Last updated: 2025-10-17

🤝 Participation Policy

The following policy sets out the expectations and responsibilities of all students and performers involved in classes, rehearsals, and performances with The Improv Chippy.

Unless stated otherwise, all courses have a minimum age requirement of 18 years or over. You must also possess a conversational level of English to avoid causing frustration both to yourself and other participants.

Most of our communication with you will take place via email.

Some emails are optional (such as newsletters and general updates), while others are required (for example, information about the courses, rehearsals, or performances you are participating in).

By enrolling in a course or accepting a place as a performer, you consent to receive essential communications from us relating to that activity.

If we cannot reach you by email and the matter is urgent, we may attempt to contact you through other reasonable means — such as phone, text, or social media.

All participants must provide an emergency contact.

This will only be used if something happens to you, or if we urgently need to get in touch and have been unable to reach you through other channels.

All of your data is held and processed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

If you need to communicate with us, please email us at contact@improvchippy.com.

Students are expected to arrive at least 5 minutes before a lesson is due to start. If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you may be marked absent. If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, you may be refused entry to the class and marked absent. If you have to leave substantially early, you may be marked absent. All of these are at the discretion of the teacher. If you wish to contest a decision, you may email us but it is rare that we will not stand by the decisions made by our instructors.

In rare circumstances, arriving consistently late may result in your place on a course being terminated and a refund in line with the formulas specified in our refund policy, and in extreme circumstances, your disqualification from participation in future courses.

If you miss a session, arrive late or leave early, no refunds or exchanges are given.

For shows, performers are expected to arrive at least half an hour early unless otherwise agreed upon.

For term-based and intensive courses, in order to achieve a passing grade a student must meet the course's minimum attendance requirement. Unless stated otherwise, this will equate to 75% of the term. For a typical 8 week term, this would mean that you would need to attend six classes in order to graduate the term.

If the class is a prerequisite for another, students who do not meet this requirement will have to retake the class again in order to progress. If this is the case, you will be offered 50% off your next course, provided you have not cancelled and requested a refund, in which case you will have to pay full price.

In addition, if you have been given a homework assignment and fail to produce it by the given deadline, this will also count as an absence. If the homework is partially completed, attendance will be marked at the teacher's judgement.

If an online theory module is required for your course, it must be completed before the final lesson of your course in order to graduate.

As much as we love them, bringing pets to classes is prohibited due to the distraction they cause.

Many term based and intensive courses will have showcase opportunities. Student showcases are not mandatory but are strongly encouraged. If you know that you can't attend your showcase, please inform your instructor as soon as possible or contact us. If you do not participate in showcases, you may not be eligible to participate in some courses or auditions unless you demonstrate equivalent performance experience elsewhere, such as at our Improv and Script Jams, Scraps or other events.

For courses with a showcase, the showcase may form part of your final pass/repeat evaluation but it will never have a negative impact. For example, if you have done well throughout the course and then have a shocker of a showcase it will have no effect on the class and you will still pass. If you have struggled throughout the course, but bring your A-Game during the showcase and we see evidence that you have internalised the lesson concepts, we may pass you for the term instead of recommending you repeat it.

Bear in mind these decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis and a good performance is no guarantee of a pass. If we think you would benefit from the extra practice to truly internalise what we are trying to teach you then you will receive a recommendation to repeat. In such instances, please do not be disheartened. You will be given extensive feedback so we can help get you over the finish line. Our founder, Rob, had to retake levels and his experience with doing so has made him determined to make the learning process easier for others whilst still maintaining high standards as an educational institution. If you ever want to talk about it, please email us.

Alcohol and drug use are prohibited within class. We cannot police your use of them outside of classes or performances, but discourage you from doing so. They can very quickly become a crutch for courage or to "loosen up" before performing. Similarly, we discourage you from using drugs or alcohol to celebrate good performances or 'drowning your sorrows' after bad ones. If you take this craft seriously and start dedicating multiple nights a week to it, all of the above can quickly reinforce damaging patterns that can lead to very serious negative health and life outcomes.

You do not need alcohol or drugs to perform and you are not funnier or more creative after having alcohol or drugs. If you feel that you are, it is most likely a sign that there are things you need to work on so that you can be a more authentic version of yourself whilst sober.

