{"id":1274,"date":"2015-07-02T08:40:39","date_gmt":"2015-07-02T14:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/?p=1274"},"modified":"2023-04-27T09:56:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T15:56:23","slug":"improv-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholeperson.com\/blog\/improv-workplace","title":{"rendered":"Improv in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Does Improv really help in the workplace?<\/h2>\n
\"Izzy

Izzy Gesell<\/p><\/div>\n

By Izzy Gesell<\/a><\/p>\n

How much relevance do Improv Theater techniques have to our daily professional and personal lives? Whether you are a teacher, coach, corporate executive, sales representative, stay-at-home mom, blue-collar worker or professional speaker, you will find Improv to be intuitive, fascinating and immediately applicable to what you face on a day-to-day basis. This blog is directed toward individuals who desire to become more confident, playful, spontaneous, and effective.<\/p>\n

People Assess Your Value\/Reputation Based on How Your Actions Impact Their Emotions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Early on in my programs, I invite a volunteer to come up and learn an Improv game.\u00a0 Generally, there are very few takers.\u00a0 I then ask for some of the folks who hadn’t volunteered to share what thinking they went through that kept their hands from going up.\u00a0 The reasons are many.\u00a0 Among the most common answers are: “I don’t want to look foolish,” “I don’t know what the game is about”, “I don’t like to be first”, and “I was taught never to volunteer.”<\/p>\n

Eventually, someone does volunteer.\u00a0 As the<\/p>\n

person comes up, I ask the people sitting in the audience how they feel now that someone had volunteered.\u00a0 Most of the comments are about much relief was felt, how relaxed they now were able to be, and how grateful they were to the volunteer for stepping up.\u00a0 In other words, the person who stepped up had the power, through his or her action, to transform the emotional climate for the whole group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The volunteer thereby gains a very high status in the group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>A status gained not by a conscious effort to be liked, but by a desire to volunteer to play for whatever personal reason.\u00a0 And the entire group took note!<\/p>\n

IMPROV TECHNIQUE TO PRACTICE:<\/strong>\u00a0Trying to figure out what’s right or best or most creative or most helpful or most controlling is futile in Improv.\u00a0 The only way through is to be spontaneous, authentic and expeditious in your actions.\u00a0 Make your statements or actions flow from what you want to do.\u00a0 Whenever you notice yourself attempting to figure out what someone else needs or desires, bring your focus back to what you want or need to do.<\/p>\n

HERE\u2019S WHY IT WORKS:\u00a0<\/strong>In life, once you know that others are watching you and judging you based on their own feelings, you realize you may as well act on your own beliefs and desires.\u00a0 Do what you want to do and how you want to do it.\u00a0 There is a saying that “nature knows neither right nor wrong, only consequences”.<\/p>\n

Since it is futile to try and figure out how to please all others or what they are expecting, you may as well do what you believe is right.\u00a0 If you fail, at least you fail with your own truth. Living your own truth is the simplest way to being authentic in your life.<\/p>\n

IMPROV GAME TO PLAY:\u00a0\u00a0 “What Are You Doing?”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Players learn to focus on what is actually happening rather than what is being said.<\/p>\n

Goals:<\/strong><\/p>\n