Yes, and … : continuing the scholarly conversation about freedom of speech at colleges and universities^*

* A central rule for improv—to not stop the flow of the performance—is to respond with “yes, and … ” (instead of “no” or “yes, but”) to lines that comes before you. The idea is to create an environment where all become involved in keeping an idea or storyline alive and evolving; encouraging players to make associations and to connect things in innovative ways (Liu & Noppe-Brandon, 2009).

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Notes

* A central rule for improv—to not stop the flow of the performance—is to respond with “yes, and … ” (instead of “no” or “yes, but”) to lines that comes before you. The idea is to create an environment where all become involved in keeping an idea or storyline alive and evolving; encouraging players to make associations and to connect things in innovative ways (Liu & Noppe-Brandon, 2009).

1 By definition, wicked problems are those that are complex and resistant to linear or reductionist answers, and therefore difficult and at times impossible to solve (Rittel & Webber, 1973).