What 20 Years of Improvisation Taught Me About Bad Content Marketing

I have 20+ years of experience performing live improvisational theater. If you have done something similar like acting, public speaking, or competitive sports you know the feeling, the rush, of performance. It’s a combo of excitement and panic.

Once you step under hot stage lights without a script, there is no going back. The other performers don’t know what you’re going to say, and you don’t know what they will give you either.

The thrill is that you have to be ready for anything, including the moment the brilliant idea you’re dreaming up won’t work. Because your scene partner could say something that takes the scene in a whoIe new direction. And you have to be ready for anything.

You can choose to force your witty idea in anyway, instead of listening and making their idea work. But if you do, the scene dies. The audience cringes. You can feel the air (and joy) leave the room.

The only true way to make a scene work in improv, is to drop your ego, listen to your scene partner, and build your dialogue and actions on top of what they offered. Improv forces engaged presence. You must react to what’s in front of you, not the plans in your head.

The B2B Echo Chamber

When I look at B2B content marketing today, I see companies forcing their pre-planned lines onto a buyer that is trying to tell them they need something else.

Marketing teams can get isolated in corporate echo chambers. They write copy for internal approval instead of for the buyer’s pains. They cram landing pages with buzzwords and jargon that excites the stakeholder, but means nothing to a person trying to solve a problem.

Teams often do the business equivalent of ignoring their scene partner. Just like in improv, buyers turn to someone else the second they realize you can’t be trusted to listen.

Five Lessons From the Improv Stage

Here are five things that improv taught me about how to lead content strategy:

1. The buyer sets the scene. Your strategy doesn’t matter if it fails to address the specific problem your customer is experiencing right now. Solve a pain with content or it will collect dust.
2. Intelligence loses to clarity every time. On stage or on a landing page, trying to sound smart creates distance. Stating clear, obvious truths about a solution builds immediate trust.
3. Drop the pre-written script. If data and customer feedback contradict your brilliant campaign idea, collaborate and come up with something that supports the metrics.
4. Respect the audience’s time. Nobody visits a website to admire your corporate buzzwords. If they can’t see that you understand their pain in under 30 seconds, they’re gone.
5. Trust is built on listening, not a pitch. Real connection happens when a buyer reads your content and realizes you understand their day-to-day reality.

When I build a content strategy, I start by listening. I talk to the marketing, sales, product, and CX teams. I get into the customer feedback, both the good and the bad. I review sales demo recordings. I look at search intent and lead behavior.

Once I know the goal of each internal stakeholder and the need of the buying persona, and I write content that meets the customer where they are. When you treat your audience like a person in the room, they stick around for the rest of the story. More importantly, they trust you enough to buy.

Content transparency note: This was my original idea. I used Gemini used to help me outline and format this post. I wrote the final piece myself using my idea and the LLM outline.