Myth Two: Improvisation Is Making Stuff Up as a Last Resort
误区二：即兴创作已成为最后的手段
What we’ve got here is both a misconception and a matter of semantics. If you grab five random items out of your refrigerator, throw them in a pot of water, and bring it up to boil, technically you might say you were “cooking,” a word that could describe the simple application of heat to foodstuffs. But we all know that the simple act of cooking can be raised to an elite art form, one that depends on skill, training, technique, thoughtfulness, and imagination. A hot pot of gross mush and an elite chef ’s tasting menu may both be cooked, but there’s quite a tastable difference in the quality of the cooking there.
我们在这里遇到的既是误解，又是语义问题。如果您从冰箱中拿出五个随机物品，将它们倒入一锅水中，使其沸腾，从技术上讲，您可能会说您在“煮饭”，这个词可以描述对食物进行简单加热的过程。但是我们都知道，烹饪的简单举动可以提升为一种精英艺术形式，这取决于技巧，训练，技巧，周到和想象力。可以煮一锅粗糊状的火锅和一个名厨的品尝菜单，但是那里的烹饪质量有很大的不同。
Similarly we sometimes call it improvising when someone is driven to make things up on the spot after discovering that plans A, B, and C have all fallen apart. This kind of improvisation is a sort of survival skill and coping mechanism, and can certainly be relied on when all hell breaks loose and the scramble-sweat is flowing. However, this is a terribly limiting definition—improvisation as an emergency measure or last-ditch effort. This conception of improvisation does not factor in technique, training, practice, and thoughtfulness and seems to imply that the need for improvisation is only dictated by the level of chaos one finds oneself in.
类似地，当发现某人计划A，B和C都分崩离析后，当有人被迫当场整理事情时，有时我们称其为即兴创作。这种即兴创作是一种生存技能和应对机制，当所有的地狱破灭而争吵不断时，当然可以依靠。但是，这是一个极具局限性的定义，即作为紧急措施或最后努力而进行的即兴创作。即兴创作的概念没有考虑技术，训练，实践和周到性，似乎暗示了即兴创作的需求仅取决于自己所处的混乱程度。
In fact improvisation at its most effective is a deliberate strategy that draws on intelligence in concert with instinct. Improvisation isn’t simply panicky reaction; it’s a way in which people can actively explore possibilities, synthesize available information, and innovate in response to a challenge in real time. Improvisation thrives where planning meets execution, and the art of improvisation is really about making fast decisions and adapting when faced with unanticipated situations. The quality of those decisions—of the improvisation—is in direct proportion to an improviser’s abilities and the degree to which those abilities have been developed through training and preparation. Improvisers don’t really make stuff up in the moment; they have been trained to draw on everything around them and on everything they’ve learned right up until the moment they have to improvise.
实际上，即兴发挥其最有效的作用是一种精心设计的策略，它可以与本能一起利用智力。即兴创作不只是惊慌的反应；通过这种方式，人们可以积极地探索各种可能性，综合可用信息，并进行实时创新以应对挑战。即兴创作在计划与执行相遇的地方蓬勃发展，即兴创作的技巧实际上是在面对意外情况时做出快速决策并做出适应。即兴创作的决策质量与即兴演奏者的能力以及通过培训和准备而发展出这些能力的程度成正比。即兴创作者目前还不能真正弥补问题。他们已经受过训练，可以利用周围的一切以及他们所学到的一切，直到他们必须即兴创作为止。
Preparation and awareness are hugely important parts of improvisation. Those Navy SEALs carried out their mission effectively even when their planning did not specifically cover the circumstances they encountered. The SEALs trained extensively for the raid on the bin Laden compound, created scale models of it, and drew up several contingency plans to cover what-if scenarios such as a Black Hawk helicopter going down—a previously experienced contingency that unfortunately had very real mortal consequences in Mogadishu,Somalia.When the raid finally took place, the SEALs discovered that the intelligence they’d based their plans on was not entirely accurate. There were a number of unknown variables (how many people they would encounter, the types of people, the weapons, the doors and hallways, etc.). So they had to improvise—not by making things up but by drawing on every bit of skill, training, and knowledge their preparation had equipped them with.
