Sometimes I truly think that the greatest gift a person could give themselves is to take an improv class. You know, improvised sketch comedy—the kind made famous by the TV series Whose Line is it Anyway?—in which there are no scripts, no plans, just a whole lot of fun. It’s a gift not just because it’s a barrel of laughs, but because it’s such amazing training for life. Learning how to let go of control and an attachment to “the plan”; how to be present to what is happening and listen more carefully to the people around you; how to trust yourself to try things and not be afraid of falling on your face. Making it up as we go along… isn’t that what we’re all doing all the time?
Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram are VERY good at making it up as they go along. Second City Alumni, creators of the smash-hit 2024 stage show Big Stuff, and longtime comedy veterans, they’re a delight to chat with. And it was really cool to hear how all the shenanigans they go through doing improv on stage actually impact the way they handle stress and uncertainty in their real, offstage lives. The more uncertainty we come up against and get through, the more comfortable we get with all the other uncertainty that life throws at us.
I hope you enjoy the podcast this week! At the very least, I know it’ll make you smile.
This week’s Unknown:
I just did something I’ve never done before: I led a group of radio hosts in doing something they’d never done before. Yes, I took my love of the unscripted and unknown and turned it into a workshop for live broadcasters.
I got my first job in radio after the morning man at CJAD in Montreal —dear old George Balcan, RIP—saw me performing live improv onstage. “You’re quick on your feet, you should meet my program director,” he said. “Because after all, live radio is improv.”
These are not the radio hosts I worked with but our group looked equally silly—and happy!
All these years of live broadcasting later, with George Balcan’s words ringing in my head, I put together a workshop for radio hosts to help them get more comfortable with the inevitable spontaneity and unscripted moments that happen pretty much every day when you’re live on the air. We played improv games, pulled absolute nonsense out of thin air, and talked about how we could apply that open mindedness and “Yes, And…” mentality to live interviews and unscripted conversations.
There’s a lot of self-consciousness to overcome when being silly and spontaneous, especially with your colleagues. But the freedom that comes once we do pays huge dividends. I had to do it too. I have loads of experience with unscripted play and improv games, but I’d never led a Zoom workshop! I wasn’t at all sure how this whole thing would go over with the group. But I took the leap. I figured the worst that could happen would be being embarrassed in front of my peers, but also having some fun and learning a lot. I decided not to care about the first option and I definitely succeeded at the other two.
Baram & Snieckus would be proud.
This week’s Love Affair
If your love affair with the unknown includes a little terra incognita, a new book I’m excited about will embolden you for more.
In his 2025 book The Explorer’s Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavours, and Blank Spots on the Map, New York Times bestselling author Alex Hutchinson shares gripping stories of out-on-a-limb exploration, combined with the latest neuroscience research showing that exploration of any kind—cooking with new ingredients, learning a new language, or leaping onto a new career track—has always been an essential part of human life.
In other words, folks, uncertainty is what makes us grow as individuals and what keeps our species evolving and progressing. Hmmm, we might need to get Alex Hutchinson on the podcast…
Onward—something to consider:
What would it look like to let go of the plan today? To change up what you though you ought to do because it’s what you’ve always done?
Try it and tell me how it goes!
Failing that, you could always consider signing up for an improv class;) If you do I definitely want pictures.
Thanks, as always, for reading and for listening!
Gill
Share this post