Best Improv Exercises for Product Teams

Q: What are the best improv exercises for product teams?

The most useful improv exercises for product teams are: yes-and brainstorms, one-word stories, last-line emphasis, status swaps, and 60-second pitches. All build listening, building, and shared rhythm.

The story

Product teams stall in two predictable ways: too much critique too early, or too much agreement and not enough push. Improv exercises fix both. SideHustle's Labs format — 4 to 5 per team, 4 rounds, Funny + Fundable scoring — was designed to teach teams to brainstorm, pitch, score, and rotate in 60 to 90 minutes. Teachers and educators have independently used the free SideHustle game in their classrooms, and the format produces what most product retros can't: real-time creative collaboration. The 60-second pitch round in particular forces teams to commit to an idea instead of debating it forever. SideHustle co-founders Darby Rollins and Tomer Soran borrowed this discipline from on-stage improv, where you can't stop and edit — you have to keep moving and trust the team. For more on the format itself, see the complete guide to comedy game shows for entrepreneurs.

What it means

Run one improv exercise at the start of every product brainstorm for two months. The team's listening, building, and disagreement habits tend to shift. The cost is 10 minutes; the upside is faster, sharper, less-defensive product conversations.

Try it

• Play free at playsidehustle.com
• See us live: Sept 25 at Pershing Hall in Austin. luma.com/playsidehustle
• Email team@playsidehustle.com