Stuttering and Processing

[u/Mental_ghoste]

Hey guys, I notice any time I improv, my mouth tends to move faster than my head. I will say something just to say it rather than thinking like the character only because I feel like if I took a second to think, then it would throw off my "flow." I take a lot of time to process and thats why I tend to jump right in.

Just any advice you all can give me?

[u/mikel145]

The biggest advice I got was listen a react. Don't overthink. Don't try and force yourself to be funny. Just react.

[u/erikpeders]

This may sound weird, but....

Slow down.

There's a lot of pressure to be as quick as possible. That our quickness determines our funniness. Not true. Make yourself slow down. I tell my students I would rather watch an interesting scene thats well done than a bad scene where we jam in "jokes".

[u/Whytebrian]

Try practicing a scene where you take 3-5 seconds between the end of the last line and the start of the next. You’ll realize how much it helps, and how natural it sometimes feels.

Find an activity (untangling a rope, washing a dish, tightening a screw, whatever.) it makes the pauses feel deliberate and motivated, as you’re taking a second to “focus on what you’re doing” and it’s not just two people standing silently next to each other.

[u/Franks2000inchTV]

Do some silent scenes in rehearsal. Get used to being on stage and not saying anything.

Try entering and responding non-verbally. Just be in the scene for a bit before you say anything.

[u/Kitchen-Tale-4254]

You are trying to talk before you have something to say.

Wait and let the words come to you, when they do.

[u/dconnenc]

I knew a guy that had a stutter off stage, but never once saw it while he was improvising

[u/protoveridical]

Watch other improvisers you admire and take note of the breathing room they give to their scenes. Better yet, watch some videos of improv that include audience members and pay close attention to crowd reactions. Specifically how long it takes for the ripple of laughter to die down when something funny is said.

You'll likely find that the people whose improv you admire aren't performing at a frenetic pace, and that audiences tend to have longer reaction times than you might anticipate. It feels one way when you're inside of a scene, but others experience the same time in a completely different way from you.

[u/MiddleConsideration]

Every time your scene partner does something, respond PHYSICALLY first. Give yourself five or 10 seconds to make facial expressions and physical actions or movements that your character would make in response to the information from your partner, THEN respond verbally.

Another thing you can do is practice repeating back what your scene partner said. For example, if your scene partner says “I hate cutting fruit in our family’s fruit stall” you can let yourself physically react to that before speaking. In this scene (assuming this is the opening line that I just set up) you can think about it: is your character hurt? Is your character in agreement and ready to start your own break off fruit stand? Does your character really just want to be a ballerina? After you’ve quickly figured out some of those things, then you can respond with words.

If you really want to practice active listening, you can make a habit to repeat back what they said. So in this example I’ve set up you might respond, “oh Robert, I’m so glad to hear you hate working at the family fruit stall because I hate it too…I just wish I could dance instead!” Because you’ve slowed down and focused on feelings there’s an easier jumping off point for a number of different types of scenes from the start.