Improv is facilitation?

I had a conversation with a friend about facilitation. How you need to maintain a neutral process holding role, and how it’s sometimes a challenge to keep your own thinking from influencing the participants. 

Afterwards I reflected on how facilitating a workshop (in person, digital, hybrid it doesn’t matter), is a time for (dare I say) mindfulness.

You are observing and capturing what’s being spoken (or not) from the people around you. And you have awareness of your own thoughts on the matter.

You must be present and focused to hear the participants, and your own thoughts as well, so that you can guide the facilitation properly. 

  It reminds me of my favorite quote (at the moment). 

You are not the voice of the mind, you are the one that hears it.

In long form Improv, you create something from nothing with your partners. Try Middleditch and Schwartz on Netflix for a good example of long form. 

We enter a scene almost blankly. Almost because it’s good to bring an attitude or affectation or world view into the scene in your head and weave that in where appropriate as you play with your scene partner(s). 

But you come into the scene and must listen. Push away everything and listen deeply. Then react and build on top of the ideas.

Perhaps you and your partners are co-facilitating a scene? Too much of a stretch?