If you attend events under the influence of alcohol and drugs and we believe that it is having a negative effect on the class or the performance, then you may be asked to leave and further disciplinary action may be taken against you. The severity of this action will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but may include terminating your classes, removing you from house teams or teaching positions and temporary or permanent bans from any event ran by The Improv Chippy.

If you are violent, threatening, or harassing to anyone at our events, you can expect an immediate ban and we will pass on details of the infraction to the relevant authorities.

For anyone who doesn't want to give it much thought, it is hard to go wrong with a 'theatre blacks' outfit consisting of a black top, black bottoms and black trainers.

For everyone else, we do not want to police what you wear on stage. We want all people to be able to express themselves through their clothing and we enjoy seeing your stylistic choices. That being said, there are some things we think you should be aware of when choosing your outfits which we have outlined below.

Be mindful of what parts of your body you are comfortable with displaying to an audience. Improv is unpredictable and may have you doing unexpected physical movements and depending on where you are performing, the audience may be positioned below or above you. We have seen many a performer tense up and have to adjust or limit their physicality on stage when they realise that the movement they are performing combined with their chosen outfit and the audience viewing angle is revealing more of themselves than they bargained for.

For most members of the audience, if they see that a performer is uncomfortable they too will also be uncomfortable and look away from the activity on the stage leading to a negative impact on the show. If there are some particularly unpleasant people in the audience you may get heckles or catcalls. We can warn and throw such people out, but by that point it will have caused a disruption which may negatively affect your performance.

On the flip side, if you are a flamboyant performer purposefully putting on a risque show the entire point might be to get your bits out in which case have at it you sexy thing. What we are getting at here, is be mindful of what your performance goals are and your own personal comfort and tolerance levels.

It is hot on stage. Think carefully about going on stage in clothing that may exacerbate this such as thick hoodies and coats and whether you have somewhere to throw them if you get too hot.

If you sweat a lot, be mindful of how comfortable you are with it. If you don't care and own it, great! If you are self conscious about it, consider wearing dark clothing and possibly sleeveless tops and vests.

We recommend that you choose clothing and footwear that allows for maximum mobility. Whilst it will most likely be funny for the audience to see you bend over and rip your tight trousers, are you comfortable doing the rest of your performance with your underwear on display?

At the opposite end, make sure your clothing and footwear is not too loose. We have seen many a performer wear inappropriate footwear that then flies off their feet in the middle of a scene. Whilst this can be funny, it is the wrong kind of funny, and it becomes awkward and annoying when the scene has to pause for the performer to retrieve their shoe. Bare feet, flip flops, pool slides and other open toe footwear are prohibited unless stated otherwise.

If you are wearing a t-shirt with a prominent logo, image, symbol or slogan on it, be aware of the effect this is going to have on the audience. If you are asking for a word from the audience, it is likely that whatever is on the t-shirt is going to be thrown back at you. You are permitted to wear clothes of a political nature so long as they are not calling for violence, hatred or discrimination against another group.

For any comedy performance, if an audience is not already familiar with you, you will first have to give the audience a general idea of who you are and win over their trust. Your appearance will form their immediate judgement of you and if you present yourself in a certain way you may be making your job harder than it needs to be. This can be a bitter pill to swallow for people who see clothing as purely functional and wish to be judged solely on their performance and their material but it is the reality.

There are no hard and fast rules, but we recommend that improv performers avoid looking overly scruffy and wear smart casual clothing. For standups, clowns and character comedians, you have more leeway and your clothing should be a shortcut for the comedic persona you are presenting. If it isn't, you may be creating additional friction and at worst, fighting your own material. This is especially relevant if you have a limited amount of time on stage (e.g standups doing 5 minute spots).

If you are part of a house team, there may be occasions — such as performing at an improv festival — where The Improv Chippy requests that you wear company-branded apparel during a performance. Likewise, instructors or members of staff may be asked to wear branded apparel during teaching sessions, coaching, or other official events where they are representing The Improv Chippy.

In these situations, The Improv Chippy will provide the necessary apparel if the individual does not already have it. We recognise that clothing is deeply personal, particularly for those with sensory sensitivities, and we will always discuss requirements in advance to ensure everyone's comfort and access needs are met. Exemptions will be granted where appropriate.

