Life does not unfold the way we intend it to. Nearly every situation turns out differently from what you anticipate on. In other words, we constantly have to improvise from one moment to the next. Improv play will help you prepare for the unknown ahead.

Where's the art? Of all art forms, acting is the one that we witness the most in our lives through television and internet. Improvisation is a sub-genre of acting that has become an art form on its own.

Improvisational play can teach you a lot: You learn to adapt, speed up your reaction process and, most importantly, to accept failure.

Learn to adapt

In improvisational play, you enter a scene with a certain mindset. You have a clear view on how to handle the situation. Then, all of a sudden, another actor heads in a different direction. You have to throw your concept overboard and improvise on the spot to retake control over the scene. You learn to adapt and shape situations more easily.

Practice makes perfect

The more you do improvisational play, the better you become at it. As a side-effect, you'll learn to react faster when faced with unexpected situations. In the end, you'll find yourself quick-witted and very resourceful when needed.

Learn to accept failure

In his TED Talk, improviser and storyteller Dave Morris claims that failing is easy, but accepting failure is not. Improvisational play allows you to experiment in a safe way. This creates room for failure. You learn to let it go and carry on. There’s no one right way to do improv, so go ahead and keep trying new things.

How about adding improvisation to your workday? You can plan a short improv-session with your team before, after or even during work hours. It’s a fun and engaging way to improve a skillset that will definitely come in handy. Read the rules of improvisation here.

Find out more about the power of improvisation by watching Dave Morris’ TED Talk The Way Of Improvisation.