Ten Commandments
Groups collaboratively create ten guiding principles for their work together, practicing collective agreement and value articulation.
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Related Exercises
Creative Solution Building
Creative Solution Building is an applied improvisation exercise in which participants use improvisational principles -- acceptance, building, and collaborative emergence -- to develop solutions to presented problems or scenarios. Rather than analyzing the problem and generating solutions individually, participants build solutions incrementally through a structured ensemble process, with each contribution extending and complying with what has already been offered.
Problem Solving
Improvisational problem-solving exercises where teams tackle challenges using 'Yes, And' principles to build creative solutions.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a category of applied improvisation exercises in which group tasks are designed so that individual success is structurally impossible: the design requires coordinated effort, shared information, and mutual accountability to complete. The exercises are used to surface how groups actually function under cooperative pressure, revealing patterns of self-organization, communication, and shared decision-making.
Same Time Story
Same Time Story is a collaborative exercise in which two or more performers tell a story simultaneously, attempting to say the same words at the same time without prior planning. The exercise demands extreme listening and the willingness to follow collective impulses. It is a powerful demonstration of group mind when executed successfully.
Argue like a Philosopher
Partners practice constructive argumentation following philosophical principles, exploring how to disagree productively while maintaining respect.
Yes Lets
Yes Lets is a group exercise in which one player suggests an activity by saying "let's [do something]" and the entire group responds "yes, let's!" before all performing the suggested action together. Any player can then propose the next activity. The exercise embodies collective agreement and builds a culture of enthusiastic participation.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Ten Commandments. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments
The Improv Archive. "Ten Commandments." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments.
The Improv Archive. "Ten Commandments." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/exercises/ten-commandments. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.