At the student level, we are not going to police you and your phone but it will be quietly noted. We were encouraged by our teachers to store all personal belongings (including our phones) in our bag and we encourage you to do the same. We even go so far as to remove jewellery to avoid any fidgeting with them on stage as it will be noticed by the audience.

If you want to be seen as a professional, we believe this is the only acceptable approach. We recognise that everyone has different learning methods, so if you wish to take notes, you may opt to keep your phone on you or a small notebook. However, we encourage you to skip taking notes and instead hone your deep listening skills. We will supply lesson summaries and supplementary materials for further study where appropriate.

For performers, if you are on your phone during rehearsals or performances without good reason, it will be seen as a reflection on how seriously you are taking your position and, in extreme cases, may end up in your removal from a team.

Personal belongings are solely the responsibility of the owner. The Improv Chippy Ltd is not responsible for any losses or damages to any personal belongings whilst you are attending any of our events.

Drinks may be consumed at any time, but please use suitable containers to avoid any disruptions from spillages. We cannot guarantee that drinking water will be available at our venues, so please make sure you bring enough water to see you through your event. Depending on the venue, you may not be allowed drinks on stage so please make sure you are adequately hydrated beforehand. Be mindful of the effect that caffeine has on your mood and your performance and if it is causing issues, taper your intake.

Please limit any substantial food consumption to before warm ups and during breaks. Small items such as sweets are acceptable to snack on throughout class, so long as it is not interfering with your performance. Please dispose of any rubbish and leave the venue in a tidy state.

The Improv Chippy aims to take a true neutral political stance, where no individual or group is above comedy or mockery. That being said, we believe most comedy should be punching up.

Anything possible to imagine can, in theory, be the content of any improv scene, sketch, clown routine or standup set. We do not want to limit creativity, but in order to protect participants and audience members, we must set some ground rules for improvised content.

If you are participating in a scene that makes you feel uncomfortable then, for any reason, you may block your scene partner or walk out of it at any time - do not feel pressured to stay in it because of "yes and" or some other rule/guideline. Do not let anyone bully you into doing something you don't want to do on stage.

If you are on the sidelines and watching a scene that makes you feel uncomfortable or you feel that one of the participants is in distress, edit the scene and/or raise your objection.

Authority figures and tech desk operators have an obligation to intervene or edit scenes if they feel a participant is in distress or the scene is irrecoverable.

At the start of most events, participants will be given the opportunity to voice any topics they find personally sensitive. Please respect your fellow particiapnts and do your best to avoid bringing up these topics, particularly if you are in a scene with them. For those with sensitive topics, please recognise that other people may have differing politics and beliefs, and they are entitled to voice them. Please also recognise that improv is spontaneous and even with the best intentions, participants cannot guarantee that a scene may not accidentally touch on your sensitive topic.

Instances of satire should be given room to breathe, but if not handled skillfully, can easily go off the rails. Be mindful of this and edit (including self-editing) any scenes you feel have become irrecoverable.

If you feel particularly affected, please inform a teacher, coach or other staff member as soon as possible. If you wish to initiate a formal complaint, please see the Formal Misconduct Procedure section below.

At the start of most events, participants will be given the opportunity to specify their personal tolerances for physical touch. Respect these at all times. Depending on the severity of the transgression, failure to do so could lead to your suspension from the event, temporary bans from The Improv Chippy, or in the most severe cases, permanent bans and your details passed to the authorities. Intimate touching (including kissing) is prohibited unless the participants have disclosed that they are in a intimate relationship to The Improv Chippy or have signed a disclaimer (see next section).

Be particularly cautious with participants you do not know very well or at events such as Jams where there is not adequate time to ascertain tolerances. If in doubt, either do not touch, verbally ask for consent, or proceed slowly, giving your scene partner ample time to either indicate their consent or lack thereof. You can indicate consent through subtle nods and/or meeting scene partners part way. You can indicate lack of consent through subtle shakes of the head and/or withdrawing. Know that whilst touch is a powerful tool, you can often get away with just using proxemics.

If someone is touching you in a way that is making you feel uncomfortable or that you deem inappropriate, please inform a teacher, coach or other staff member as soon as possible. If you wish to initiate a formal complaint, please see the Formal Misconduct Procedure section below.

