Improv Rules and Wingman Rules are the Same

I’m trying to learn improve. No I’m not taking classes, yet. I’m just learning the basics.

The more I learn about impov the more I realize how much of it applies to pickup.


So improv, or Improvisational Theatre or Improvisational Comedy is a type of performance where actors get on stage, work with each other, and make up a performance on the fly. Generally, the goal is humor.

In improv there are a few basic rules: Don’t Deny, Don’t Ask Open Ended Questions aka no Pimping, You Don’t Have to Be Funny, Making your partner look good makes you look good. See http://www.fnipgh.com/shortcut4.htm for a more thorough explanation.

As I learned the rules, I realized that many of them are exactly like wingman rules:

Don’t Deny
Don’t deny means that if someone presents a situation, accept it. For example if your partner holds his hands out with an imaginary bowling ball and says, “I’m handing you a bowling ball” don’t say “this is not a bowling ball, that’s a fried turkey.” Instead, accept it. In other words, do not disagree with your wingman; accept all his statements, even when he says “he shoves pickles up girl’s asses then eats them.”


Don’t Ask Open Ended Questions aka no Pimping
Pimping is when an actor forces the other actor to say something awesome. For example, one actor hands another an imaginary piece of paper and says “this piece of paper has the funniest joke in the world written on it, read it!!” That forces the “victim” to come up with a really funny joke on the spot.

Just the same, don’t put all the pressure on a wing. Only ask him questions you know he can answer. Never put your wing on the spot unless you know for sure he can hit it out of the park.


Funny Skillz Not Required
Don’t try to be funny and the humor will just come out. In other words, don’t try hard. Let it flow naturally. Pathetic = someone looking like he is trying too hard.

Making your partner look good makes you look good
Like don’t deny. Making a partner funnier makes the entire stage shine. Making a wingman look good makes both guys sparkle like ten giga-candle spotlight.

To see the difference between really awesome improv/wingman-ness and just decent, check out the Pickup Podcast and compare it to the Seduction Bible podcast. Both are very good, but only one is mind blowingly entertaining.