A presentation of business improvisation content explored interactively through customized workshops prepared and presented by PS: RESEARCH! and Consulting

1. Practicing The Art of Continual Change Using Improvisational Theatre Skills Kirk Bridgman, M.B.A.

2. We are living in some of the most challenging and rapidly changing times many of us have ever seen War Terrorism Instability of the economy Acceleration of technological change The recent surge of unethical business practices

3. To succeed in this climate requires us to take individual and collective actions which are Quick Decisive Adaptive Yet it’s human nature to resist change and fear uncertainty

4. How can we best prepare to think, act and COMMUNICATE in this fast paced and unpredictable world? “The techniques of improvisational theatre are the techniques of communicating.” Viola Spolin, “Improvisation for the Theatre”

5. Improvisation is arguably humanity's oldest skill and it gives us the capacity to experiment, take new actions and generate new ideas. “Life is like improv. You do not know where you are going, just where you have been.”Kat Koppett, “Training to Imagine” Think about the last time you did not know what to do or your team was stuck for answers. What did you do? You improvised. You thought creatively, stepped outside of your conditioned patterns and asked different questions.

7. Take action to address relevant issues

8. Continually move forward in a positive new direction

9. Work with one’s intuition towards useful results

10. Operate clearly in chaotic situations

11. Take risks

12. See delight in the “new”Sound Familiar!

13. "Improvisation is probably one of the two or three cardinal skills for businesses to learn in the future." John Kao, Harvard Business School Learning the skills of Improvisational Theatre can help individuals and teams to better: Embrace uncertainty Exploit opportunities for change Respond appropriately, in the moment, at the top of their intelligence

14. As with almost everything, theatre improv has some rules Three #1 Rules of Improvisation Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

16. We are taught from earliest years to resist our impulses

18. Take responsibility for both yourself and others

20. “There are people who prefer to say YES AND, and there are people who prefer to say NO BUT. Those who say YES are rewarded by the adventures they have. Those who say NO are rewarded by the safety they attain.” Keith Johnstone “Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre”

22. Someone else might get more credit than us

23. We don’t like the person who made the offer

24. Contradicting or debating makes us feel smart

25. We think anoffer is “bad”

26. We take too much “ownership” of our own offer

27. We don’t take time to understand other offers

28. An offer feels risky, silly or unoriginal

29. We think that conflict is exciting

32. Tone of voice – How did the actor sound; happy, sad, tired, frustrated, triumphant, casual?

33. Props – Was the actor carrying anything; grocery bags, a pet, a briefcase, a newspaper, maybe even a knife?

34. Fumbling with door – What could that mean?

35. General physical demeanor – How was the actor walking; forthright, stumbling, casually, fast paced? All of these are offers

36. Improv Skills Building Blocks Trust Storytelling Spontaneity Status Yes And Listening and Awareness

37. What is Trust? (credibility) (intimacy) TRUSTf risk Trust exists when the perceived degree of credibility and intimacy inherent in an encounter exceeds the perceived risk involved with that same encounter

38. Credibility – a sense of: Trustworthiness Reliability Reputation Integrity Sincerity Confidence Certainty Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

39. Intimacy – a sense of: Familiarity Closeness Empathy Awareness Understanding Informality Relationship Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

40. Risk – a sense of: DANGER POSSIBILITY Chance Jeopardy Hazard Attempt Venture Threat FEAR OPPORTUNITY Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

41. (credibility) (intimacy) TRUSTf risk Build trust by increasing credibility and intimacy while at the same time decreasing negative risk by shifting the perception of risk from DANGER and FEAR to POSSIBILITY and OPPORTUNITY. Practice the Three #1 Rules of Improvisation Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

42. Spontaneity “The moment of personal freedom when we are faced with a reality and see it, explore it, and act accordingly.” Viola Spolin

43. Spontaneity = Following Impulses Desire Urge Signal Compulsion Whim Drive Inclination Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

44. Perception of Negative Risk = Danger Jeopardy Threat Fear I might fail I might be wrong I might seem foolish I might look stupid I might be rejected

45. The greater the perception of negative risk (danger), the less likely one is to follow impulses and be spontaneous Negative Risk = Calculated Interaction

46. Encourage Positive Risk Taking Seeing Possibility Taking a Chance Making the Attempt Venturing into the Unknown Exploring Opportunities

47. Explore Impulses Play the Fool Be Obvious Have Fun Celebrate Failures Ask What-If

48. Practice the Three #1 Rules of Improvisation Do it, Don’t Censor Make Others Look Good Respond with YES AND

49. Listening and Awareness “Before any offer can be accepted, it must be recognized. . . There is so much information bombarding us in a given moment that to make sense of it, we blot out and distort the data. We make choices about what to focus on.”Kat Koppett “Training to Imagine.”

