IMPROV AT WORK: The Top 3 business-improvisation Questions of the Week
Q: How do I ask my boss for a raise?
A: Well, this is a full workshop, but the guiding concepts that will help you ask your boss for a raise is 1. Listen to your him/herÖ REALLY listen, rather than succumbing to the desire to close your ears and push your own agenda.Q: I don’t get along with a guy that I work with, but my boss has put me on a project with him, and expects us to work together on a deadline driven project. How am I supposed to do this when we don’t see things eye to eye?
A: Rather than allowing your emotions to control you and eventually trump and sabotage the greater good (the project being a success and you keeping your job!), see if you can raise the bar.. the other person may have a different way of doing things, and they may be just as smart as you! Your value to your boss may come from being able to be effective with challenging people. Listen, adapt, loosen your grip on how YOU think it should go.. IMPROVISE!!Q: How can I show my employees that I am listening to them?
A: Communication is a huge issue. Many people feel they need to protect their reputation, or create their legacy, and this causes selfish behavior. Improv is helping by causing everybody to stop and listen to each other. How can individuals or businesses get more information about your workshops?If YOU have a questions, feel free to write me at julian@improv-alive.com, or, just stop by and say hi at www.improv-alive.com. Heck, you can even give me a call at 206-437-9455! That’s how super-approachable I am.
~Julian Schrenzel Chief Spontaneity Officer Improv-Alive.com
IMPROV MADE PRACTICAL Q&A: Part IV – TRUST!.. What’s Improv got to do with it?
Q: Most people will tell you there is lack of trust in many working environments. One of the main foundations of improv is trust. How do you “break the ice” and have colleagues gain trust in eachother in your workshops?
A: When a bunch of “non-improv” people engage in improvisation, it often starts with most people feeling anxious or nervous about doing something they think is VERY hard, and takes a special kind of ‘artistic mind’. Once they realize that what we’re really doing is just playing a bunch of games and having fun, the nerves calm down and give way to fun and silliness. This transition from fear to fun is when all the benefits start to happen. In a workshop, it is made crystal clear in the beginning that their goal is to MESS UP. When they’re given license to fail, and they know that everybody in the room has the same license, then the pressure is removed and people begin to let themselves play. That’s how the ice is broken. Here are a couple of great trust-building exercises you might try with your teams before your next meeting:- “YES, LET’S!”:
Team walks randomly around the room. Periodically and randomly, someone says “Hey, Let’s _____!” Everybody enthusiastically replies, “YES! Let’s _____!!” and all begin doing that thing until the next random person yells, “Hey, Let’s _____!” Everybody enthusiastically replies, “YES! Let’s _____!!” and all begin doing that thing, etc…
THE TAKE AWAY: This game is not only hilarious to play, but also introduces a culture of agreement and support in your meeting.
- “THE ADVERTISERS”:
Each team has exactly five minutes to create an ad campaign for an ordinary product that does something ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY. Each group must come up with an entire marketing strategy AND finished commercial. Specifically, they must come up with: a name for the product, a package design, a slogan, a spokesperson from the team designated to lead them in the pitch, and they must come up with, and perform a jingle (which all members of the team must participate). Naturally, the only way to do this in five minutes is through complete and total agreement. No negative thinking is allowed. Every idea should be accepted enthusiastically and remembered, each step is built off the previous idea. After five minutes, each team stands in front of the whole group “the audience”, and presents their pitch, (to thunderous applause and support from the audience!)
THE TAKE AWAY: The Advertisers is high energy and thoroughly entertaining for all involved. It requires agreement, non self-judgement, and creation.
IMPROV MADE PRACTICAL Q&A: Part III – WORK!.. What’s Improv got to do with it?
Q: How does Improvisation help corporations and their employees achieve a better working environment?A: This is a recurring question that I have been grappling with an effective answer to for a long time.. Myself being an artist & business leader, I already get the power of improvisation to effect change in teams & organizations. I’ve seen it, been a part of it and I trust it. However, as a teacher of improvisation in the world of business and higher education, I am constantly in the position of conveying this value to business and academic leaders who are looking for something more.. concrete, specific. Less conceptual and general.
The world in to which I’m trying to bring improvisation is constantly looking for the solution to their specific problem(s), they want to define the ROI, they want to see an outline with benchmarks. I find it next to impossible to avoid trying to fit improv into a box in order to cause my prospective clients to realize the value of subjecting their employees, students or clients to improvisational workshops. Here is a Wednesday afternoon attempt.. a thought journey, if you will: I liken the practice of improvisation to the practice of lifting weights: You don’t pump iron just so you can lift weights better, you pump iron to tone your muscles which you will then use more efficiently in your daily life. In the same way, improvisation is not the result. It isn’t even the direct solution to the result. When people intentionally improvise, they use their brains in new and unfamiliar ways, and when these activities are introduced in the context of ’play‘, ‘fun‘ or ‘exploration‘, people tend to lower their defenses and engage. Practicing improvisation is all about listening, accepting & supporting other’s ideas, and building, building, building.
Is there anyone out there who would prefer less listening? Less supporting? Less building in their organization?
Finally, Pumping iron is SEXY, and so it’s commonly practiced. The practice of improvisation, however, is generally considered to be only for Artists or Comics. The more we can change this stigma, the more improvisation will be adopted in business, education, and the world.
