THE IMPROVISATION EXPERIENCE: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Recent studies into improvisation have moved beyond treating it as a mere form of artistic expression. Being able to act off-script is now being regarded as a sought-after skill, one that can be actively taught. To me personally, researching improvisation in communication has both academic and practical value. I teach communication-related subjects such as communication psychology, negotiation psychology, and foreign languages. Improvisation in communication is in many ways similar to improvisation in music, theater, and dance. Our classes show that good improvisation involves overcoming one’s anxieties in a collaborative, conflict-free environment. Improvisation helps overcoming barriers between thought and spoken language. For a successful improvisation to take place, the improviser needs to be open, willing to draw on their personal experiences and the shared emotions of the improviser and their audience. The aim of this study is to construct the social and personal portrait of an improviser based on their taking part in an improvisational communication skills workshop. The session was recorded, coded, and analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to reveal patterns, individual experiences, and idiographic detail. The study found three superordinate themes: The Improviser’s Self-portrait, The Improviser and the Audience, and The Improviser’s Personality Traits. The data collected allows the researcher to discern the improviser's individual traits, see the way they interact with the audience, and provide insight into the improviser’s social group. The results help expand IPA’s applicability and provide for a more nuanced understanding of improvisation, its role in social interaction, and the ways it can be taught. IPA allows the researcher to see an improviser's distinctive style, the way they employ basic improvisational strategies in communication, the range of instruments, and individual personal attributes that manifest themselves in an unscripted communicative situation.