Improviser Dan Klein: Setting Your Partner Up for Success

When you celebrate failure loudly enough, you stop fearing it.

In this episode, Lisa sits down with Dan Klein, improviser, Stanford lecturer, and master of helping people unlock creativity through play. Dan has spent two decades teaching improv at Stanford, and his work goes far beyond the stage—it's about listening, adapting, and building something together in real time.

You'll discover:

• How celebrating failure (loudly and cheerfully) can transform teams
• The "oh, good" principle: finding opportunity in whatever comes your way
• Why your job is to make your partner look like a genius
• How practicing flexibility in low-stakes moments prepares you for high-stakes life

Dan shares wisdom from improv legends Patricia Ryan Madson and Keith Johnstone, revealing how accepting offers—from others, from the world, and from yourself—creates connection and possibility. Whether it's a mistake, an unexpected curveball, or just life throwing you something new, improvisers are trained to see it all as creative fuel.

This conversation is about building resilience, reducing loneliness, and designing a life where everyone wins. If you've ever wished you could get more comfortable with the unknown, Dan shows you how practice, presence, and generosity can change everything.

Links from the show:

Two books in Dan’s improv classes syllabus

• Patricia Ryan, Improv Wisdom: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up
• Keith Johnstone, Impro Improvisation and the Theatre

More about Dan

• Dan’s Stanford profile