Silicon Valley tech giant Palantir put a book on improv published more than 40 years ago, “Impro”, into its must-read list for new hires.
Why does Silicon Valley, which values logic and algorithms so much, place such high importance on “acting”?
Written by British drama master Keith Johnstone, this book is not so much about teaching improv as it is about teaching us to observe those unspoken yet ongoing interaction signals.
Its wisdom can be applied to the workplace, communication, and life alike, as their core is the exact same lesson:
How to confront uncertainty.
Why Does a Big Data Giant List a Book on Improv as Must-Read for New Hires?
Palantir engineers have a special role called Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs), who must personally step into unknown and unpredictable client environments to solve problems.
In such environments, success relies not on memorizing SOPs, but on an extraordinary sensitivity to social contexts.
Understanding the unwritten rules of human interaction is far more important than rigidly following a script.
CEO Alex Karp points out in his book “The Technic Republic”:
Whether standing on an improv stage or exploring a brand-new market, you don’t know what the other person will say or how the market will react. You can only accept, advance, and re-create.
This is also why this book on performance, which seemingly has nothing to do with coding, has become a cornerstone of this company’s culture.
“Status” is a Flowing Power Dynamics Game with No Neutral Ground
The most charming part of “Impro” is how it deconstructs the interactions we take for granted, and the first core concept is “Status”.
Status is different from the “social position” determined by your job title or wealth:
| Concept | Characteristics | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Social Position | Fixed, institutional | CEO, intern, elder |
| Status | Flowing, real-time, relational | A billionaire CEO getting scolded by his mother at home and adopting a low status |
Keith Johnstone believes there is no absolute “neutrality” in human interaction.
Status is like a seesaw; as one side rises, the other naturally lowers.
And high or low status is all hidden in those unspoken, non-verbal signals:
| Observation Dimension | High-Status Person | Low-Status Person |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Contact | Dares to look directly, letting the other person look away first | Avoids it unconsciously, or masks it with a thoughtful expression |
| Speech Pauses | Not afraid of silence, uses long pauses to warn others not to interrupt | Fills pauses with filler words like “uh…” or “um…” |
| Body Language | Relaxed posture, sitting back and stretching to occupy space | Arms tight against the body, trying to minimize physical size |
| Head Movements | Head remains still while speaking, projecting authority | Frequently shakes head, exhibiting extra small nervous movements |
Crucially, status is a tool that can be deliberately switched, not your permanent label.
Understanding this, you can appropriately lower your status during meetings to give the team space, use an extremely low status of admitting mistakes during conflicts to make the other party back down, and use it as a lubricant for interpersonal relationships rather than defensive armor.
Why Do We Become “Too Eager to Be Right” as We Grow Up?
Professionally trained actors often perform worse in improv than novices.
| Group | Reaction to Improv | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Trained Actors | Stiff, unnatural, losing vitality | Eager to do it right, constantly self-censoring |
| Novices | Natural, vivid, authentic | Free from the baggage of “how it should be done” |
The problem is not a lack of skill, but that they are “too eager to do it right.”
The censor in the brain constantly filters intuition, chasing clever, correct, and safe answers, which ultimately leads to mediocrity. This anxiety is conditioned by years of education:
Schools reward standard answers and punish mistakes, so we get used to self-censoring before we speak.
Experts habitually “lean back” and maintain a critical distance when appreciating work.
Novices, however, “lean forward,” fully immersing themselves in the present.
“I no longer think of children as immature adults, but of adults as ‘atrophied children.’”
We become rigid out of fear, losing the most precious spontaneity by our own hands.
Rejection Is an Attack, Strangling Cooperation and Connection
Rigidity has a very concrete consequence in life: we default to saying “no” to everything.
And the most striking line in “Impro” is:
Rejection is an attack.
When one person says, “Let me go!” and the other simply replies, “Okay,” the dialogue immediately fizzles out.