准备和意识是即兴创作的重要组成部分。这些海军海豹突击队即使其计划并未特别涵盖他们遇到的情况，也有效地执行了任务。海豹突击队接受了本拉登大院的突袭训练，建立了比例模型，并制定了一些应急计划，以应对诸如黑鹰直升机坠毁这样的假设情景-不幸的是，以前经历过的应急行动非常不幸突袭终于发生时，海豹突击队发现，他们根据其计划制定的情报并不完全准确。有许多未知的变量（他们会遇到多少人，人的种类，武器，门和走廊等）。因此，他们必须即兴创作，而不是化妆，而是动手做。他们的技能，训练和知识使他们具备了能力。
I recently spoke with Navy SEAL captain Jamie Sands, who at the time was working at the Joint Special Operations Command at Ft. Bragg, and was preparing to take command of SEAL Group 2. Our conversation focused on how planning, preparation, and training affect the way people react and adapt when a plan cannot be executed flawlessly. Not so surprisingly the improvisational thinking required of SEALs is not a matter of “making things up” but instead one of drawing on a previously developed skill set.
我最近与海军海豹突击队队长杰米·桑德斯（Jamie Sands）进行了交谈，当时他正在Ft的联合特种作战司令部工作。布拉格，正准备接任海豹突击队第二小组的指挥。我们的谈话重点是计划，准备和培训如何在无法完美执行计划的情况下影响人们的反应和适应方式。毫不奇怪，海豹突击队所需的即兴思维不是“编造”的问题，而是一种利用先前发展的技能组合的问题。
“Training to a very high standard is an imperative,” said Captain Sands. “It provides the foundation for everything else and creates muscle memory. The fact is, repetition matters, as it affects all aspects of performance: mental, physical, situational preparation, communication. Shooting, for example, is a perishable skill. You need repetitions to be at the highest level of proficiency. Training prevents brain freeze.”
“必须达到很高的标准，”金沙船长说。“它为其他一切提供了基础，并创造了肌肉记忆。事实是，重复很重要，因为重复会影响绩效的方方面面：心理，身体，情境准备，沟通。例如，射击是一种易腐的技能。您需要重复才能达到最高水平。训练可以防止大脑冻结。”
Whether you’re on the battlefield or in the boardroom, practice and repetition of the specific skill set required for the task at hand puts you in a position to succeed when that task must be carried out in times of uncertainty or even chaos. Regarding the specific skills required for throwing oneself out of a plane, Sands had this to say: “When you first start free-falling, your awareness of space is very small and you can only focus on what’s right in front of you—gauges, timing, ripcord. Around your tenth or twentieth jump, you begin to feel comfortable. However, it is only after your fiftieth jump that you’re seeing the whole sky and even thinking about what your next moves are once you land.”
无论您是在战场上还是在会议室中，练习和重复完成手头任务所需的特定技能都可以使您在必须在不确定甚至混乱的情况下执行该任务时获得成功。关于将自己从飞机上摔下来所需的特定技能，桑兹曾这样说：“当您第一次开始自由落体时，您对空间的了解非常小，您只能专注于摆在自己面前的东西-量规，时间，撕裂。在第十或第二十跳时，您开始感到舒适。但是，只有在第五十跳之后，您才可以看到整个天空，甚至在思考着陆后的下一步行动。”
The point here is that no matter what you do—cooking, accounting, playing sports, jumping out of airplanes, or embracing business improv—your skill level is achieved and maintained through practice. Especially in times of crisis, you want to be able to rely on well-developed muscle memory, not on making stuff up.
这里的要点是，无论您做什么工作，例如做饭，记账，参加体育运动，跳飞机或拥抱业务即兴表演，您的技能水平都是通过练习来达到并保持的。尤其是在危机时期，您希望能够依靠发达的肌肉记忆力，而不是靠化妆。
In theatrical improvisation one of the common phrases is “performing at the top of your intelligence,” a concept that is about 180 degrees away from simply working off the top of your head. If you think about some of the other great improvisers I mentioned earlier—the soldier, the athlete, the chef—they don’t respond to unpredictable events by doing just anything, willy-nilly. They work at the top of their intelligence, drawing on all their skills, training, and experience to make fast choices about the actions they will take. When musicians improvise, they “make up” the music in the sense that they are playing notes of their extemporaneous choosing. However, the success(and listenability) of that improvisation depends on the players’ musical knowledge and skills and their ability to communicate with fellow musicians and an audience. If you don’t actually know how to play a trumpet, improvising on one isn’t going to help you sound any better.