Like Graham Chapman, we are fans of bad taste. However, we also think that overreliance on dark humour often indicates creative laziness and comedic immaturity. Being able to tell the difference will only come through failure and experience so we aim to give you the space and time necessary to grow as a performer. We will edit your scenes, call you out, or prompt you to change your line if we think you are being hack, just as our teachers did to us.

Make sure satire and dry humour stays on the right side of the line and that you do not lose the audience - abort the scene if you have got yourself in a mess.

Verbally discussing edgy topics is generally ok. Speech that falls under harassment is not.

Physical acts however, are another matter. Any scenes containing simulated sex acts, torture, extreme violence, slavery or other topics with the potential to cause significant harm or distress to other participants are prohibited under normal circumstances as they may constitute harassment or assault if consent is not present.

We recognise that some exceptionally good improv regularly featured such content, such as the legendary UCB Cage Match run by Heather & Miles with Heather herself saying that the characters she enjoys playing most are those in distress. We will therefore permit you to do such content providing that all the following conditions are met:

• All affected participants have verbally discussed their motivations and intentions with us.
• All affected participants have signed a consent form and disclaimer prior to the event.
• The Improv Chippy Ltd has received a copy of said form(s)
• The Improv Chippy has subsequently granted you explicit permission.

The granting of permission will depend on your level of experience, the strength of the personal relationships between the participants, and the trust we have in your skill and judgement to perform such material successfully and to abort it where necessary. Permission may be limited to specific events and permission may be revoked at any time.

Scripted content gives us the ability to refine and edit content and to check with each other in advance what our limitations are so we can block scenes accordingly. If you do not feel comfortable with something, please say so and we will try our best to adjust the piece and the blocking to accommodate. We will do our best to try and spot participants who look uncomfortable and talk to them to confirm they are ok, but ultimately we need you to voice your discomfort as we cannot read your mind.

For scripted content, the writer's artistic intent is paramount. If the writer, instructor, coach or director feels that a piece cannot be reasonably adjusted without losing it's intention and meaning, then we may recast your role. Please note that if this happens it does not have a negative effect on any position you hold at The Improv Chippy or any outcome of a term - for instance, you will not lose your place on a house sketch team and you will not receive a repeat recommendation for any term. It just means there is a mismatch between that particular role and yourself.

Because scripted content gives us the time to edit, refine and perform these necessary consent checks, we are more open to dark, distressing, intimate and edgy content in scripted settings than we are in improvised settings. As the vast majority of our shows are of a low budget nature, it is unlikely we will be able to afford an intimacy coordinator, stunt coordinator or content consultant. Blocking will therefore be a collaboration between the participants and the instructor, coach or director. Blocking will be discussed in advance and in certain cases we may ask you and all affected participants to sign a consent form and disclaimer detailing what has been mutually agreed upon. In the event that no mutual agreement can be found that will satisfy the demands of the script, the content will be dropped.

On certain occasions, The Improv Chippy may request that you avoid certain material at certain shows. For instance, a show containing swearing and edgy material would not be suitable if children were present. If we believe you have deliberately ignored these requests, it may result in disciplinary action.

Instructors and staff are under no obligation to interact with you outside of their work hours. Please respect their boundaries. If approaching them outside of their work hours, please do so in the manner you would greet any other acquaintance you do not know well - greet them cordially but do not expect them to give you any further time or attention. They are under no obligation to socialise with you if they do not want to.

This extends to social media, email and other channels. Instructors and staff may contact you via email or via social media groups. They may choose to answer technical questions, but are under no obligation to do so other than essential communications necessary for running their course. They are within their rights to ignore any communication and may request at any time that you stop communicating with them.

Failure to respect the boundaries of instructors and staff will lead to disciplinary action, and in severe cases, bans. If we deem your behaviour to constitute harassment, your information will be passed on to the relevant legal authorities.

Violence, assault, abuse, intimidation, unwanted physical contact, harassment or discrimination of any individual or group based on any of the following protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act 2010 is not tolerated:

• age
• gender reassignment
• being married or in a civil partnership
• being pregnant or on maternity leave
• disability
• race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• religion or belief
• sex
• sexual orientation

Anyone engaging in such behaviour may be removed from an event without refund and may be subject to a ban from future events.

