Mary Jane Pories first tested her skills with an improv troupe nearly 20 years ago; she’s been improvising ever since.
Not just on a stage, though. Pories, who has performed with a number of improv troupes, including The Second City in Chicago, has found that the skills and ability necessary for this type of performance translate well to other parts of life. This is the message she has been sharing for the last 15 years with national and international clients looking to improve their workplace culture.
“We can do anything we want with a moment,” writes Pories, who also has experience as a high school English teacher. “We can create anything we want just by changing our mindset. And all we need is each other and a willing attitude.”
This is the philosophy outlined in Pories’ new book, Yes, And! The same philosophy she has shared hundreds of times working with clients as president and founder of Fishladder Inc., a consulting firm specializing in the “use of improvisation to help people navigate change by improving their ability to act intelligently and with integrity in unpredictable situations.”
In her book, Pories describes her first attempt at improv with a comedy troupe: “I asked the leader of the troupe, ‘How do they think this stuff up so fast? Where do they get these ideas?’ His response, ‘They say, “Yes, And!” to any initiation.’”
Transferring this mindset to life helps you make adjustments and accept change more easily, she said. “The tools of improvisation move you out of your comfort zone to see the world (your business, your clients, your loved ones, your friends) in a new way,” she writes. “It encourages you to reverse this resistance to risk and change, and that’s contagious, quickly spreading to the rest of your team.”
She provides examples of people who have successfully improvised, for in the book she dispels the myth that improvisation is “winging it.” “Your ability to respond so well that you even surprise yourself is the culmination of all those times you did plan, prepare and practice,” she writes.
Pories also includes more than 60 exercises to help practice the skills so that they can be incorporated into everyday life.
“This way of thinking changed me as a teacher, a friend, a community member,” said Pories. “It’s an approach I believe in and has made a difference. It sells itself if I get in the door and get people to understand it.”
And from a faith perspective it completely aligns with her beliefs, she said. “You start with accepting reality: I’m fallen and I can’t do it myself. From there it’s about a sacrificial and servant love. You are here to help others succeed and flourish.
“Improvisation is really about letting go, which is a very fine balance between being passionate and not caring,” she said. “How do I let go and still care deeply? Good parents do this with their kids. I’m not talking about apathy, I’m talking about relaxing, letting go and saying, ‘Yes, And.’ It’s the most freeing, life-changing thing. This is how I feel I can live my faith in a more real world.”