在戏剧即兴演奏中，常见的短语之一是“在您的智力之巅进行表演”，这个概念与简单地从头顶开始工作大约有180度的距离。如果您考虑我之前提到的其他一些即兴演奏者，即士兵，运动员，厨师，他们不会通过做任何事情来应对不可预测的事件，这很随意。他们会发挥自己的才能，利用所有技能，培训和经验来快速选择要采取的行动。当音乐家即兴演奏时，他们在演奏自己即兴演奏的音符的意义上“组成”音乐。然而，即兴演奏的成功（和可听性）取决于演奏者的音乐知识和技能以及他们与其他音乐家和听众交流的能力。如果您实际上不知道怎么弹小号，即兴演奏不会帮助您听起来更好。
Even when improvisation is actually about comedy, it’s not just about making stuff up. Somewhere around 1996, very early in my improv career, I was serving as the host of the iO’s evening shows and I described to first-timers in the audience that the improvisers onstage would be “making things up off the top of our heads.” Offstage I was promptly and vehemently reamed by improv legend Noah Gregoropoulos, who impressed upon me how insulting that phrase was in relation to the level of work done by improvisers. Lesson learned. This resonates strongly with me to this day. Performing at the top of your intelligence is a lot different from flying by the seat of your pants.
即使即兴创作实际上是关于喜剧的，它也不只是编造喜剧。在1996年左右的某个时间，即我即兴创作生涯的早期，我担任了iO晚会的主持人，我向第一次参加听众的观众描述，即兴创作的即兴演奏者将“使事情变得浮躁”。在台下，我被即兴传奇Noah Gregoropoulos迅速而激烈地打了个草，他给我留下了深刻的印象，即这句话与即兴创作者的工作水平有关。学过的知识。直到今天，这一直引起我的共鸣。发挥最高才能与在裤子座位旁飞翔有很大不同。
The myth that improv is a means of last resort dismisses the knowledge and training, coordination, focus, and intellect needed to perform in the moment. If you are drawing upon everything you know and working at the highest level your abilities allow, you are improvising at the top of your intelligence—a stunning feat when seen.
即兴表演是不得已的手段的神话无视了当下表演所需的知识和训练，协调，专注和智慧。如果您充分利用自己所知道的一切，并在自己的能力所允许的最高水平上工作，那么您就在即兴发挥能力时即兴发挥-当被看到时，这是一项了不起的壮举。
With that debunking out of the way, you’ve got a better sense of what improvisation isn’t. So what the heck is it then?
摆脱了这种挑战，您对即兴创作不是什么有了更好的了解。那到底是什么呢？
Improvisation, when stripped down to its basic building blocks, is about reacting, adapting, and communicating. You see what’s happening around you. You quickly consider how to respond. You communicate to others. And then you do what needs to be done to succeed. Repeat as necessary.
即兴发挥的基本要素是反应，适应和沟通。您会看到周围发生了什么。您很快就会考虑如何应对。您与他人交流。然后，您需要做一些成功的事情。根据需要重复。
The first step in any improvisation is indeed reaction. This is not reacting blindly or out of panic, however. With effective improvisation, reaction involves being focused and present, being in the moment, and being completely open to the idea of responding honestly to whatever it is that requires a response. There’s a parallel force existing alongside reaction, and that’s adaptation—the skill of being ever aware of the shifting parameters one is working within while keeping in mind the specific objective that needs to be achieved. Reacting and adapting are channeled together to create the true resultant force of improvisation: communication. Communication in this context refers to productive engagement in any form—between individuals, within or between groups, as part of a process, or the final stage of decision making.
