I can recall the first time I made an audience laugh while doing improv.

I started off doing improvisation in a college club. We would play short form games mostly, just like you would see in the show “Whose line is it anyway?” My first time attending the improv club I volunteered to play a game called hitch hiker. In this game someone drives a car and picks up a hitch hiker. The hitch hiker is a big character, or has a funny quirk that the driver has to match.

I was the driver and the hitch hiker came in and didn’t talk but communicated by whistling. As the driver I am expected to match my scene partner’s whistling. Well, I can't whistle and didn't even bother to try to, so I just looked out to the audience and shaking my head in defeat I said “I can't whistle.” To my surprise, the audience started laughing hysterically. I did not expect that to happen. My response was an organic and honest reaction to my scene partner’s whistling, so I just went with it.

That's how I learned that listening led to reacting organically and honestly in improv. I don't think of myself as a funny person. A lot of people believe you have to be funny to do improv, but it’s a misconception. Being a good improviser has nothing to do with being naturally funny. It has to do with being able to actively listen in a scene.

When we tell other performers that they should “get out of their head,” we mean they shouldn't focus or overthink what they're doing. Everything they need to know is coming from their scene partner. Anything the other person gives you onstage is a gift, so it is important to be attentive to what they're saying the whole time. That's listening. It means hearing not only what their saying but how they are saying it. Nonverbals are the majority of what gets communicated when people talk, which includes, facial expression, gesture, posture and tone of voice. Nonverbal cues reveal more about a person’s thoughts and feelings than verbal cues. All of these speak volumes when you really listen.

Listening is a learning process and to be able to listen onstage also has benefits not just on stage but off stage. For instance, at one point or another we are all guilty of doing this: you are out with some friends, someone tells a story, and while they are talking we think of something that their story reminds us of instead of tuning in to the rest of their story. So we end up waiting for them to finish their story just so we can jump in with our own. In that moment you are not listening. You are hearing just enough so you can respond.

When we’re not actively listening we miss important details, cues, or opportunities to be inspired. Learning how to listen helps us become better improvisers and enhances interpersonal communication in our relationships whenever people are talking both on and offstage.