Insecure people often use “no” to maintain a sense of control and avoid embarrassment.
| Habit | Underlying Motivation | Impact on Relationships and Cooperation |
|---|---|---|
| Habitually Saying “No” | Maintaining control, avoiding uncertainty | Severs connection, kills cooperation |
| Willing to Say “Yes” | Accepting stimulus, embracing possibilities | Sustains dialogue, creates unexpected connections |
In the workplace, frequent “that’s impossible” is the killer of creativity.
In relationships, every habitual “no” is quietly closing a door to connection.
Once you understand this, you will start counting how many times you say “impossible” and “but” every day.
Three Exercises to Reclaim Your Improv Power: Yes And, Rapid Yes But, and the Gift Exercise
So how do we reclaim our lost improvisational ability? The book offers a few highly practical exercises:
| Exercise | Practice | Focus |
|---|---|---|
Yes, And |
Accept the other’s offer and push forward with it | Embrace the premise, allowing dialogue and cooperation to grow |
Rapid Yes, But |
When hearing a question, answer immediately and enthusiastically with the first thought | Use speed to bypass the brain’s rational censor |
| Gift Exercise | Focus on making the “gift recipient” perform brilliantly | Learn to over-accept, fulfilling the moment rather than showing off yourself |
There is a common point of confusion here: many people think they are open-minded, but their mouths are full of Yes, But.
“Yes, But” sounds like an agreement, but at its core, it is still a rejection.
And the spirit of the gift exercise is even more counterintuitive: in the game of giving imaginary gifts, the correct way to play is not to give the most creative gift, but to make the “gift recipient” shine.
When you stop worrying about proving how interesting you are and instead focus on making the other person’s sharing shine, the interaction becomes warm and natural. Treat accidents as gifts—when unexpected situations arise at work:
Instead of resisting, focus on “how to catch it and develop it.”
Reweaving Materials into a Web Like “A Person Walking Backward”
Excellent improvisers are like “people walking backward.”
They do not worry about what the future holds, but instead focus on reweaving the materials that have already appeared into a meaningful web.
Do not keep pulling out new threads; instead, look back and connect the old materials into a precise web.
If a bear, a boat, and a girl appear at the beginning of a story, and later the bear comes back rowing that boat, or it is revealed that the bear was actually the girl in disguise, all previous elements are reintegrated and connected to each other, creating a sense of coherence as if by telepathy.
This is not only the highest realm of performance but also the best mindset for facing uncertainty:
Rather than anxiously chasing new things, submerge yourself long enough, and looking back, you will find far more connectable clues than you imagined.
Letting Go of the Illusion of Control Is True Control
Back to the initial question: why does Palantir value this book so much?
In bureaucratic organizations, people tend to use status to maintain personal position. But at Palantir, status must serve the goal.
Palantir even encourages “constructive disobedience,” forcing employees to let go of the obsession with what is theoretically “right” and instead accept what actually “works.”
True control is not predicting every outcome, but catching every accident.
This way of thinking can be applied to three areas simultaneously:
| Scenario | Improv Thinking Approach |
|---|---|
| Workplace & Team Leadership | Treat status as a tool, say Yes, And first to catch unexpected offers, accepting effectiveness over correctness |
| Interpersonal Communication | Notice the flow of status, say less habitual “no,” and make the other person’s story shine with listening |
| Creation & Life | Trust the first thought, look back to integrate your materials, and let go of the obsession with perfection and originality |
Only when you stop insisting on precisely controlling everything can you gracefully accept the current reality in emergencies and turn crises into opportunities.
Conclusion: Those Who Stick to the Script Are Anxious, Those Who Know Improv Cruise Gracefully
From “Impro,” we learn to observe the flow of status, stay alert to our censor mechanisms, and understand the power of “acceptance.”
True spontaneity and creativity come from letting go of the illusion of control.
In this world full of unknowns, those who cling to scripts easily become anxious, while those who understand improv can cruise gracefully.
Next time in your work, conversations, or life, when that unexpected and imperfect proposal appears, will you dare to let down your guard and say “Yes, And” to that possibility?