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Yes… And – The Law of Agreement

March 31, 2016 by Mike Markovich - Mary & Martha General Manager

The words ?yes? and? represent the number one rule (or law) of improvisational acting, aka improv. ?Yes? and? is the ?law of agreement.? And the ?law of agreement? for all improvisational actors simply means that whatever your scene partner offers you, you have to accept and add something to it.

For example, if I am on stage and my acting partner says, ?How did you get such a great sun tan,? I can?t say, ?I don?t have a sun tan.? Instead I have to accept it and add something to it. In this case, my response could be, ?I got a sun tan when we were at the beach yesterday, and you decided to go surfing and left me to fall asleep for two hours and now I have this tan. Thanks for doing that, I love my tan.?

One night after driving home from an improv practice I felt like the Holy Spirit whispered something to me. I heard the whisper of, ?I want you to start practicing the ?law of agreement? in real life.? I wasn?t sure what that meant at first, but I quickly started understanding and learning. When you practice the ?law of agreement? on stage, it really can translate to real life. Now, I know not everyone is an improv actor, but you can practice this every single day.

When someone offers you an idea, thought, or even an opposing point of view on any given topic, a ?yes?..and? can totally transform the conversation. When you say ?yes? you are acknowledging that the person is valuable, and their idea is valuable (on a side bar, when I first started doing this I noticed how many times I said, ?No,? to people during the day and oppose their view point before we even got going?yuk).

The ?yes? keeps the communication moving and open. And when communication is open, you end up with the best solution or next steps. You are open, they are open, and the opportunity for better communication and learning expands.

The ?and? signals to the person that you have heard what they said and you have something to add. In the end, you will arrive at a better solution on any given topic, together! It really does work; I dare you to try it!

Long before improv, Jesus introduced us to the ?yes? and? principle. Although there were many laws (600+), Jesus made it simple for us. ?Love God, and love others.? This is the first opportunity for the ?yes… and? law of agreement. Yes I will love God and others? and I will show it by (fill in the blank with an action). Jesus said the world will know we are Christians by how much we love each other, and truly loving each other is found in our actions.

At Mary & Martha we show love by ?Sharing Life? together.? Sharing life together is a ?yes? to someone and an ?and? action.

For our Consultants, this can happen with their team and at a Gathering. They say yes to new team members and then the ?and? action follows; training, coaching and cheering her on!

For our guests, you say yes to a Host, and then the action comes! You go into her home, meet new friends and share life. You share fun news about the products, the business, and you always have an invitation to join Mary & Martha. But it doesn?t stop there, you can share joy, hope and encouragement at the Gathering.

Sharing life, combing faith and work gives us so many moments for yes?and!

Mike

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