This is a list for new improv teachers concerning some of the traps I see people falling into as they start out on their facilitation journey.

I want to make it clear that this isn’t coming from a place of superiority on my part. I have done many of these things. On a bad day, I continue to do them without thinking.

It’s merely a selection of advice I wish I’d had when I was starting out. It’s not exhaustive or complete in any way and it’s skewed firmly towards my ideals and values in improv.

Nonetheless, I hope it’s useful.

1. Don’t make the class entirely about you

Students are there to learn from you. You are a major draw. But you are not the only reason they come to class. Improv students want to get to know each other. And hear each other’s opinions. Community is an important aspect of improv study. If you immediately start talking about yourself and don’t stop for the duration of class, they will leave without getting to know each other at all. That feels like a wasted opportunity. Ask open questions intended to promote discussion between members of the class. Don’t consistently insert yourself as the nexus point of all discussion. Does that make sense? or Do you understand? are not open questions intended to provoke more debate.

Put in a break in the middle of class. Let people sit down and digest what you’ve said or chat with a friend. Allow students to take care of themselves. This isn’t an endurance sport, it’s an improv class.

2. Don’t ask people to be vulnerable without setting boundaries

Good theatre comes from artists willing to give of themselves. To expose vulnerabilities and interrogate deeply held beliefs in front of each other. Don’t expect people to get to this point without clearly establishing boundaries and accommodations first. Take the time to have the talk before the work begins. How are people feeling today? Are there any topics that you’d prefer to put off limits? What can the class do to help support you today? There’s a popular idea (rooted in bullshit macho art-is-suffering culture) that you have to tear yourself apart in order to make great art. That simply isn’t true. It’s never been true. Great art comes from trust, support and a willingness to be honest with each other.

3. Don’t throw new improv terminology around without explaining it

If you have new terminology to share - make sure you have the time to explain it clearly. Don’t use it as a stick to beat your students with. Good pedagogy involves the sharing of knowledge so that everyone can use and pass on the new tools it provides. It isn’t about inducting people into a elite and gate-keeping entry with a secret shared language. Explain clearly that these are new words for easily understood concepts. Walk them through it with kindness and consideration. Don’t act like your particular flavour of improv is some sort of cheat code to the universe. You are not L Ron Hubbard.

4. Answer the question you were asked and admit when you don’t know something

Have a really good handle on the concepts you are teaching. Don’t stick to a polished script (the irony). When people ask a question, engage with that query in good faith. Don’t try to outsmart them or make them lose confidence in their opinion. Explain clearly what you mean and be consistent across the class. Students will notice if you contradict yourself from one question to the next. Improv is about encountering each other in the present moment and reacting truthfully and organically. If that’s what you’re teaching then you simply have to model that in your pedagogy. Have the courtesy to meet the student where they are - not where you need them to be in order to use your favourite zinger.

5. Don’t side coach every moment of a scene

This is a big one for me - instructors side coaching scenes in such minute detail that a student can barely say a single line before they are stopped, corrected, realigned and asked to repeat from the beginning. I can see the utility of this approach in scripted work, but for improv it kills the last glimmer of joy and spontaneity. It is imposing yourself on the work to an unhealthy degree. Don’t act like your powers of observation are so acute that you unfailingly know what’s happening in the minds of your students. And for gods sake don’t argue with them when they tell you outright what they were thinking. You don’t get to debate someone else’s inner life.

6. Don’t insult other styles of improv in front of students

Don’t make yourself look better by bad-mouthing other styles of improv. Just don’t.

It is not classy thing to do and it damages the art form in the long term. You can’t lionise yourself by diminishing others. It’s not a zero sum game.

We can all be right about what makes us subjectively love improv. And we can do that without taking pot shots at each other.