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TOOL: The Failure Bow

10 Oct

Last year I had the privilege of meeting Ted DesMaisons – a fellow Improviser, also a blogger, Stanford Business School Graduate, and a very gifted man and teacher.

His latest blog post, The Transformative Failure Bow , talks about one of the greatest resources in an improviser’s toolkit: the ability to transform failure and a mistake into a celebration of boldness. It is a learned skill worth practicing. Here he describes the history of this great tool, how he teaches it, and how it creates transformation by shifting our reaction and definition of “failure”.

He asks the question we all could be asking – what are we rewarding? The effort, the result, or both? How do you define the result?

“As Matt Smith affirmed in a recent conversation, “The Failure Bow isn’t designed to reward or focus on the failure. It’s designed to reward the willingness to be transparent, the capacity to remain available in the present moment, and the ability to get back on the horse without residing in shame.” It’s that awesome eagerness that leads an athlete to say “Hit me another, Coach” or a student to insist “Let me try again.” We get knocked down, but we get up again.”

The Transformative Failure Bow 

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TOOL: It’s all about the debrief… six questions to spark informative answers

16 Jul

How does this relate – is often the debrief question we as facilitators go to, to spark some meaningful answers.

Yes, and we can delicately and deliberately lead our participants to more truthful, reflective and relevant conversation by asking them a series of questions that bring about the golden nuggets of learning – learning that moves you forward as a team, and individual or an organization.

Thanks to training guru Thiagi and a helpful refresher of his methodology last week at the Applied Improv Network San Francisco chapter meeting, here’s picture proof of my six favorite debrief questions.

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TOOL: Delight and engage your audience with reincorporation

7 May

Improvisation as a communication tool can be broken down into two steps:

Listen, then react.

Repeat.

Without being able to plan ahead in the conversation or the scene, Improvisers are skilled at being present and in the moment, fine-tuning their listening skills to yield honest reactions that keep moving the story and conversation forward.

Skilled Improvisers are also excellent at re-incorporation, or “the call-back” as it’s coined in the comedy world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callback_(comedy)

Reincorporating a piece of information, a line of dialogue or a small moment from earlier in the scene or story usually results in a big laugh. Reincorporation is a favorite of Improv audiences because they are amazed we remembered such details, and what is familiar usually get a laugh.

Without superb listening and awareness skills, reincorporation wouldn’t be possible.

But, reincorporation can delight more than just Improv audiences. 

Its applications stretch from presentation skills to interviews, praise, and building connections with everyday conversations.

Reincorporation really just means we’ve been listening, and it always feels nice to know you’ve been listened to. It shows that you care, and you are paying attention – imagine the delight and surprise when a small piece of information is reincorporated in an improvised story, perhaps an hour after it was first introduced. Reincorporating an idea, or an employee concern, or praise of a job well done can have the same effect.

Specificity plays a role here too. The more detailed the reincorporation, the bigger the reaction and delight you are creating.

As a presentation tool, reincorporation helps with retention, learning, and information summary. Repeating key points or key themes  in a presentation is a strategic tool.

Listen, then react… with an emphasis on the listening.

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TOOL: Create opportunities for connection

30 Apr

Here is an important tool to add to your toolbox that doesn’t require an internet connection, or proper knowledge of emoticons.

It’s connection.

How can you create or find more opportunities to increase cross-functional support, empathy, collaboration and trust across an organization?

It can start with increasing the frequency and quality of interactions that your staff has with each other every day. It means increasing the ability to connect with your peers, share ideas, break down barriers and step away from your computer screen.

Create more opportunities for your staff to interact and get to know each other.

In designing the layout of Pixar Animation Studios, Steve Jobs famously requested there only be one restroom location  in the building – so that employees would have more opportunities for the kind of spontaneous interaction that fuels creativity. Today we see many companies bringing in catered lunches or creating cafeterias and open spaces which can encourage a sense of community, connection and camaraderie.

Sometimes building connections is as simple as providing opportunities for employees to work  with those they wouldn’t normally interact with.

The DreamWorks Improv Performance troupe is made up of wonderful people who represent almost every department at the company. We have animators interacting with visual effects artists interacting with engineers.

When there is a problem to solve across departments, these employees are no longer strangers to each other – they are allies and generous collaborators. The trust developed on stage carries over into the work environment and helps to build a stronger organization.

The more opportunities you can create to bring different departments, viewpoints and strengths together, the more connections will be formed to enhance the innovative and collaborative tendencies of your organization.

Step one to humanizing an organization is to create more opportunities for human connection. It starts with stepping away from the computer. 

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Give & Take – Training the art of negotiation

10 Apr

A negotiation is rarely a winner-take-all event. Instead it is often a give-and-take. Therefore, our ability to perform and achieve negotiation prowess is determined by listening, trust, empathy and observation skills.

These teachable skills allow individuals to focus on the other person, and allow them to build rapport with their negotiation partner. It is a delicate process of finding and building connections instead of barriers.

Companies all over the world are employing training techniques (many derived from the Improvisation world) to teach the art of negotiation.

This article from Training Magazine  highlights many of these efforts, including the work being done at BATS Improv in San Francisco.

