I’ve been listening to Tina Fey’s book Bossypants and it’s great. I also read Amy Poehler’s Yes, Please! and enjoyed that immensely. It’s so refreshing to read comedy and not self-help which has been my genre of choice for over a decade now. I love that these two women are so generous with their stories and sharing how they went from point A to point Z. I love that they also both talk about the nuts and bolts of improv comedy and how they boil it down to:

Yes, and then…

I love this for many reasons. One reason is that I like to have a formula for everything. If I can make sense of it in my head, I can play with it in so many different ways and come up with new ways of working the same idea. I have found this to be the same way with grammar, math, cooking, sewing, makeup, self grooming… there’s a process. As long as you know what that is, then you can fly like the wind with it!

Yes and then is all about accepting what the situation that you and the other person(s) have come up and then adding additional information to keep the story and momentum moving forward. This is so great, and it works! I feel like it’s a habit to get into, rather than just commenting, commenting in a way that moves things forward allows for flow! Flow feels great for everyone involved!

It’s awesome to hear that in action as I listen to Tiny Fey. I love that she has a way of using that system and weaving in serious topics and then lightening it up and throwing a joke in, all the while, planting a seed of thought and possibly change. It’s brilliant. It doesn’t feel preachy, it feels like flow, it feels easy, it feels accessible. I feel like this book is a MUST read for me, and I am glad I am doing just that! I have a feeling this is going to really help me in the long run with my own story telling. Also, I feel like it’s almost a way of living life that I already am aligned with, it feels very helpful, and in some improv scenes it can be radically inclusive!