Improve Your Communication Skills with Improv

Effective communication is a skill that benefits everyone, from professionals to students. One powerful yet often overlooked way to develop it is through improv for communication skills.

Improv is short for improvisational theater. It’s a type of live performance where actors create the dialogue, plot, and characters on the spot, without a script. 

Improv training encourages adaptability, active listening, and confidence. In turn, these skills can help your conversations, presentations, and other interactions at work or school. Speech therapists often use the same techniques to help people improve the smoothness and clarity of their speech, leading to greater confidence in communication.

Here’s a look at 3 communication skills you can gain through improv training, along with how they can help you at work and socially. 

Expert coaching on your schedule

Work with a licensed speech therapist on a personalized plan to improve your professional communication skills.

Find a speech therapist

Find a speech therapist

3 communication skills you can learn from improv

With improv for communication skills, you get a fun, hands-on approach to learning, where you can practice your skills in a low-pressure environment. In improv, participants spontaneously create and act out stories together, making it up as they go along. They often use a suggestion from the audience to inspire the scenes they’re improvising.

Here are some of the communication skills you can gain or refine through improv.

1 Improving active listening

Active listening is essential for clear and meaningful conversations. Put simply, active listening ensures you understand what’s being said to you. It involves fully concentrating on, understanding, responding to, and remembering what’s said.

Improv relies on this skill, since you’re collaborating with other performers to make up stories and dialogue on the spot. Improv exercises teach you to stay present, respond thoughtfully, and build upon what others say. 

These skills align closely with speech therapy, which emphasizes listening comprehension and turn-taking in conversations. According to communication experts at Virginia Tech, improv exercises like “Yes, and…” encourage active listening and quick thinking. These techniques help people stay engaged in conversations and better respond.

Adults

Communication Confidence: How to Speak Up, Be Heard, and Advocate for Yourself

Laura Thorburn, M.S., CCC-SLP

2 Building confidence and reducing anxiety

Many people struggle with public speaking. Improv helps by creating a supportive space where you can step outside your comfort zone. In improv training, you can experiment with different speaking styles and become more comfortable with spontaneity.

Research has shown that improv-based training can greatly reduce communication anxiety and improve social interactions. By practicing spontaneity and adaptability in a supportive environment, individuals build resilience and confidence in their speaking abilities. This is particularly helpful for people who have speech anxiety or social communication difficulties, which speech therapists can also address through structured exercises and real-world practice.

Adults

5 Ways Speech Therapy Can Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Leanne Sherred, M.S., CCC-SLP3 MINUTE READ

3 Strengthening speech clarity and fluency

Improv exercises often involve quick thinking and verbal expression. This can enhance your speech articulation (how clearly you speak) and fluency (how smoothly you speak). Speech therapists use similar methods to help people who have trouble with pronunciation, pacing, or stuttering. By practicing improv, individuals can gain better control over their speech patterns in a fun and engaging way.

Adults

Can Speech Therapy Help Adults Fix Speech Problems?

Laura Thorburn, M.S., CCC-SLP

Applying improv to everyday communication

So how can you use these improv skills in your communication at work, at school, or socially?

• Professional or school settings: Improve your presentations, your interactions with coworkers, and how you collaborate in a team.

• Social conversations: Become more comfortable with small talk, storytelling, and other social interactions.

• Public speaking: Reduce fear and improve speech clarity when addressing an audience.

Speech therapy can help you communicate with confidence

If you’re looking to strengthen your speaking abilities, improv for communication skills is a fun, effective option. You can also work one-on-one with a licensed speech therapist to improve your speech fluency, confidence, and listening skills. 

At Expressable, our expert speech-language pathologists focus on techniques such as pausing and pacing, verbal formulation, and active listening to help clients build confidence and communication skills. Learn more about our approach in our guide to professional communication.

Ready to take the next step? Get matched with a speech therapist who will partner with you to achieve your individual goals.