Book Review

Like the sales book, the Little Red Book of Selling: 12.5 Principles of Sales Greatness--How to make sales FOREVER that we reviewed in a previous newsletter (Link to the Volume 2, No. 2 newsletter), the word "Teacher" can be substituted in most sentences of this book and the message (recommendation, suggestion, instruction) applies to teachers.

The Books' Topics:

The book offers suggestions for "winging it" in most situations. After you prepare, set the groundwork; you rely on your creativity, inspiration and talent. You will be amazed at your abilities if you apply these strategies…

• Say Yes


• Don't Prepare


• Start Anywhere


• Be Average


• Pay Attention


• Face the Facts


• Stay on Course


• Make Mistakes


• Act Now


• Take Care of Each Other


• Enjoy the Ride

The central themes of this book are:

You possess the skills, talents and abilities to "fly by the seat of your pants", and, in many cases, the outcomes will be better than if you "played it safe" and avoided risk.

• Your talents and abilities are better than you know


• Your creative abilities spring up, and seem to always be available when you need them


• Other people respond to spontaneity with compassion, kindness, empathy and caring


• The "playing it safe way" bores your audiences


• Improvising puts you in contact with your audience (students), and creates a mutual dialog during your performance (teaching)

Keywords:

• Improv, Improvisation


• Creative Intelligence


• Communication and Presentation


• Creative Performance

Main Idea:

Improv Wisdom is a how-to manual and a workbook. Key concepts, exercises, and a rationale for thinking and acting in creative and self-supporting ways are outlined.

Master teaching relies on just the pattern of communication and behavioral skills that the author presents Teachers must adopt the flexibility, listening skills, honesty and "leaning from mistakes" strategies that the author presents or they will never become master teachers. Creativity, problem-solving, and intuitive decisions only spring from the stress-free freedom of thought and action that the author describes.

The ideas and actions that the author presents, if put into daily practice by teachers, can

Modeling "improv" behaviors and actions, and helping students build a repertoire of the same skills would serve education (and the lives of our students) far more than stressing students with the need to "perfect" their test-taking performance.

Quotes:

"I know that improvisation has nothing to do with glibness, or comic ability. A good improviser is someone who is awake, not entirely self-focused, and moved by desire to do something useful and give something back and who acts upon impulse." (p. - 15)

"They are can do people…There is a spirit of cooperation. If I forget something, my colleague covers me…We smile and laugh a lot. we rarely need committee meetings to decide things. We do stuff. We make mistakes, sometimes whoppers. We correct them, or we capitalize on them.We notice how much others are doing for us. We have fun. We screw up; we apologize. We get on one another's' nerves sometimes. We move on. We create life and art together." (p. - 17)

"Everyone, unless performing a scripted play, makes up his life as he goes along. We are all improvising. Why not do it like a professional? Improvisation is a metaphor, a path, and a system; it is a modus operandi [italics added] that anyone can learn." (p. - 18)

"…we find ourselves nearly strangled by the planning instinct…We plan when we should execute. We make lists, worry, or theorize (often endlessly) when we ought to be responding. We choose safety above all else. We seem to have lost the knack of looking at the day with fresh eyes or doing anything out of our comfort zone. " (p. - 21)

"An excellent manual for swimming is useless until you jump into the pool. Getting wet is what it is all about. " (p. - 23)

"Keep in mind that improvisation is a tool that should always be put into service with a healthy dose of common sense. It is a way of doing things that emphasizes a flexible mind and a sense of humor; it is not a scientific method…A successful life involves both planning and improvising…That is, life brings us opportunities, questions, and problems to solve, and we respond in real time, trying to make sense out of each challenge or offer." (p. - 24)

"PICES MORTUI SOLUM CUM FLUMINE NATANT. ('Only dead fish go with the flow.')" (p. - 25)

"Saying yes (and following through with support) prevents you from committing a cardinal sin -- blocking. Blocking comes in many forms; it is a way of trying to control the situation instead of accepting it We block when we say no, when we have a better idea, when we change the subject, when we correct the speaker, when we fail to listen, or when we simply ignore the situation…For many of us, the habit is so ingrained that we do not notice that we are doing it." (p. - 29)

"Give up planning. Clear your mind instead of filling it. Don't spend your energy in preparing for the future. Redirect it to the present moment. Instead of packing, show up empty-handed but alert, cheerful, and ready to receive unexpected gifts. Change the habit of getting ready for life in favor of getting on with it now." (p. - 35)

