of like, let it go for a moment.
And, you know, if it's something if it's like your vision, if it's something
that's really it will call the you will feel it that you need to finish whatever you started.
(25:09):
So but but yes, it's hard, especially sometimes like you're just like,
okay, I don't know how to do it. This is too complicated. I give up.
But I say, you know, before giving up sometimes like ask for help.
I know sometimes this is, this is hard as well, but asking for help or going,
you know, looking for resources, like, because we don't know everything.
(25:31):
Like sometimes, for instance, you know, you're doing a podcast or whatnot,
you don't know the technicalities and you have this vision and then you're like,
oh, I give up because like, I don't know all of these like technical stuff, but.
Maybe ask someone who has done it before, maybe just before completing giving up.
I say sometimes we can also ask people for help, look for resources before giving up.
(25:58):
And sometimes it's not that it's really hard. It's just because we don't know
and we just need someone to help us or we might look for a resource to guide us.
So i would say like yeah do
that before because i do believe like if there's something if
you have something that you want to do you know
(26:20):
do it and don't give up don't give up because like i know if it's it's if it's
but like it's in your mind for a reason it is like you know it's in your heart
for a reason so i always say like don't give up can put it aside for a while
but But come back to it and ask for help.
Ask for people who've done it before to help you or an extra pair of eyes or whatnot.
(26:46):
And I know some people listening might kind of want to get into improv,
but maybe don't know where to go or how to get that confidence. in.
I know that you have a few different services that you have,
or I know that sometimes people can find places online or in their local communities.
(27:07):
What would you suggest for someone who is interested but not sure how to get started?
Yes. So definitely the first things, I do think like.
Most major cities like there's an improv group
somewhere for sure so with a little bit of research you
can just like type improv in your city and you might find
(27:28):
some improv groups that are playing there's some
improv theaters there so i would say like you know if you you because if you
don't know anything about improv maybe you can go and just see it sometimes
they have like they have shows so maybe go see a show maybe just like also they
have sometimes like uh tryouts or open houses or whatnot.
(27:49):
So it's always good to get to know, look at their website, look at the videos,
look at, and maybe go see a show to get acquainted a little bit with the,
what is improv in general.
And, and then if there's any tryouts, you know, we might want to ask about that
just to see like to dabble into it a little bit, but I would say go see an improv show.
(28:13):
And also there, There are, you know, we can also watch some clips on YouTube.
They're different. You know, there's improv, there's like match.
Like here we have like improv leagues with match. Like they have like,
this looks like a hockey match.
But there are different arts of improv. So I would say, honestly,
look at your local improv theater and see if they have any open like house or
(28:39):
open like kind of like one time you can try or go see a show.
Just to get acquainted before you know just
jumping into it especially if you don't know anything about it
it can be very intimidating sometimes like
just to see like oh am i going to go on stage at first no you're not going to
go on stage like the first time but you know it's going to be a lot of fun like
(29:00):
so yeah i would say that's that's those are the first things that i would suggest
but if not like definitely for instance like for me like we have a company that But with what we do,
we use improv to do like networking events as well.
So we have networking events with like some games, you know,
theatrical games so people can connect and listen better and a lot of fun at the same time.
(29:24):
So it's loosely it's not an improv class per se.
It's just using improv to just like connect people better.
And so we do also team building activities for companies in order for them to
get to know each other better and connect.
So, you know, using Impov to kind of connect people. So that's like been really fun as well.
(29:45):
I feel like that would be really useful for me when someone asks me, what's your book about?
And us as writers, we're like, okay, so it's about this and this and this.
Maybe if I could just, you know, quickly say what it's about,
that is a very useful skill just or like an elevator pitch if you're out and
(30:08):
about like, what kind of music do you do?
What kind of art do you do? and just being able to quickly be able to say what you do.
That's a skill that a lot of us struggle with.
Yes. And speaking of networking, just final thoughts, where can people find you?
And what are some last words of wisdom you would like to give anyone who is-
(30:31):
Yes, okay, well, yes, thank you.
So you can definitely find me, well, for me, like Instagram, on Instagram,
I have an Instagram page, a yes to you coaching
so yes to the number
two you coaching so you can find me there
for any you know confidence tips and for
and also some double band problems as well
(30:54):
like in terms of just brainstorming and and your ideas but also the company
i was telling you about like where we do networking events you can look we have
our website it's at mycreativebreak.com and we're They're almost on social medias
as my creative break as well.
So yes, if you want to see a little bit like how improv can be applied into other settings,
(31:17):
you can look at our page and you'll see like how we kind of bring improv into
different settings to have fun and to connect people.
Yeah, I'm good. I've seen a little bit on your Instagram, but I'm gonna have
to check out more. That sounds really fun.
So yeah, thanks again for all of this awesome information.
(31:39):
And we should have like, improv right for writers group.
Yes yes yes and i will say like my
last value of parting words is just like yeah try it
you know let it simmer but the i i feel
for me i it had it had an impact on my life in terms like i said confidence
and and just all throughout like you know whether it's like my creative life
(32:02):
or entrepreneurship life and also you get to meet great people you know i didn't
mention that but But you get to meet like great supportive people and long life friends.
And so it is a way as well to connect and to meet people and to meet other creatives
as well. There are people from all walks of life there.
So I would say, you know, if you didn't know anything about improv,
(32:24):
just, you know, have a look and see if it's something that could help you.
And I feel it's a skill that I feel everyone should kind of at least explore
a little bit more. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of The Success Palette.
For social media links and information on bonus episodes, you can go to thesuccesspalette.com.
(32:49):
And please, let's make it a successful week.
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