What do people dislike more than job interviews? Public speaking, especially extemporaneous speaking.
One example of extemporaneous speaking is improvisation. Most of us know improv from its stage version, where a team of comic actors creates a storyline from a word or idea tossed out by the audience. Most of us would rather jump off the high dive in cement shoes than take part in improvisation.
Three authors–Mark Bergren, Molly Cox and Jim Detmar–want to change that viewpoint. They believe that improvisation can be key to improving business and personal relationships, and a tool for self-growth.
Their book, “Improvise This! How to Think on Your Feet so You Don’t Fall on Your Face” (Hyperion, $22.95), combines anecdotes and do-it-yourself exercises in a primer on the basic tenets of improvisation.
The book is an outgrowth of the trio’s corporate training company, Out of the Blue, which is based in Minneapolis and Los Angeles. It is aimed at people in work settings. Yet, many concepts are applicable to job search situations, particularly interviews. Author Molly Cox says, “People are hiring more on personality than ever.” This fits well with one goal of improvisation, which she says is “to be more of yourself, to be relaxed.”
The problem is that most job seekers have had the personality bleached out of them by the time they get to the interview. The tendency is to become whatever it is the employer seems to be looking for.
Here are some points from the book that apply to a job-search situation:
– Unscripted does not mean unprepared. To be ready for the verbal exchange of an interview means being able to present the right information in the right context. That is what most job seekers practice in advance of an interview.
One technique is visualization. What would a day on this job be like? What will the interview actually be like? Putting yourself into situations mentally can help you prepare for them in reality.
More concrete version visualization calls for a physical rehearsal. If you practice introducing yourself to office managers, accepting or rejecting offered beverages, chatting with interviewers on the walk down a long hallway and all the other minute but nerve-wracking details of an interview, you will feel more comfortable in the real situation. This practice, of course, will be more useful if you find real people to play the other parts.
– Stay in the moment. It is easy–and disastrous–to carry the imprint of past interviews or worries about the next interviews into the current conversation. One advantage of improv training, the authors say, is the ability to focus on what is happening now. That heightened clarity allows you to listen more actively, respond more appropriately and be more relaxed in the present moment.