Improv Comedy and Modern Marketing Education: Exploring Consequences for Divergent Thinking, Self-Efficacy, and Collaboration

Abstract

<jats:p> In an era of constant connectedness—from Twitter tweets to the 24-hour news cycle—the need for marketers to be nimble and responsive to the needs of consumers and ever-evolving markets is greater than ever before. Indeed, being able to be “in the moment” and to react instantaneously demands a different kind of training and education than the slower paced, carefully constructed, and casually timed marketing campaigns of yesterday. Improvisational comedy and its tenets—agreement (“Yes, and . . . ”); be you (and know that you are enough); make bold, unexpected choices—require a comparable, in-the-moment mind-set that encourages group collaboration, positive self-efficacy, and the ability to generate creative ideas without hesitation. Two studies show that improvisational training has positive consequences for group collaboration, self-efficacy, and divergent thinking, skills essential for modern marketing roles. First, an exploratory study of the general population reveals preliminary links between improvisation familiarity and the aforementioned marketing skills, as well as between a brief improv manipulation and divergent thinking. Second, a follow-up study using actual students in a 10-week improvisation course confirms causal relationships between long-term improv training and group collaboration, self-efficacy, and divergent thinking. Effect sizes are large and endure even 4 months following the improv training. </jats:p>

Improvisation as a Teaching Tool for Improving Oral Communication Skills in Premedical and Pre-Biomedical Graduate Students

“…Other assessments include a study of undergraduates who had participated in a 10-week improvisation course as compared to those enrolled in a 10-week consumer behavior course. 2 Here, students with improvisation training were found to score higher in tasks requiring divergent thinking and reported improved perceptions about group collaboration. Similarly, graduate-level nutrition and dietetic students who experienced medical improvisation via its incorporation into traditional coursework reported an increase in their self-reported skills in collaboration and flexibility as well as increases in their self-confidence.…”

“…For example, business schools utilize theatre improvisation to build community and encourage risk-taking 5 as well as enhance self-efficacy and group collaboration. 2 Graduate schools use improvisation to improve the ability of PhD students to communicate their research to those outside of their scientific disciplines. 6 A number of healthcare professional programs have also embraced theatre improvisation.…”

“…1 An increased appreciation of the value of theatre improvisation for enhancing communication skills has led to its incorporation into a variety of academic programs focused on preparing students for careers in life sciences, healthcare and business. Its successful integration into existing programs requires a good understanding of its basic tenets, which are described as follows: 2 (1) "Don't deny". In adhering to this concept, the improviser signals a willingness to participate in a spirit of collaboration.…”

Simulating the Cognitive Leap Using Brainwriting

“…We invited participants to provide solutions in free‐text fields. These solutions were subsequently assigned randomly to other participants for their input, and to build and improve the concepts received using the improvisation theater technique of “yes and …”(Crossan, 1998; Moshavi, 2001; Mourey, 2020). Participants could further refine and adjust their ideas before final submission.…”

Validated Interpersonal Confidence Questionnaire To Measure The Impact Of Improvisation Training

“…Drinko (2013b) and Lobman (2006) argue that improvisation enhances listening skills and situation-focused sensitivity, leading https://doi.org /10.15405/epiceepsy.21101.1 Corresponding Author: Sirke Seppänen Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the conference eISSN: 2672-8141 3 to a heightened perception of subtle verbal and nonverbal cues from pupils and, ultimately, to better ensemble collaboration. Furthermore, medical education (Gao et al, 2018;Hoffmann-Longtin et al, 2018), clinical social work and psychotherapy (Romanelli et al, 2017;Romanelli & Tishby, 2019), marketing skills (Mourey, 2020), public speaking competence (Casteleyn, 2019), and organisational creativity (West et al, 2017) have all reportedly benefitted from improvisation training.…”