“In an improv show, two actors take the stage. There’s no script,” Hirsch said in a recent Collaboration Central post. “One of them says something; the other responds. They are collaborating to create a scene or story on the fly, and if they collaborate effectively, that scene will knock people’s socks off.”
Hirsch said journalists operate under a similar environment. “You’re also creating a story, often under extraordinary deadline pressure … you’re still reliant on other people to help you build a narrative to fill the blank page.”
Improvisers use a technique called “Yes, and.” Hirsch said it’s the “principle of agreeing with the information your fellow performer establishes and then building upon it.” In other words, “Yes, what you say is true, and here’s some more information.
“We use ‘yes, and’ to go from zero to something in a matter of seconds,” she said.
Off-stage, journalists can use the technique in newsrooms when partnering with another organization to cover a story or as a reminder to listen closely to sources so that the story will present itself.
“If journalists don’t listen closely to their partners in a collaboration, they miss out on key information that can strengthen the final editorial product,” Hirsch said.