51. First person whispers a short story to the person next to them

52. That person repeats the same story as heard to the next person

53. So on and so on until the story is passed around the circle

54. The final story is usually VERY different than the originalWhy is that?

56. Tone of voice of the storyteller

57. Emotional involvement of the storyteller

59. Ignored

60. RejectedOnly offers which have been accepted are passed along

61. How to ensure the final story is more like the original Practice the Three #1 Rules of Improvisation Do it, Don’t Censor As a listener, don’t censor an offer – that’s rejecting it Make Others Look Good As a storyteller, make it easy for others by keeping the offers big, bold and simple – that makes it less likely that important offers will be ignored Respond with YES AND As a listener, respond to offers with YES AND – that’s accepting it

63. You made it hard for me to comment without conflict

65. You provided new information I can respond to

67. YES AND I say: “Hi Honey, I’m home.” Honey (accepting my verbal offer) says: “Hi dear, glad you’re home.” Honey (picking up on another offer) adds: “ You sound tired. It must have been a hard day at work” By not only accepting an offer (YES), but adding to an offer (AND) the progress of the interaction is expanded

69. Associations are stimulated

71. The structure is apparent either explicitly (it’s right in front of our nose) or implicitly (we use our imaginations)

72. Platform

73. Once upon a time

74. Everyday

75. Catalyst

76. But one day

77. Heart of the Story

78. Because of that

79. Climax

80. Finally

81. Resolution

83. Catalyst But one day the son of one of the families crashed the birthday party of the other families daughter.

85. They secretly married

86. The son wanted the killing to stop

87. He stepped into the middle of a fight and inadvertently caused the death of his best friend

88. In agony and rage, he killed the killer, his wife’s cousinAnd then

90. The lovers needed to employ a complicated plan to be reunited

91. The complicated plan depended on other people, and communication broke down

92. The son did not realize that his wife was going to fake her death, and thought she was really dead

94. Resolution And ever since then both families have stopped the nonsensical war between them and have learned to cooperate, live and work happily together

95. Status The Dynamics of Power

96. Two Different Kinds of Status Positional (title) Personal

97. A female lawyer in a suit walks into a singles bar. She has just won a big case for her firm. She is approached at the bar by a taller male co-worker carrying a briefcase. The bar is crowded so he is very close, looking steadily down on her as he congratulates her. Startled, she giggles, avoiding his eyes, and thanks him as her head tilts, her hand goes to her hair, and she then crosses her arms in front of her. He raises his palm between them to stop conversation as he signals the bartender and orders a scotch and a daiquiri.

98. She glances at him, smiling, but looks immediately back at the bar, her head moving slightly right and left. When his hand comes down, she says, “So, uh, you were, uh, there in court today?” He says, “Yeah, I didn’t think women could handle criminal litigation.” Her head immediately straightens and freezes. Turning toward him, she brings her face closer to his, looking straight into his eyes. “I didn’t think men drank Daiquiris.” What’s happened tothe balance of status?

99. STATUS What defines personal status Choice of words Tone of voice (emotions/feelings) Actions Clothing Personal props Environment

100. Four Status States

101. What Does Status Look Like? Unpleasant High Pleasant High High Status Tend to talk more More likely to interrupt Erect posture Strong eye contact General display of confidence.

102. What Does Status Look Like? Unpleasant Low Pleasant Low Low Status Makes oneself appear small both physically and vocally Hesitant or halting speech Touching one’s face and hair Trying to make eye contact, but looking away quickly

103. People accept or confer status through behaviors, based on variables such as: Knowledge Desire for acceptance Positioning / negotiation Cultural / social structures Personal likes and dislikes Personal status is fluid and changes based on the importance of shifting variables

104. The dynamics of interactions change as status changes If a variation in status is extreme: Those with lower status Feel those with higher status will not empathize with them and may not understand them They do not feel safe and secure Those with higher status Often begin to feel separated and isolated leading to possible hostility towards others and a tendency to shut others out They fail to get important information or advice

106. Make Others Look Good

108. Exploit opportunities for change

110. Foster better communication

111. Promote creative and adaptive problem solving

112. Manage challenges with quick decisive responses

113. Improve change managementIf this presentation increases your curiosity as to the potential benefits of theatre improvisation skill building I encourage you to learn more by contacting me.

114. About The Presenter Moderator Biography & Experience Kirk Bridgman, M.B.A. www.ps-research.com kirk@ps-research.com 888-400-7344