If I told you to go up in front of an audience and speak for two minutes about something off the top of your head, and make it interesting, could you?
What if I said the same thing, but this time added the proviso that you can’t use the word ‘the’?
A strange thing will happen as you struggle to get the words out without breaking my arbitrary rule. The audience, even though they don’t know why you’re speaking so weirdly, will recognise that you are struggling against something and it will catch their interest.
And an even stranger thing happens if I let the audience in on what it is you’re trying to do. They will join in the game with you, laughing at your weird story, going ooh when you nearly make a mistake.
The point is, when you are struggling against an obstacle, what you do to get round that obstacle becomes interesting. The same action with no obstacle takes a lot more effort to get the same result.
Difficulty stimulates the brain to be more creative. And difficulty is what makes improvisation engaging.
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