Pay Attention! 5 Tips for Improving Your Attention Span

LISTENING is one of the rules of improv. When you watch an improvised scene, it is immediately obvious when someone in the scene has missed something important. You'll see an actor call another character by the wrong name, or walk through that imaginary wall that was established earlier in the scene. It takes the audience out of the scene, because they ARE listening and it bothers them when another actor in the scene is NOT! It gives the audience the impression that the actor who wasn't paying attention is just too self-important to be bothered with listening to the other players.

The same goes for the "real world". When you aren't paying attention, people NOTICE! Don't fool yourself into thinking that they don't!

When we apply the rules of improv to the "real world" I always expand the improv rule of listening to include PAYING ATTENTION to everything: conversations, presentations, body language, emails -you name it. We need to pay attention to everything.

Seriously! Haven't we ALL been in that meeting with the annoying goober who doesn't have a CLUE about what's going on? You know who I'm talking about, the person who obviously ignored the email that was sent out, pre-meeting with the subject line: PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING. That person inevitably asks long-winded questions that they THINK make them look important/involved but really, they are just revealing their ignorance on the topic! Oh, and they're usually late to the meeting, too!

To make matters worse, that goober is paying such LITTLE attention that they don't even notice the rolling of the eyes, the gnashing of the teeth and the overall FRUSTRATED body language from their peers. Am I right?

Paying attention can be taught, just like any other skill. At every improv class I teach, at least half the exercises we do are designed to increase focus and attention.

If you suspect that you aren't great at paying attention here are some tips to get BETTER at it:

1. Take an improv class -seriously, there are many options out there.
2. Block out a half hour before meetings to review any notes/emails that were sent prior to the meeting, in fact, as soon as you get a meeting invitation, block out your calendar so you can do this.
3. Take NOTES. Evernote is a great tool, I use it on ALL my devices so I can always review.
4. Focus on the speaker, not on your reply. Comment on what the speaker has just said INSTEAD of bringing up a new talking point or starting a new conversation.
5. Start being brutally honest; the pain of 'fessing up to not remembering a name, key point, meeting, etc is one of the the best ways to train yourself to pay more attention!

Just Do It

"Just Do It" is really much more than an advertising slogan. It truly is a call to action.

Doing is active. Thinking is passive.

How many of your friends talk endlessly about their dreams but never make even one step?

Or, are YOU that friend? Endlessly talking and thinking but never doing?

Doing -to me- means making one step and then another.

You want to be a writer? Then write. Every day. The act of writing makes you a writer. Getting published is icing on the cake. But, you cannot get published if you only THINK about writing. The most prolific writes just get up and do it. Like a job. Every day.

You want a gorgeous garden? Then plant something. Watch it grow. Nurture it. Water it. Then plant something else.

DO.

Being Brave

We are given enough stories of heroes in the media that I think we begin to believe that you have to do something HUGE to be considered "brave". I think it is the other way around, I think it is the small stuff. Every day, putting yourself out there -pushing beyond your comfort zone. My mantra has been, "If it scares me, I should probably do it."

I use that as a litmus test when I get an idea and decide to try something new in my show; sometimes it works great. Sometimes it flops. But, I was brave enough to try.

I currently have a group of adults taking my improv class for non-actors. Every WEEK they show up. They are brave and funny and open and they try everything I suggest. Next week, they have a showcase performance. These non-performers are ready, willing and able to put themselves onstage, in front of an audience. They are heroes to me. They are so brave.

I have friends who have left a lousy job situation and forged out on their own -creating their own work. They are heroes to me. They are so brave.

What are you doing today to be brave??

Please, Stay Inside the Box

How many times have you witnessed a leader, hopped up on caffeine, standing in front of a room and exhorting everyone to, "think outside the box, people,"??

What does that mean, exactly? I think when a leader says "think-outisde-the-box" that, they don't really know what they want.

I think that those leaders sense that their endeavor needs to move in a new, fresh, different or exciting direction-but they don't know how to effectively guide people to that amazing place.

So, basically that leader is saying, "I've run out of ideas. Impress me."

Most people have enough anxiety about coming up with any ideas but, when forced to impress, they shut down completely.

In the end, the leader walks away, thinking he/she is surrounded by lazy-good-for-nothing-slackers except that one person. That one suck-up person who knows everyone, listens in on every conversation and isn't shy about sharing anyone and everyone's private ideas with the big cheese. The leader loves that person and can fall down the rabbit hole after that person - just because that person was confident and stupid enough to "think outside the box".

I think JCPenney is a great example of outside the box thinking that went awry. Their "box" was creating great sales that customers loved. They moved outside their box and decided to just price things as low as they could and end their sales. They tried to move into WalMart's "box" of low prices and it has failed miserably. Why didn't JCP just take their "box" and make it even more amazing for their customers? Bigger sales? Better sales? More creative sales??

People think that improv is a crazy, free-for-all, when really, there are specific rules and parameters. Those rules allow the improviser to know where the edges are and keep the entire scene from running off the rails. I think there's so much more focused power in being as creative as possible inside the box!

Here is a fabulous video to illustrate the power of staying INSIDE the box, using your limitations to inspire excellence:

Power

How often do we believe we are powerLESS when, really, we are just on a necessary journey and need to do the work, go through the steps, get the witch's broom before we APPRECIATE the reward.

Think about it, Dorothy wouldn't have appreciated home if she hadn't gone through her adventures. If she hadn't FOUGHT for what she wanted. If Glinda had sent her back in the first five technicolor minutes then Dot wouldn't have learned that she could do anything, even melt a witch.

So, before you think you are powerless, try taking a step back and realize that you are on a journey TO power!