Improv In the Workplace? Just Say Yes!
by Karl Plesz
I’ve been a student of improvisation for over 15 years. As you may know, improvisational theatre involves simultaneously creating and acting out stories without the benefit of a script. This is not easy to do, and it is a craft that requires constant training and practice. As I began to learn the fundamental lessons of improv from the masters, I had an ‘aha!’ moment. The skills we were learning were completely applicable to the workplace, school, social circles, and life in general.
Among other things, I was learning to lose my fear of failure, and instead showed how to embrace failure as a necessary part of learning. I was taught to put my ego aside, be in the moment and accept all offers (ideas) instead of delaying, denying, or blocking them. Further, not only to accept the new ideas, but to build on them, breathe life into them, pass the ideas along to someone else, and see how they evolve. Do all ideas survive? No. But every idea deserves to be examined, no matter the agenda.
These basic improv lessons accomplish a variety of things when taught to a corporate or academic audience. Among them, building self-confidence, pushing personal boundaries, promoting equality and teamwork, making interpersonal connections, developing focus, active listening, being in the moment, evolving the group mind, promoting creativity and imagination, learning new forms of communication, practising spontaneity, enabling experimentation, and finally, something often quite foreign to many work and school environments – having fun while learning.
I have had opportunities to teach some of these skills to academic audiences with amazing and transformative results. Students were blown away by what they were learning, they were able to instantly use these new tools to solve problems, and many wanted to know more. I foresee a future where improvisational skills becomes a crucial part of a regular curriculum in schools, and hopefully workplaces as well. Just imagine the continuing development of students, workers, and management, learning how to create and make each other look good through regular creative exercises. All while having fun. What a concept!
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