即兴创作的第一步确实是反应。但是，这不是盲目的反应或出于恐慌。通过有效的即兴创作，反应包括集中精力和呈现，时刻存在，并完全接受诚实地对需要回应的内容做出回应的想法。在反应的同时存在着平行的力量，那就是适应性-一种始终意识到变化参数的技能，同时牢记需要实现的特定目标。反应和适应被引导到一起，创造了即兴创作的真正合力：沟通。在这种情况下，沟通是指任何形式的生产性参与-作为过程的一部分或决策的最后阶段，在个体之间，群体内部或群体之间。
Why would this definition of improvisation make sense in a business setting? Because improvisation is a method of dealing with situations in which we need to send and receive messages accurately,effectively, efficiently, and quickly.Of course as a businessperson and an improv veteran I’d say it’s always important to set proper expectations, so one of the things that has bothered me incessantly over the last decade is the overpromising that takes place in corporate training sessions—promising often done by smiling (though great) improv coaches who honestly want to spread the message that if you simply relax, adopt a positive attitude, and trust your instincts, your business will thrive, your job title will turn to gold, and you’ll receive the keys to glorious executive washrooms that can only be discussed in whispers.
为什么这种即兴定义在业务环境中有意义？因为即兴创作是一种应对情况的方法，在这种情况下我们需要准确，有效，高效和快速地发送和接收消息。当然，作为一名商人和即兴退伍军人，我想说，树立正确的期望总是很重要的，因此在过去的十年中，困扰我的一件事是公司培训课程中的过分乐观–许诺常常是通过微笑（虽然很棒）的即兴教练来完成的，他们诚实地希望传播这样的信息：如果您只是放松一下，请采纳积极的态度，相信自己的直觉，您的业务将蒸蒸日上，您的职位将变成金子，并且您将获得光荣的行政洗手间的钥匙，这些秘密只能在低声中讨论。
I love these people. I am friends with hundreds of improvisers who teach this way. They are awesome performers, coaches, and teachers,and without question their approach to business improvisation is ineffective, because it does not dive more than an inch below the surface of a sea that is thousands of feet deep。
我爱这些人。我是数百位即兴演奏者的朋友，他们以这种方式教书。他们是出色的表演者，教练和老师，毫无疑问，他们即兴表演的方法是无效的，因为它的潜入深度不超过数千英尺深的海面以下一英寸。
Improvisation is not a panacea or a silver bullet. It is an art and a discipline—a set of techniques that have to be used at the right time and in the right place. Improv can improve the way ideas are generated. It can open a free flow of communication. It can boost the sense of organization within a workplace. It can help you manage the unexpected. And it is not the ultimate or only way to run a business. Potential improvisers, whether actors, athletes, or business leaders, all have to decide when and how improv techniques will be valuable. There’s more than one way to hit a piñata and improv is only one possible stick to swing—though I’ve found it to be a very effective stick when it comes to opening that sucker up and getting the sweet stuff inside.
即兴创作不是万能药或灵丹妙药。它是一门艺术，也是一门学科，必须在正确的时间和正确的位置使用一系列技术。即兴创作可以改善产生想法的方式。它可以打开自由交流的通道。它可以增强工作场所中的组织意识。它可以帮助您管理意外情况。这不是经营企业的最终方法或唯一方法。潜在的即兴演奏者，无论是演员，运动员还是企业领导者，都必须决定即兴演奏技巧何时以及如何变得有价值。击打Piñata的方法不止一种，即兴演奏只是一种可能的摇杆-尽管我发现打开吸盘并将甜食放入内部时，它是非常有效的摇杆。
Improvisation is not so much a creation of something out of nothing as much as it is the creation of something out of everything—everything one has been taught, everything one has experienced,everything one knows. Improvisers observe all and try to take advantage of everything around them: every word, every movement, every sound; every facial expression, body gesture, moment, data point. Improvisers will pull from all information at their disposal and will not dismiss anything that might possibly be useful. A great improviser can look at the tiny details and the big picture simultaneously.
