So Meta: An Improvisation Technique For Thinking About Thinking

Kat Koppett says she always has three thoughts at once. Sometimes more, but at least three. An improviser, consultant, trainer and author who is founder and CEO of Koppett — a company that designs and facilitates group learning experiences, provides powerful coaching and kick-ass keynotes — Kat is a thought leader in the field of Applied Improvisation. In a recent conversation about an improv exercise called “Inside Out” she presented at the 2021 Applied Improvisation Network World Conference with her colleague and co-developer of the exercise Dion Flynn, her “out loud” observation that she always has at least three thoughts was on point. You might even say it was meta. Because “Inside Out” is a way to think out loud about what we are thinking— meta-cognition — the practice of which boosts awareness of what motivates, irritates, inspires and intrigues us and is linked to expanded capacity for learning and change, increased flexibility in the cognitive process, and enhanced capacity to learn and apply prior knowledge to new problems.

Any of might have three or more co-occurring thoughts about the same situation in a given moment. Many real life scenarios present competing demands for our attention, or conflict with the person in front of us at the same time we have to perform as a professional, partner or parent. This relatively simple improv exercise embraces thoughts and perceptions we might otherwise use our mental energy to hide or obscure and makes them part of the scene.

“This notion of hiding or revealing our real thoughts is, of course, not new,” explains Dion Flynn, a prolific performer who has appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show as well as many other shows on stage and screen, and founder of The Improvisor’s Mindset which offers improv workshops for professional and personal development. “Let’s say we have a troubling conversation at work and feel annoyed by a colleague’s remarks and so later that night we share our real thoughts with a trusted other. We unburden ourselves by telling them the real thoughts we were having at the time of the earlier work conversation, as well as the things we wished we’d said. The beauty of ‘Inside Out’ is that we can let our “characters” express these inner thoughts — thoughts which polite society would perhaps consider…