Drop down the ladder before you react
Separate observable offers from interpretations so you can respond more flexibly.
The move: trade your private story for a shared observation. Improvisers must respond to what is actually on stage. Professionals have the same challenge in meetings, demos, negotiations, and workshops. The Ladder of Inference helps because it shows the invisible speed of meaning-making. We select a slice of data, paraphrase it internally, name what is happening, explain it, judge it, and act. The whole climb can happen in under two seconds. When you improvise from the top of the ladder, you react to a conclusion as if it were a fact. "They are bored" leads to rushing. "She is resisting"…
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