Improvisation Training Increases Negotiators’ Creativity and Sometimes Their Outcomes

Abstract Two studies investigated the effect of a short improvisation intervention (theatrical improvisation in Study 1, musical improvisation in Study 2) on negotiation processes and outcomes. The expectation was that an improvisation training, compared to a control condition in which participants engaged in jig-saw puzzling, would result in better negotiation agreements via higher levels of creativity. Results showed that improvisation training increased participants’ creativity and divergent thinking, compared to the control condition. The effects on negotiation processes and outcomes however, only partly supported the predictions. In Study 2, improvisation training had in indirect positive influence on negotiation outcomes via creativity, in Study 1 improvisation training did influence creativity, but did not influence negotiation outcomes. So improvisation training increases creativity, and sometimes this heightened creativity results in higher negotiation outcomes.