Improv Humor

Improvisation by its very nature is spontaneous creation in the moment. Taking advantage of a situation or interaction that may be normal or mundane and embellishing within it.

A great example of that happened in the grocery store today when a woman walked up in line behind me and I placed the small divider between our orders. She said thank you and I of course said you are welcome.

Then she thought I said something else to her and when I said no I did not I happened to glance up at a image of Mickey and Minnie Mouse on the top of a store display. This is where the improv was born.

I told her that it was actually Mickey and Minnie that were speaking and she followed by saying “with a very high squeaky voice”. Then it moved on to me saying she was probably of an age where she remembered the Mickey Mouse Club show. And guess what she did?

Broke out in the Mickey Mouse Club song and I joined her right there in line at the grocery store. We were laughing throughout it and started joking back and forth about two “old ladies” being kicked out of the store for causing a ruckus in line.

For those of you who are too young, or don’t know what the heck I am talking about, click on the video below and sing along!,

This small simple exchange brought humor, connection and brightness into our day during a usually mundane task. Who knows what it brought the man in front of me or the cashier, but I did see a small smile break out on his face.

What other opportunities show up every single day that we may overlook or miss completely because our mind is too busy plotting what our next task will be. I know I miss them all the time!

How does one tap into improvisational humor?

I would say that life is full of opportunities every single day in the cracks and crevices of interaction. Even if you are alone. Simply trusting what is arising within the moment and not holding back is a key. However, one underlying characteristic you must possess is that you don’t mind at all being silly, “out of step”, different from the mainstream around you, and most probably looked at by others in the vicinity.

In other words simply being uniquely you in any given moment. You may be surprised what expression is born when you just let go and play with others. There is a tendency for it to effect others around you in a positive way so be prepared to attract attention.

Now for those who don’t “approve” of your spontaneous humor or how you are acting….simply smile. They may be missing out on passing along positive energy, humor and spontaneous connection, but one thing is for certain you aren’t!

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Gaye Abbott, Natural Passages Consulting, 5/5/22. Please feel free to share this post!

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