Advance and Expand: Improve Your Storytelling

So you’re on stage with your scene partner. People are watching. You’ve started an improv scene and things don’t seem to be going anywhere. What do you do next?

Or…

Maybe you want to tell your friend a story of something amazing that just happened to you. And you’re not sure if you should just charge through the events blow by blow, or stop and give details, maybe even some backstory. 

Upgrade Your Improvised Scene Work and Your Storytelling

I’m going to give you a simple way to drastically open up the dimensions of your scenes and improve your storytelling. This works for improvisation scenes, improvised storytelling, planned storytelling, writing, and even just conversations in general!

In my article Yes And Does Not Make Good Storytelling: What Does? We discussed how  Yes And is essential in improv and life, but only gets the ball rolling. Its essential, but only a beginning. 

In my last article, Great Improv Scenes: Make Something Important, I showed you how to upgrade your improvised storytelling in scenes and stories to include making choices pop with drama and engagement. 

In this article, we will take your storytelling to a new level by learning how to shift your storytelling gears. It’s so incredibly easy, and powerful at the same time.

You probably already know how to do it, and don’t even know it. So learning it as a tool will empower you to use is consciously and to great effect. 

The Concept – Advance and Expand

There are always 2 dimensions in which you can take a scene or story. I like to think of them as different storytelling gears available to you at any time. 

1. You can move the story forward – Advance
2. Or you can go into detail of what’s already been given – Expand

There are always 2 dimensions in which you can take a scene or story. I like to think of them as different storytelling gears available to you at any time.

Advance

Advancing is moving things forward. 

Here’s a story focusing on advancing – moving things forward. 

Advancing is moving things forward.

START: Bill was eating his breakfast in the kitchen.
ADVANCE: Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
ADVANCE: Bill stood from the table and walked slowly to the door.
ADVANCE: He opened the door.
ADVANCE: Two policeman stood outside.
ADVANCE: “We’re looking for a Bill Jones,” the tall one said.
ADVANCE: Bill turned and ran toward the back door.
ADVANCE: One policemen ran in after him, while the other called it in.

Each beat of the story advanced us to a new place or event. You can think of this by asking yourself “What happens next?”  (from a  very old Kieth Johnstone game in his book Impro)

Now looks look at the other gear.

Expand

Expanding works beautifully to give us more details on what’s already been given. 

I’ll start with the first beat of the previous story and expand. 

Expanding works beautifully to give us more details on what’s already been given.

START: Bill was eating his breakfast in the kitchen.
EXPAND: The kitchen floor was cold on his bare feet .
EXPAND: The frosted flakes were somehow both soggy and stale.
EXPAND: He was using almond milk because of his allergies.
EXPAND: The breakfast table was messy with last night’s dinner.

Do you see how expanding doesn’t move the story forward, but gives us more details. You are literally expanding on what’s already been given. 

Too Much of Either Gets you Stuck

Beginning improvisers tend to think you always need to move forward… advance, advance, advance!

Always advancing becomes exhausting to watch.

It lacks texture, emotion, and the time to take anything  in. 

On the other hand, ‘Yes And’ can also turn into just giving details on what already been given, without moving anything forward.

Watching a scene that always expands will quickly become stale and stagnant.

Use Both Advance and Expand for Story telling Magic

Combing advancing and expanding is where the magic lies!

Advancing and expanding is like having the ultimate gear shift for you scenes ready to go at all times!!!

Keeping these two gears in mind will let you change things up at any given moment. You’re expanding and things need to move on? Advance!

You’re Advancing and it’s time to slow down, or make something important? Expand!

There’s no mathematic formula to tell you when to expand and when to advance. It like a fork in the road at any given time. Use your instincts to choose which path to take at any given time. 

There’s no mathematic formula to tell you when to expand and when to advance.

START: Bill was eating his breakfast in the kitchen.
EXPAND: The stone tile floor was cold on his bare feet.
EXPAND: The frosted flakes were somehow both soggy and stale.
ADVANCE: Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
EXPAND: The loud knock that echoed through the house.
ADVANCE: Bill stood from the table and walked slowly to the door.
EXPAND: He was nervous. Could this have been about what happened last night?
ADVNACE: Bill opened the door.
ADVANCE: Two policeman stood outside.
EXPAND: Bill gulped, and tried to look calm.
ADVANCE: “We’re looking for a Bill Jones,” the tall one said.
ADVANCE: Bill turned and ran toward the back door.
ADVANCE: One policemen ran in after him, while the other called it in. 

I just wrote that story shifting gears back and forth where it made sense to me. 

Scene work is the same way. You can talk about details (expand), and then take an action or bring up a plot twist (advance). 

Practice

Try it yourself. 

Tell a story. 

1. Start with an opening like “Jessica read a book  in her backyard.”

2. Maybe expand on the book first, or her backyard. Or both. It’s totally up to you!

3. Then make something happen by asking in your mind “what happens next?”

4. Alternate between advance and expand. When things get boring either way, shift that gear!

If you want more storytelling prompts in deluxe play-along video format, check out our course “Yes And Yourself” for hours of play-along prompts for stories and practice getting specific with things. 

"Become an Improv Wizard" is a PROVEN STEP-BY-STEP ONLINE IMPROV COURSE to Build CONFIDENCE, UNLEASH CREATIVITY, and BECOME FEARLESS through Improvisation

Lincoln Hoppe is an actor, writer, director, and father of 5. He is the the Co-Founder of Improv Wizards training school and Online Courses and Co-Director of the Society Comedy Troupe.