Improv Foundations - from The Ultimate Improv Book. (Nevraumont & Hanson)

Accept everything.

For a scene to be entertaining and exciting, players must accept all new ideas 
presented by their teammates, the audience and themselves. Failure to accept 
new ideas is often referred to as "blocking." Blocking occurs so often because 
players find themselves comfortable in their starting situation, and the 
acceptance of new ideas forces players to abandon their realm of comfort and 
jump into a new, unpredictable situation. Players must realize that real 
entertainment can only be created once new elements are introduced into the 
scene and these new elements are introduced by accepting all new ideas.

The most obvious method of blocking new ideas is by saying "no," but it’s not 
the only way:

BETTY: I have some shrimp for you, like you asked

VAHID: I want salmon

BETTY: (not blocking) Oh yes, salmon, and with it your favourite wine.

VAHID: I don’t like wine.

BETTY: (trying her best) In that case, this fine glass of water.

VAHID: I’m not thirsty.

I this example, all of the action is generated by Betty. Vahid is killing all 
of Betty’s ideas in a more indirect method than simply stating "no."

Players must also accept a new idea in a full and complete manner. Consider 
Will’s half acceptance of Mary’s statement:

MARY: You appear to be moving your arms like a bird flaps its wings.

WILL: I’m just limbering up. I get sore after I work out.

Mary’s comment to Will involved two elements: "arm movements" and "birds." 
Will had an infinite number of ways to accept Mary’s statement involving both 
elements - maybe Will is a bird in disguise in a mission to kidnap human 
beings; maybe Will is in love with birds and wants to be one; maybe Will is a 
former airplane pilot who lost his plane and now wants to fly himself; or maybe 
Will is in training to be Batman’s sidekick Robin. A number of possibilities 
for acceptance existed, but each of these possibilities forced Will to enter 
the world of the unknown. Instead of leaping forward by accepting the whole 
idea, Will opted to only half accept the idea of Mary’s. (He accepted "arm 
movements" but failed to accept the "bird" aspect.)

Note that blocking ideas is often funny. Outright rejections of other people’s 
ideas is the basis for a number of comdeians. Failure to accept a new idea may 
create entertainment for the moment, but is slows down and complicates the 
scene, negatively affecting it in the long run.



Always look for the bright side.

Once a player is comfortable with the concept of accepting everything, they 
should learn how to accept new ideas in a positive manner.

ANDY: How was the movie?

STAVROS: It kind of sucked. I didn’t like it.

Stavros has accepted Andy’s new idea, but she has drained the energy of the 
scene. When a player is faced with a choice on how to accept a new idea, in 
general the player should make it a positive one. If one player begins a scene
 by spray painting a wall, another player entering as a police officer should 
comment on the amazing artistry of the graffiti, rather than criticizing him 
for poor use of colour.

Being positive is scary. Players often possess a natural tendency to act in a 
negative manner, because it shields them from risk. Being positive is important 
to improv because it makes vibrant and entertaining scenes. When Stavros said 
the movie "kind of sucked," she kept herself safe by failing to commit to an 
opinion. If Starvos said, "it was the best movie ever made. It changed my life.
Nothing could ever be better!" she would have made the scene exciting and 
interesting, but increased her own personal risk. What if Andy had 
responded, "I would not have though a move about snails could have been that 
good." The scene would grow more interesting, because Stavros entered into 
unknown territory – something which is hard to do. 

Taking the effort to make positive ideas happen is the mark of a player 
overcoming an inborn handicap to avoid risk.