Neurodivergent Minds in Comedy / Neurodiversity in Improv
Neurodivergent Minds in Comedy
Episode 4: Top-down thinking in improv for bottom-up thinkers
0:00
Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -25:46
-25:46

Episode 4: Top-down thinking in improv for bottom-up thinkers

Top-down thinking your second beats and game when you are a bottom-up thinker. What does that look like?

If you are a bottom-up thinker, there are certain techniques in long-form improv that might work better if you try to do top-down thinking instead. Why would you do such a thing? And When?

Game and second beats might be challenging to a bottom-up thinker. You need to get used to wrapping up a bunch of details into a single idea, gist, or synopsis regardless of what direction you think in. The synopsis is where top-down thinkers start! Maybe it’s faster doing top down for this?

This episode includes a couple different examples of when I think I probably take more of a top-down approach as a life-long bottom-up thinker.

I also detail a pretty quick way to do a second beat using a form of visual thinking (hyperphantasia), since we were talking about it. Selfish tangent, that, maybe. But it’s in there too.

You can submit your response on my website at FlatImprov.com/substack. Or send me questions, topics to cover, gripes and complaints, heckles, or responses to an earlier episode using voice or text. Do it!

Discussion about this podcast