Applied Improv students work to develop discrete skills and then put them all together. Often the exercises and activities they do apply to the development of more than one skill. Where communication is concerned, emphasis is placed on listening and watching. Our society equates effective communication with getting one's point across, but that's a rather unilateral approach. True communication is bi- or multilateral, an exchange involving giving and taking.
Communication involves so much more than just words.
Thus Applied improv focuses more on how rather than what we say. Many times the intended message gets distorted or even halted by non-verbal vocal or body language. That is where awareness, of others and self, enters the picture. We learn to trust each other, just as we strive to trust ourselves, our imaginations and our individual creativity. Creativity is a part of every person.