If you witness or experience inappropriate behaviour, please speak to a member of staff immediately or lodge a complaint via the Formal Misconduct Procedure.

If your show is likely to contain significant audience interaction beyond asking for words or chatting, you must let us know before tickets go on sale so that we can inform the audience and they can make an informed decision before purchasing.

You are strictly prohibited at all times from performing any act on an audience member that may cause them distress or discomfort, unless they have explicitly given you their consent to do so. You are strictly prohibited from pressuring them or coercing them into giving you consent.

Participants and audience members may share personal information during events. Please keep such information confidential and do not share it outside of that event unless you have a legal obligation to do so.

We know that it is difficult to do so, but please leave your personal issues at the door and do not let them affect Improv Chippy events. If you are currently struggling with something, please let your instructor know so we can do our best to make reasonable adjustments to support you.

Please do not explore themes or situations that you know are traumatic to you and that you have not worked through and resolved.

Instructors, coaches, directors and staff members are not your therapists. Neither are your fellow participants. Improv can be therapeutic and will likely change your life but if it is not being performed as part of a theapeutic program then it is not therapy - therapy is therapy. Seek the help you need from a professional mental health professional. Navigo is one place in North East Lincolnshire where you can get such help.

Feel free to make people aware of what you are going through but please do your best to put it to one side and live in the present moment whilst you are participating in an Improv Chippy event. If you are unable to do so, please consider withdrawing from your course or from performances until you can.

For the majority of people, our classes and performances can be one of the most joyous parts of their week. If you repeatedly bring personal issues to events and you are affecting the enjoyment of other participants then, for the sake of the group, we may have to temporarily ban you from participation in our events until you get the help you need. Taking time to deal with mental health and trauma is healthy - ignoring it and bringing it everywhere you go is not. We will always welcome you back when you are healed.

If you are feeling overwhelmed at any point during an event, or feel a particular event is not for you, you may leave at any point without explanation. You may return after the feeling has passed or you may permanently leave - no offence will be taken either way. We cannot guarantee that our events will have a quiet space but will inform you if they do as part of the housekeeping at the start of a course.

If you leave unexpectedly, the authority figure in charge may try and check in with you, either in person or via another communication method to see if you are ok. They are however, under no obligation to do so. They are not your therapist and their main responsibility lies with running the event for the rest of the group.

If you do decide to permanently leave the event, we request that you send a message or otherwise notify the authority figure in charge for health and safety purposes. In the event we need to evacuate the building, we need to know who is still present so we can perform headcounts and make sure everyone has been evacuated safely. Failure to report your decision to leave may result in disciplinary action - we do not take kindly to those who put the lives of firefighters at risk.

The Improv Chippy sees it as an inevitability that some of you will start dating each other as this is what we have witnessed at every other improv school and theatre. In general, we do not care, so long as the relationship does not affect our events. If a couple, throuple, love triangle or any other dating configuration is causing tensions, we reserve the right to take action in order to protect the enjoyment and utility of the event for other participants and audience members. Such action will be taken on a case-by-case basis and may include:

• Ensuring participants are kept apart in classes
• Removing participants from terms, intensives and workshops
• Removing members from house teams
• Temporary or permanent bans from all Improv Chippy events

The Improv Chippy has no interest in being a couples counsellor and does not take kindly to our time being wasted on such issues. If your love life becomes an issue for us, it may have a negative impact on your audition chances and future opportunities with the company.

We strictly prohibit the formation of relationships between students and instructors while the student is a participant in a course ran by an instructor. If we have reasonable grounds to believe this has occurred, we may take disciplinary action, including bans for both parties involved.

If the course has finished, dating between students and instructors is allowed. Any pre-existing relationships between students and instructors must be disclosed to The Improv Chippy before any course starts.

If we have reasonable grounds to believe that any authority figure has engaged in or attempted to engage in any 'quid pro quo' behaviour, including sexual favours, said person will be subject to a permanent ban from The Improv Chippy. Details may be passed on to legal authorities and we may also inform other improv or comedy institutions in order to help them protect their customers.

If you wish to initiate a formal complaint, please see the Formal Misconduct Procedure section below.

Most improv and sketch shows do not have a protagonist. You are therefore not the main character and you do not have a right to hog scenes, jump into scenes where you are not needed, take over entire shows, or steal stage time from others.