IMPROV MADE PRACTICAL Q&A: (Part II)
Q: Aren’t un-scripted performances haphazard and chaotic?A: When improv is done right, it can absolutely be chaotic, but not haphazard. A lot of people think that improv is just getting up and doing anything and everything that pops into their mind. Improvisation on the stage is totally free in that is has no script & no blocking (planed movement), however, within that freedom, there are general guidelines that improvisers follow that create a ‘framework’ in which we play. These guidelines keep us from “haphazard” performances. This framework consists of tools that force us to constantly and intensely listen to each other, and cause every action to be in support of the others on the team, rather than making one’s SELF look good. This is the key to making improv look good!
IMPROV MADE PRACTICAL Q&A: (Part I)
QUESTION: How do you define ‘improvisation’ and how can we use it in our daily lives?ANSWER: Improvisation is what we all do every day; it’s simply interacting and functioning in the world without a pre-determined plan of action. When was the last time you “scripted” your day? ..Me neither. We’re all improvisers all the time. Most of what makes improvisation seem difficult is that we believe that it’s difficult. Once we see through that myth, we can start to experience the powerful tool that improv is in our day to day interactions, both professional and personal.
14 In-the-Moment Ideas to make 2014 the Best Year:
Here are 14 guiding principles to help keep you engaged, authentic and self-empowered as you gallop into the year of the HORSE:
- Make friends with FAILURE: The difference between the Master and the Beginner is that Master has failed more times than the Beginner has even tried. The moment that you can truly be absolutely cool with the possibility that you may fail at a given activity, you have learned the most valuable lesson. Then, the world is your oyster!
- Listen. No, REALLY Listen: Humans have five physical senses. Hearing is only one of them, but LISTENING requires at least two at a time.
- Play more: Side effects include increased cognitive function, lowered blood pressure, improved motor response, improved problem-solving skills and more FRIENDS.
- Ditch Perfectionism: Mistakes are an invaluable part of the human experience. Consider the invention of Penicillin, Potato Chips, Fireworks, and the Slinky.. All accidents! Boo-yah!!
- Refocus to the Present: It’s easy to let your mind drift or become distracted from the person or task that you’re with right now. Stop and gently refocus.
- Take 1 single ACTION Today: No matter how small, how easy, commit to one single ACT (not plan, not research, but an actual “DO”).
- Try saying “Yes”: At some point this coming year, you’re going to be in a position where you will reject someone’s idea for whatever reason. In that moment, ask yourself if there is an infinitesimal chance that you could be wrong, and if there is, try accepting the idea and notice what happens.
- Build-Up instead of Tare-Down: The next time you find yourself compelled to cynicism or negativity in a business meeting, (and we’ve ALL been there), go against your emotion and deliberately try accepting and building on the idea and see what happens.
- Try something NEW: Even if it’s just a different route to the coffee station. A tiny change can make ALL the difference.
- Complement a Stranger: Try throwing out the old adage “Don’t talk to strangers” as you ride up the escalator, or wait in the check-out line. Are you scared you’ll be seen as a “weirdo” if you speak up? Hog-wash! That’s just FEAR talkin’.
- Give Anonymously: Even if it’s just a nice note left on the table for your server; Doing something for someone without expectation or credit is an act of grace.
- A Moment of Gratefulness: Spend 10-SECONDS of the day today simply thinking of something you’re grateful for in your life.
- Don’t Worry, Think Rhino!: This one is courtesy of my wise father. Most of the things we humans worry about on a daily basis aren’t worth the amount of worry we put into them! Whenever you start to worry, think of a Rhinoceros.. Really get mentally specific; the skin texture, the ear hair, the cracks in the horn.. REALLY focus in on it. Notice what soon starts to happen.
- SAY IT!: “I’m glad that you’re my friend”, “I Love You”, “Thank You”.. What a wonderful thing to hear from anybody, and it takes all of a second or so to do it.
Happy New Year from Improv-Alive!
Bridging the gap between Business and Improvisation
Bridging the gap between Business and Improvisation
However, as a teacher of improvisation in the world of business and higher education, I am constantly in the position of conveying this value to business and academic leaders who are looking for something more.. concrete, specific. Less conceptual and general.
The world in to which I’m trying to bring improvisation is constantly looking for the solution to their specific problem(s), they want to define the ROI, they want to see an outline with benchmarks. I find it next to impossible to avoid trying to fit improv into a box in order to cause my prospective clients to realize the value of subjecting their employees, students or clients to improvisational workshops. Here is a Saturday morning attempt.. a thought journey, if you will: I liken the practice of improvisation to the practice of lifting weights: You don’t pump iron just so you can lift weights better, you pump iron to tone your muscles which you will then use more efficiently in your daily life. In the same way, improvisation is not the result. It isn’t even the direct solution to the result. When people intentionally improvise, they use their brains in new and unfamiliar ways, and when these activities are introduced in the context of ‘play‘, ‘fun‘ or ‘exploration‘, people tend to lower their defenses and engage. Practicing improvisation is all about listening, accepting & supporting other’s ideas, and building, building, building.Finally, Pumping iron is SEXY, and so it’s commonly practiced. The practice of improvisation, however, is generally considered to be only for Artists or Comics. The more we can change this stigma, the more improvisation will be adopted in business, education, and the world. Julian Schrenzel Improv-Alive.com 206-437-9455 julian@improv-alive.comIs there anyone out there who would prefer less listening? Less supporting? Less building in their organization?
improv-alive’s Chief Spontaneity Officer On Creativity
Creativity Coach & Improv-Alive Founder Julian Schrenzel
Business Lessons from the Stage
Improvisation Lessons