"Instead of preparing an outcome, ready yourself for whatever may come. Open your eyes, breathe fully, and attend to just this moment…Substitute attention for preparation. Then you will be working in real time. Focusing attention on the present puts you in touch with a kind of natural wisdom. When you enter the moment with heightened awareness, what you need to do becomes obvious. You discover that you already have the answers. Each of us is full of the images, words, solutions, advice, stories. Trust your imagination. Trust your mind. Allow yourself to be surprised. " (p. - 38 & 39)

"Performance anxiety comes from excessive self-focus. 'Everyone is looking at me. I am not good enough. What if I fail? What will everyone think of me if I make a mistake?…This line of thinking is misguided, anyway. They want you to succeed, to do well. Rarely are you being judged. It is more likely that they are cheering for you and tolerant of mistakes or miscues." (p. - 41 & 42)

"There is no need to find the right starting place. With a big task or a confusing problem, when you don't know where to start, begin with the most obvious thing, whatever is in front of you. The notion that there is such a thing as a proper beginning, and the search to find the ideal starting place robs us of time. We distance ourselves front eh task, and the vision of what it will take to do it makes tackling the job seem mountainous. " (p. - 53)

"Giving it all you've got commonly backfires. There is a paradox that when we are trying hard the result is often disappointing. A healthier climate is one in which we tell ourselves to just be average. Take the pressure off. Avoid the mind-set that says 'This one better be good!' or 'Be original.'
When you try too hard to do your best, the effect on your performance is often to jinx it. In all cases there is something to loose. This can provoke tension and easily lead to anxiety." (p. - 60 & 61)

"Giving up perfection is the first step; the next is to stop trying to come up with something different. Striving for an original idea takes us away from our everyday intelligence, and it can actually block access to the creative process. " (p. - 62)

"The most consistent road to unhappiness that I know comes from turning a blind eye to reality…Wising things were different (or that I was different) simply wastes time. The improviser can't afford unrealistic thinking. Instead, she builds bridges over rocky terrain and turn lemons into lemonade. She works with what is actually in front of her, setting aside the temptation to dwell on what is not. " (p. - 78)

"Wishing others would change is another way we avoid facing reality. Other people's behavior often gets on my nerves. I long for them to behave differently. Usually they don't, of course. I need to accept these differences and get on with the show. " (p. - 79)

Issues Addressed by the Book:

Overcoming stress and talking (performing) with confidence are the focus of this book. Eliminating self-defeating attitudes and beliefs, such as procrastination, a need for perfection, and a self-centered focus during conversations are other themes.

Taking action, doing instead of worrying and blocking effective learning are other themes. Acting with spontaneity, making mistakes and moving on, listening in the present and doing whatever seems like it needs doing are other skills that the author suggests.

The Book's Shortcomings:

The book does not have any shortcoming because the book does not address the situations that many teachers face in the restrictive environments that they work in. If this was a book geared for teachers, this would be a shortcoming.

Comments:

The author identifies three methods of viewing reality:

• The critical method: the self is involved


• The objective method: the self and others disappear


• Seeing situations as a gift: others are involved

The author also provides a "what to do" roadmap for improving the delivery of creative instruction, i.e., by providing step-by-step correction of false assumptions (such as the "everyone is looking at me and waiting for me to make a mistake myth") and the suggestion to take action, even if you make mistakes. Mistakes are crucial for the deep learning that a master teacher needs to perfect the craft of teaching.

That teachers work in a bureaucratic environment that is "mistake adverse"

Summary:

Improv Wisdom is a book that teachers need to apply as part of their daily self-improvement plan.

And, teachers need to model the attitudes, skills, assumptions and techniques for their students. If fact, the "improv" skills that the author describes will serve students more in their lives than any of the test-taking skills that most schools emphasize now.

Speaking and acting in the moment, speaking and thinking creatively, responding in real time to the situation, listening to others and trusting them are skills that build success in any (and every) career or vocation.

Sidebar

It is easy to believe that a hermit or a politician might not need improv skills to be successful, but this assumption is in error. In fact, the hermit who depends upon only themselves must live in a constant problem-solving, creative state of mind in order to survive.

In the case of politicians, the skills of listening, answering real questions, speaking from the heart, making mistakes and asking for support would be such "breath-of-fresh-air" qualities that the politician would endear themselves to their constituents. If only the "tow-the-party-line", "spin everything", "promise-the-moon-but-deliver-excuses", "blame the opposition", and "stand for what the polls indicate is popular today" were replaced by honest communication.

Teachers, like politicians, need to learn how to "buck the system" and communicate and act from the core of their authentic selves.

Rating (Four Point scale):