Let’s go analog physics for a moment (as one does).
Suppose we set three wind-up metronomes at random phases on a board resting on two soda cans. Within a minute or two they will tick together. The board connects them into one system, and that system doesn’t want to have conflicting vibrations, and so the board naturally guides the pendulums to sync their oscillation and thereby minimize the conflict.
This phenomenon is called “mutual phase locking,” and it’s not just for metronomes:
- If you put two heart cells from two different people on a microscope slide, initially they will beat at different rates, but eventually they sync up and beat in the same rhythm.
- Fireflies have no intrinsic rhythm at all in isolation, yet in a swarm the insects synchronize with their neighbors into a 12-second burst cycle.
- An audience starts with loud incoherent clapping, then suddenly locks in, after which everyone claps at the same instant and the same rate.
Improv teaches us to connect with one another in this way because we are more successful when the collection of individuals becomes one system.
The first step to achieving this state is to become aware of when you’re connected to each other. This is a feeling you learn to sense. It’s somewhat like the feeling of meditation, only it’s a social, moving meditative state the entire team tunes into.
The way it works is that in doing initial improv exercises and warm-ups, there’s a point where the group starts to come together. This happens when everyone:
- Makes eye contact
- Uses open body language
- Listens and observes carefully
- Prioritizes the ideas of other people
- Contributes honestly
- Notices and uses patterns that evolve
When this happens, it’s obvious. Words and movements flow more quickly, smiles and laughter come easily, and suddenly you realize that the room is “warm” because we’re in sync.
Here’s the vibe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlYIyKic3w8