即兴创作不是从无到有的创造，而是从万有的创造—一切都被教，一个人经历过的一切，一个人都知道。即兴演奏者观察所有事物，并尝试利用周围的一切：每个单词，每个动作，每个声音；每个面部表情，身体姿势，时刻，数据点。即兴创作者会从他们掌握的所有信息中获取信息，并且不会忽略任何可能有用的信息。出色的即兴演奏者可以同时查看微小的细节和全局。
Improvisers observe everything for its worth and assess every situation as accurately and honestly as humanly possible. Great improvisers aim for the best possible overall solution in the moment, as opposed to “This is the best I could do given a set of circumstances.” And seasoned improvisers acknowledge that the unknown will happen no matter how well they attempt to plan things out. Murphy’s Law states, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” For improvisers these aren’t words of caution but a rallying cry: when you are performing at the top of your intelligence, you not only expect the unexpected; you embrace it.
即兴创作者会观察所有事物的价值，并尽人所能地准确，诚实地评估每种情况。出色的即兴演奏者致力于目前最好的整体解决方案，而不是“在特定情况下，我能做到的最好。”而且经验丰富的即兴演奏者也承认，无论他们如何计划好事情，未知事物都会发生。墨菲定律指出：“任何可能出错的地方都会出错。”对于即兴演奏者来说，这些不是谨慎的话，而是集会的呐喊：当您发挥最高才能时，您不仅会期待意料之外的事情；你拥抱它。
In the following chapters, then, let me guide you toward becoming a great improviser in your career. Here’s the path we’ll take: from personal development to interpersonal application, to team application, to creating culture. We’ll begin with a practical overview of how improvisation can be used as a tool to break through the barriers to creativity and collaboration that are common in workplace environments. Then we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of improvising by way of improvisation’s core principle: “Yes, and . . . ” We’ll look at the ways improv can be used for personal growth and empowerment—a method of strengthening your personal brand.
然后，在接下来的章节中，让我指导您成为职业上的出色即兴演奏者。这是我们要走的路：从个人发展到人际应用，团队应用再到文化创造。我们将首先从实践上概述即席演奏如何用作突破工作场所环境中常见的创造力和协作障碍的工具。然后，我们将以即兴创作的核心原则深入探讨即兴创作的基本要素：“是，而且。。。”我们将探讨即兴创作可用于个人成长和赋权的方法-一种增强个人品牌的方法。
We’ll also explore improv’s role in manipulating energy and attitude. Moving beyond personal growth, we will chart a path to implementing these techniques outwardly in dyadic and small group conversations. Then we will examine how improvisation can impact team dynamics by looking at its practical applications in fostering better group ideation and the breakdown of silos—a persistent workplace problem. We’ll then take these foundational blocks to show how improv techniques can improve leadership skills and how improvisation can be used as a catalyst for positive change in a corporate culture. In the final pages of this book we’ll focus on transferability and sustainability—how to utilize improvisation in your workplace immediately.
我们还将探讨即兴表演在操纵能量和态度方面的作用。除了个人成长以外，我们还将为在双向和小组对话中向外实施这些技术指明道路。然后，我们将通过研究即兴创作在促进更好的团队构想和筒仓崩溃（这是一个持续存在的工作场所问题）的实际应用中，研究即兴创作如何影响团队动力。然后，我们将以这些基本的块为基础，展示即兴技巧如何提高领导技能，以及即兴如何被用作企业文化积极变革的催化剂。在本书的最后几页中，我们将重点讨论可转移性和可持续性-如何立即在工作场所利用即兴创作。
I do not teach with talks or seminars alone. Instead I favor intensives based on experiential learning. In that spirit I’ve packed this book with step-by-step instructions for some of my most effective and practicable exercises. I hope you’ll give them a try.
我不会单靠演讲或研讨会来教书。相反，我赞成基于经验学习的强化课程。本着这种精神，我为本书提供了一些最有效，最实用的逐步指导。希望您能尝试一下。
It is my explicit intention in these pages to get you to think differently about yourself, your work, your company, and of course your use of improvisation. No matter what your particular business is, the goal here is success. I promise I won’t ask you to take a trust fall or participate in a group hug. All I ask is that you commit to helping yourself.Done? Alright then, let’s go!(To be continued~)
我在这些页面中的明确意图是使您对自己，您的工作，您的公司，当然还有对即兴使用的看法有所不同。无论您从事何种业务，这里的目标都是成功。我保证我不会要求您信任他人或参加小组拥抱。我要问的是您致力于自我帮助。好吧，走吧！（未完待续）
