The 5 Big Ideas:

• The incredible power of “Yes, and”

• We don’t realize how often we block others in our lives

• Sometimes we need to stop our constant planning (and worrying) and live in the present

• In any conversation, stop trying to think of something clever to say. Just be present and the conversation will flow naturally

• Avoid perfectionism

My Highlights From the Book:

The incredible power of “Yes, and”:

The world of yes may be the single most powerful secret of improvising. It allows players who have no history with one another to create a scene effortlessly, telepathically. Safety lies in knowing your partner will go along with whatever idea you present… Don’t confuse this with being a “yes-man,” implying mindless pandering. Saying yes is an act of courage and optimism; it allows you to share control. It is a way to make your partner happy. Yes expands your world.

We don’t realize how often we block others in our lives:

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. The critic in us wakes up and runs the show. Saying no is the most common way we attempt to control the future.

Sometimes we need to stop our constant planning (and worrying) and live in the present:

We often substitute planning, ruminating, or list-making for actually doing something about our dreams. Hence, the Boy Scout motto, the insurance industry, and a world of to-do-list software. The habit of excessive planning impedes our ability to see what is actually in front of us. The mind that is occupied is missing the present

In any conversation, stop trying to think of something clever to say. Just be present and the conversation will flow naturally:

To improvise, it is essential that we use the present moment efficiently. An instant of distraction—searching for a witty line, for example —robs us of our investment in what is actually happening. We need to know everything about this moment. Instead of preparing an outcome, ready yourself for whatever may come. Open your eyes, breathe fully, and attend to just this moment. Make it your world. Allow planning or thinking-ahead thoughts to pass through if they occur. If your mind gets absorbed in these thoughts (“stockpiling,” I call it), redirect your attention to a detail in the immediate environment.

Avoid perfectionism:

“The poet William Stafford used to rise every morning at four and write a poem. Somebody said to him, ‘But surely you can’t write a good poem every day, Bill. What happens then?’ ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘then I lower my standards.’ Three great lessons here—practice your art every day, lower your standards, and claim a time or place or an attitude that will challenge your bourgeois idea of reality.

Giving up on 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.