Creativity is at a premium in our world, and subjecting our teams and audiences to mind and rear-numbing marches through an endless stream of slides is the best way I know to stifle creativity.
There’s got to be a better way!
Val Gee and Sarah Gee in their recent book, Business Improv, offer both hope and some practical solutions to the aforementioned painful march through training sessions and internal meetings. Blending experiential learning and the improvisation activities practiced in the world of theater, Val and Sarah have created a wonderful collection of activities designed to both get people engaged and help them overcome the many obstacles and barriers that get in the way of creative and problem-solving discussions.
I’m naturally leery of anything that has the odor of goofy games or childish ice-breakers, and this book and its collection of ideas and activities is thankfully and helpfully far afield of those types of works. While any activity that has us up and out of our seats and engaging with each other sets off natural warning lights, Business Improv keeps it professional and business focused.
According to Val and Sarah, the book and the activities are great for managers, team leaders, change leaders, trainers/facilitators and audiences ranging from executive to front-line to technical and creative.
OK, enough from me, let’s connect with the experts on how Business Improv can change and improve the discussion quality in our organizations.
Episode Sound-Bites:
- Why and how the combination of experiential learning and the techniques of improvisation taught and practiced in the theater can help us improve our learning and discussion activities.
- The benefits of incorporating some fun into our learning and meeting activities.
- Why you don’t have to be “funny” to put Business Improv to work.
- How the activities facilitate the “suspension of judgment to help promote quality exchanges.
- Yes, this is role-playing on steroids. How to use the tools to create a supportive atmosphere that allows for people to move comfortably far beyond their comfort zones.
- Using the activity debriefs to maximize learning.
- How to go “from zero to trust” quickly in the meeting settings.
About Val and Sarah Gee:
Val Gee is co-founder of the global training firm MJLearning headquartered in Chicago, and the author of numerous books, including: The Winner’s Attitude, Super Service, The Customer Service Toolkit and others.
Sarah Gee is a leadership consultant and an alum of Chicago’s The Second City and has performed with Tina Fey, Martin Short, Eric Idle, Tim Meadows and other comedy legends.
About the Leadership Caffeine Podcast:
The purpose of this show is to connect with leaders, management thinkers, authors, educators, entrepreneurs and anyone else passionate about improving and innovating in leadership and management. If you are interested in being a guest on the show, contact Art Petty.
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About Art Petty:
Art Petty is a Leadership & Career Coach helping motivated professionals of all levels achieve their potential. In addition to working with highly motivated professionals, Art frequently works with project teams in pursuit of high performance. Art’s second book, Leadership Caffeine-Ideas to Energize Your Professional Development, was released at the end of September in 2011.
Contact Art via e-mail to discuss a coaching, workshop or speaking engagement.
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