Post: #1

Curious if anyone on here has used improv lessons to improve their game. I've seen it mentioned here and there on the forum, but nothing too substantial.

Personally, when I go back and look when my game really took off, it was basically concurrent with when I took my first improv lessons with Second City. I believe it was 8 weeks, 2.5 hours/week, and $350. The group was a complete hodgepodge, good looking girls in their 20s, aspiring actors, older people looking to have some fun.

The benefits for your non-game aspects of life and career will be worth it alone, however in game it is massive. It changed the way I interact with people for ever. Rather than getting laughs at other people's expense, you learn how to multiply onto what they say and it becomes funnier, even when you aren't necessarily making intentional jokes. Your confidence will improve and you become much more aware of your body language amplifying your speech. Eye contact is also pivotal in improv, as it's basically impossible to keep it going without looking the other person in the eye to predict where they are taking the skit.

Your interactions become more meaningful due to avoiding useless statements. Nothing that happens with a girl will be more embarrassing that what you guys went through in that improv classroom together. It may as well have been all 20 of us naked, that's how vulnerable you are, yet it is still comfortable in that you know everyone feels the same way.

I'm not saying you can go from 0 to 100 by taking an improv class, but that was definitely once of the best investments I've ever made towards improving my game in a short period. Bonus, I slept with one of the girls after we all went for beers after one of the classes.

Would love to hear if anyone else had a similar experience.

Post: #2

(12-26-2016 01:18 AM)DigitalNomad Wrote:  The benefits for your non-game aspects of life and career will be worth it alone, however in game it is massive.

I took improv about three months after I started learning game.

Didn't think it had any effect at all on Game.

I don't want to discourage cats on this forum from trying it out.

But to me - game conversation, and real-life conversation is about how to respond in interesting, flirty ways.

Improv teaches you how to give a response in the context of a created scene.

I don't think it helps in the context of real-life in an approach. That's just my experience.

I think the better thing for that is figuring out in your past approaches what things you said worked well and what didn't, and repeating that. Also, working with others to better understand how to answer some of the same questions you get from girls over and over again.

I still had fun in the class. But don't go into it thinking you'll come out of it a much improved gamer.

The best practice for anything is practicing the thing itself. Want to become a better hiker? Don't do squats. Go hiking. Obviously, that's not always possible, but it's the same with game.

Want to get better at game?

Take improv if you have time for it, and would like to do something fun. I think spending the 2.5 hours/week making day approaches would be better, although I understand that's a much harder thing to do.

Do both, ideally.

Post: #3

I, myself, have taken plenty of acting/improv classes, and agree there are certainly benefits to taking such classes. My experience falls somewhere in between what DigitalNomad and Jagnum have said.

For me, it's sort of related to the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Does learning game help improve one's ability to improvise or does learning to improvise improve one's ability to game? I think there is truth in both statements, and as they say "there's more than one way to skin a cat." (or snag some pussy, in this case)

I think an artistic talent, like singing or acting, is largely something you either have in you or you don't. Sure, you can learn how to "technically" improve your performance, but you can't take someone who is tone deaf and turn them into Pavarotti by taking a few music classes. If you aren't interested in pursuing a career in either of the aforementioned fields, it matters little whether you have any natural talent for them, so long as you're having fun in the class.

As with most things in life, there are pros and cons, benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits to taking an improv class:

. You won't learn to think on your feet, but you'll be placed in situations where you have to do so in a safe environment.
. Provides opportunities to expand one's social circle, including the ability to game girls from class.
. Learning not to take one's self too seriously
. Growing increasingly comfortable with taking "risks" in public, including not being afraid to appear a fool.
. Gives you something to talk about, and likely funny stories to share with girls outside of class.

Drawbacks to taking an improv class:

. As with anything involving the arts, there are likely to be many libtards/SJWs in class.
. Cost
. An improv skillset is not necessarily transferable to certain game scenarios (e.g. running away from an imaginary train won't help you to overcome last minute resistance (LMR), but having fun with a girl in class, or being silly using techniques you've learned on a girl you meet during day/night-game might help to get you to a point where you'd need to try and overcome LMR in the first place.

In conclusion, I see nothing wrong with taking an improv class as an added supplement to enhance your game, but not as a "shortcut" or replacement to learning it, obviously, as it will help in some scenarios but certainly not in all.

Post: #4

I took an improv class and my experience was much the same as Jagnums. It was a nice class and feel it helped push my comfort zone some but don't feel it helped my game tremendously. It certainly didn't hurt my game and might have helped some but nothing like actual approaching does.

Post: #5

I've done some improv. I'd say it's good for you if you have 'stage fright' or something and aren't approaching because you're afraid people will see you (assuming of course people are watching and judging your improv). if you actually are already comfortable with game and approaching then it won't do you any good. But it will be a fun class.

Post: #6

It's HUGE in game. For the first time I was able to go in with empty head and just be able to talk. Then the whole concept of "take it further" made me feel untouchable at verbal game.

I shared something about it.. /thread-25975.html

Post: #7

I am gonna sign up for an Improv 1 class next month.

Post: #8

Post: #9

Improv is essential to game.

Improv will massively improve your banter/flirting skills.

Post: #10

Yeah, I did improv for 10 years(classes, Harold teams). It helps you become a better listener and in your every day life.

Places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York have the major improv centers like Second City, UCB, Groundlings, Improv Olymic(not anymore in los angeles) and the various off shoots. I'm not sure about other parts of the country.

Post: #11

10 years of improv? Care to share anything you picked up along the way?

Post: #12

(04-11-2019 09:20 PM)tr1cky Wrote:  10 years of improv? Care to share anything you picked up along the way?

I kept doing it because it was fun. If it's not fun for you, find something else to do.

If you are in a scene, you never want to solve the problem. You will get a lot more comedic mileage by making things worse. You have about 2 or 3 minutes for your scene, how can you show that you will spend the rest of your life unfulfilled and unhappy as a result of those 2 minutes?

Think of the 2 minutes of the scene as the climax of a film, where you ask for that raise, get the job you always wanted, try to get the girl you wanted, whatever.

Make your scene partner look as good as possible. If you are labelled as a boss, try giving your scene partner a $50/hr raise. It's not your money, it's improv money. Find ways to make your scene partner look good, add details, information, and listen to what they provide and pay it off.

Label people. Label yourself.

within the first few seconds of the scene, you should have some idea who and what you are doing in that scene. What are you going to do to try to get what you want? What do you want and what are you going to do to try to get it?

Play from the top of your intelligence, avoid the lowest common denominator(shit jokes, dick jokes, etc).

Work on your space work(mimes) and creating a believable world.

It's a hell of a lot more fun to throw out some insane rules about the world you are in at the top of the scene and then gaming those rules, than making a totally realistic world with real world logic.

Have stock characters that you can pull out on a regular basis(doctor, president, priest etc)

On that note, inventing a religion with weird rules, or the rules of the great beyond(what are things really like in heaven/hell), can be a lot of fun.

edit, I'd better call it a night as I'm getting dangerously close to outing myself with this.

Post: #13

I am signing up for an 8 week class. I live in a middle sized major city. I want to improve my co vorsational skills and learn to be able to talk to anyone. Another thing I need to work on is not getting mad when people want to try to annoy me, push my buttons or get under my skin. I guess have a poker face. But not just pretend to have one. Actually implement it as a characteristic of my personality.

Post: #14

I start my improve class tonight. I found a good article that talks about the benifits of taking these classes. There are 6 different levels of classes. I eventually will take all 6.

https://www.emlovz.com/15-reasons-why-im...ng-skills/