You can sort of trick people into being really good. Even if they didn't know anything.

Don't come on to be funny - come on to solve problems.

I'm not against work, I think work is great, I work a lot; but if you want to play, the consequences must not be important.

In life most of us are highly skilled at suppressing action. Bad improvisers block action often with a high degree of skill. Good improvisers develop action.

Every time you go the way the audience expects, they'll think you're original. People laugh with pleasure at the obvious.

I tell people not to do their best. I don't know when that started. Quite a while ago. Because I . . . when they're doing their best I don't get their best. So I try to persuade them to be average. Because if you're wonderful and you're average, you're still wonderful. If you're a bad improviser and you're average, you're what you are.

Trying to do better is trying to be better than you actually are, and I don't think you can do that.