It's time to say “Yes! And…" to
The key to improvisation is the “Yes! And…” principle, which teaches us to actively listen to each other’s ideas and add value to them in every moment.
When we support each other in this way, we are more engaged, collaborative, and creative. We not only achieve more together, we enjoy doing so!
Imagine what your business could achieve if everyone...
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They said, "Yes! And..." with us
When my team realized I had scheduled a team building that involved improv, there were a lot of surprised and very nervous looks. I asked the team after the session was over how many were afraid at the beginning and 50% raised their hands. I then asked how many would do it again and they all raised their hands!
This team building was a great mix of bringing the team together and providing training on leadership tools and awareness. The learnings will be immediately impactful. The instructors were high energy and did a great job of making it fun, engaging and educational.
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5 Fundamentals of Improv For business
Companies that train with us learn to integrate these 5 key principles of improvisation into their culture to improve their business outcomes.
1 - Perform as an ensemble
Always "have each others' backs." Great ensembles utilize the divergent strengths of the individual while putting the needs of the team first. Each member trusts that they will be supported by everyone else.
2 - Think or say, "Yes! And..."
Treat every idea and action as a gift to create a growth mindset. This simple phrase has immense power to quickly improve interpersonal communications and cultivate a culture in which ideas flow freely.
3 - Take Action
Take bold decisive action in each moment to succeed under pressure. Quiet your inner critic and "think on your feet." Commit and follow-through. If you don't believe in your idea why will anyone else?
4 - Be flexible
Take every opportunity to step outside your comfort zone. Be open to learn from mistakes and flexible to adapt to changes.
5 - Find the Joy
Celebrate every success and laugh whenever possible. People love to laugh and humor and playfulness puts everyone at ease and breaks down barriers. In fact, we don't teach people to make jokes. We help them discover the humor and joy by practicing the first 4 principles.
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How It Works
Prepare
In every workshop we teach, we create a learning lab environment where every participant feels supported and able to take risks.
Since learning happens best when we are just slightly out of our comfort zones, our facilitators constantly monitor the comfort level for each person in the room and ensure they find success just outside of their comfort zone. We pay close attention to introverts and help create space for them in a room of extroverts.
No one is expected or encouraged to be funny, but everyone will be laughing a lot - and everyone loves to laugh.
play
Improv exercises are introduced at various levels of difficulty, concentration, and risk-taking. Each game we facilitate is chosen to match your team and your goals and each has a few simple rules plus a point of concentration.
Just like basketball or any other team sport, the point of concentration is a single focus the group shares towards achieving a goal, just like getting a ball in a basket as many times as possible within a time limit. Everyone practices being “in the moment”, collaborating as a group, and laughing at our “mistakes” while working to achieve the shared goal.
apply
Most importantly, after each game, we spend ample time debriefing the experience and applying it to real-world challenges or goals.
Our facilitators aren’t just actors or comedians, they have real experience in business and are highly adept at helping participants discover connections between the skills each game builds and their everyday work lives.
As Featured In
we empower the world's
most innovative teams
to
collaborate & thrive
during times of
growth, change, & uncertainty
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Our programs aren't for everyone.
While everyone can benefit from practicing improvisation for business (and life), our programs are best for organizations that recognize they have untapped talent amongst them and with more spirited collaboration and fresh challenges will be more engaged at work and accomplish more amazing things together for the business.
We partner with companies that value a culture of idea sharing and risk taking and know that “culture eats strategy for lunch.” These companies don’t settle for “the way we’ve always done it” and are constantly looking for innovative ways to adapt to the changing business landscape.
If this is you, we want to work with you to help you achieve every “stretch goal” you’ve set and increase your bottom line using the power of improvisation for business.
Our trainings are best for
- Teams that want to be engaged and challenged.
- Leaders that want to see meaningful changes in the mindsets of their team members.
- HR executives that want to know they are getting the greatest ROI for their training dollars.
- Employees that dread the thought of another 3-hour PowerPoint presentation.
- Businesses that know that taking risks is essential to getting ahead.
Improvisation truly challenges people to be authentic, vulnerable, and participate fully in the team activity. And, that's what we'll bring to your team.
News, Resources, and Inspiration
There are many ways to apply improv principles in business. Here are our top 5 suggestions....
Amy appears on Divine Urge sharing How to Be More Courageous in life!...
find out what brought this software entrepreneur to improv and how he uses improv in his business and his life....
School is back in session and just before the Cajon Valley School District teachers returned to their classrooms we had the incredible honor of facilitating a multi-day workshop to help them embrace change with the tools of improv! We wo...
One of our esteemed teachers and community leaders Shawn Roop recently brought together volunteers at the San Diego Red Cross for an afternoon of learning and laughing. “Talking with the team, they shared with me how serious their jobs a...
Recently, Amy Lisewski appeared on Dan Quiggle’s leadership podcast, “Garage to Goliath,” to discuss how the methods of improv can empower people to be better, more positive leaders! Listen to episode 026 of Garage to Goliath | Leaders ...