Whilst we encourage spontaneity, there is a general rhythm and etiquette to an improv show. If you do not look after your team mates and ensure everyone gets a turn, we will notice, and it will have an extremely negative impact on your course outcomes and audition chances. Conversely, if we see you supporting the quieter and shyer members of a group, this will be looked upon extremely favourably. Be a team player.

In classes, refrain from interupting others, hogging discussion time, and taking an unfair share of the teacher's time and attention. Every person must have a voice. If we believe your behaviour has become disruptive and is affecting other participants, our first step will be to discuss the behaviour we are finding problematic with you and give you a chance to make adjustments. If it continues, we may have no other option but to take disciplinary action.

Generally, avoid giving notes and feedback to other participants unless:

• An exercise specifically calls for it
• The participant has requested it
• An instructor or coach has opened up the floor for discussion

It rarely goes over well otherwise.

Feel free to share personal anecdotes and experiences if a fellow participant has expressed difficulty with a topic and you have something relevant that may help.

If you have differences in taste and opinion and find a fellow participant to be offensive or upsetting, you may voice your opinion provided you do so in a respectful way that is in good faith and is open to discussion of the matter. If you believe you have irreconcilable differences with another participant, please let the authority figure in charge know and we will do our best to keep you and the other participant separated. However, we will not take formal disciplinary action against participants unless we consider them to be disruptive, harassing, acting in bad faith or otherwise not complying with the terms set out in this policy.

Not all techniques resonate with all participants - we encourage you to take what works for you and discard what doesn't. What we do not encourage, is for you to disregard a method without first having given it a reasonable chance or understanding why and when it is generally used.

As an improviser or comedy writer, you will develop your own personal preferences. But, over the course of your career, you will find yourself working with a wide variety of people who will also have their own proclivities. Understanding their techniques and playing styles will help you better work with these people which in turn will have a positive impact on your career and garner you respect within the comedy community.

If you only want to play in a certain way that is fine - so long as you are working with people who only want to play that way too. At many improv events, like jams and festival events, this will not be the case, and you will be best served to find the middle ground. You do not want the reputation as the difficult person to work with who refuses to adapt to the context.

If you find yourself performing in a show format you do not like, stick it out until the end of the show and then leave the team. But if you are in a workshop and feel something is really not for you, we encourage you to be honest and leave rather than sticking around out of politeness. We have done the latter before during a festival workshop and in hindsight deeply regret it as it tarnished the atmosphere for everyone else.

If you are struggling with the content of a course or disagree with something, please let the teacher know. We will do our best to explain our take on the subject and provide you with resources to help you. We do not take offence and if something we teach does not hold up to scrutiny then we need to take that on board and adapt our curriculum.

If you wish to report any incidents of personal misconduct by a student, teacher, performer or member of staff, you may do so by sending an email to safety@improvchippy.com giving as much detail as possible.

If there are urgent safety concerns, we will first seek a short term fix to head off any immediate issues. We will then perform our own investigation. Investigations will seek to maintain the privacy of all involved and will be handled as confidentially as possible. If you are contacted as part of an investigation, please cooperate and answer any questions openly, honestly and to the best of your ability.

If you feel that initiating an incident report has resulted in threats or retaliation for yourself or others, please send the additional details to the above email address so we can add them to our investigation.

If we have sufficient grounds to support the incident report(s), we will take any remedial or disciplinary actions we feel are proportionate to the offence against the transgressor(s). We shall also review our processes and policies to see if there is anything we can change to avoid similar incidents from occuring in the future. If we need to pass details on to any legal authorities, we shall do so.

At the end of the investigation we will inform you of our findings and any actions we are taking unless we are prevented from doing so by law. Note that we are not a legal authority, all decisions are made at our own discretion, and any decisions we make are final unless new evidence comes to light.

If we find evidence that an incident report has been deliberately fabricated in an attempt to damage an individual's reputation, for some personal gain or for any other nefarious reason, it may result in disciplinary action for the individual who fabricated said report. Details of our findings may passed on to the authorities and/or the legal representative of the individual who was subject to the enquiry and may be used against you in any subsequent legal proceedings.

It is unlikely we will investigate anonymous reports, hearsay, rumours or gossip. If you are going to accuse someone, you must be willing to stand by your words.