Lead with your heart

I took a wonderful Improv workshop today, Improvising Emotionally, with Rebekka Johnson. It provided another tool to assist me in relinquishing control: Lead not with your head, but with your heart.

Much of what I learned is applicable when using story to connect with your listeners:

• The details are in the emotion.
• Don't expand plot, but raise stakes by heightening emotion.
• We are here to see these characters have an important moment in their lives.

Show, don't tell.

Rebekka also pointed out that, when Improvising, "the thing you want to do most is always in the room." That reminds me of the Buddhist saying, "This is the only moment in which you can find the answers in life."