Improvisers learn how to:

  • Listen and react
  • watch for body language cues
  • pay attention to tone and inflection
  • use and be comfortable with silence
  • build trust by finding shared connections
  • become more aware of intent vs. interpretation
  • learn how “status” (dominance vs. submission) is a performance choice we are constantly making
  • create collaborative conversations
  • embrace failure
  • use role-plays and practice scenarios in a safe environment

Read the full article here: Give & Take | trainingmag.com.

 

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TOOL: Choosing how to play the “scene”

20 Mar

When we think about a basic framework for how and why to apply the tenants of Improvisation to life off of the Improv stage, we can start by discussing the word “performance”.

Whether or not we are used to thinking of it this way…the truth is, we are all performing every moment of our lives.

If this seems daunting or strangely unsettling, you’re not alone.

Luckily, we can use the tools of Improvisation to create more conscious performance choices, (tailored for each stage or scene) to achieve more authentic, successful and meaningful interactions.

Learning and acquiring these skills allow each of us to build a toolkit of performance choices – that we can use to become more adaptable, flexible and aware in the moment.

Here are some basic tips that can help you when thinking about the performance choices we make all the time:

  1. Be present – practicing mindfulness, and the ability to read a room and pick up on non-verbal cues allows us to tailor our performances for the appropriate stage
  2. Remember the power of “status” – be aware that the choices we make in our behavior, our tone, or words, and our non-verbal communication can elicit powerful shifts in status dynamics between people.
  3. Make your performance partner look good – remember that we are often not alone on the stage. Being able to effectively communicate and collaborate with others has an obviously large effect on the overall performance of the team. Use active listening, a “yes,and” mindset and a give-and-take approach to allow space for others to achieve their performance goals.
  4. Know your objective - in each scene, we want to know what our characters objective is. Knowing our objective, “our want”, allows us to adjust and adapt our choices on stage depending on how close we are to achieving that goal.

If this blog post was beneficial to you, who can you share it with to continue the conversation?

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How to foster a culture of courage and creativity

19 Mar

“Innovation requires courage and creativity, which can be difficult to foster and maintain in a culture“, says Ask.com’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Lisa Kavanaugh.

Ask.com’s innovation strategy is one many companies are adopting:  to teach Improv skills to every member of their company.

These Improv skills are used as tools to build a safe work environment where ideas are encouraged, shared and built upon.

Hear from the ask.com team about the success of this important initiative here.

 

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To master the softer side of leadership, acquire this tool:

14 Mar

You have just been promoted to a leadership role. Quick – where can you turn to brush up on leadership skills when there is a new leadership book, article, or blog post everywhere you look? What to do when there are myriads of choices when it comes to leadership training, coaching, or development?

How can one learn to become a “better” leader when the definition itself can feel so broad?

This article from Fast Company calls leadership, “the eight wonder of the world…better seen and felt than defined and said”.

So then, what one tool must a leader have in his or her toolbox to succeed at what Fast Company calls, “The Softer Side of True Leadership?”…

Self-awareness.

Yes some people naturally have more self-awareness than others, but luckily this is a muscle that can be strengthened with practice and patience through training that reinforces leadership as being about “we”, and no longer just “me”.

Here are some tips to consider:

  1.  Do more listening than speaking – make sure others feel heard
  2. Understand leaders are constantly being watched – your actions, speech and tone is being mirrored by those who support and report to you.
  3. Become an expert at body language. Pay attention to non-verbal communication and body language cues.  It’s more powerful than many of us realize.
  4. Ask questions – stay connected and curious to what’s happening on the office floor.
  5. Become more present and in the moment by increasing focus and mindfulness.

One way that Applied Improvisation training increases our self-awareness is by reminding us  “everything is an offer”. On stage, everything we do or say is an “offer” that is accepted and used in the scene by our partners.

Therefore, learning how our words, actions, and tone affects a scene and our partner makes us much more aware of not only our choices on stage but the choices of others.

I encourage you to connect and share this post with one colleague to continue the conversation….

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Ask.com endorses Improvisation as a tool to solve their biggest challenge

9 Mar

What does a company do when it feels fresh out of ideas? Lacking some spirit and encouragement for innovation?

In the case of popular internet company Ask.com, they bring Improvisation to their entire workforce, including software engineers.

Watch here to see Ask.com CEO Doug Leeds’ overwhelming endorsement of Improvisation as a tool that builds skills needed for innovation and creativity.

Congratulations to my Applied Improv Network colleague Sue Walden! Let’s keep it going!

http://pressheretv.com/?p=2488

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TOOL: Sphere of Concern, Influence, and Control

8 Mar

This simple diagram has changed the way I look at many of the common issues and problems we all face.

What can we actually control? How can becoming more mindful of these spheres alter our attitudes, beliefs, and decisions?

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The 7 attributes leaders need to sustain their luck – Harvard Business Review

29 Feb

How Leaders Lose Their Luck – Anthony Tjan – Harvard Business Review.

“It turns out that the attributes associated with a lucky attitude and lucky network are the very attributes required for continuous and inspired leadership growth. Yes, you need confidence and conviction in your authority once you’ve reached the top. But you equally need humility and vulnerability if you want to evolve to an even more inspired type and level of leadership”

The 7 Attributes required for continuous and inspired leadership:

1. Humility

2. Intellectual Curiosity

3. Optimism

4. Vulnerability

5. Authenticity

6. Generosity

7. Openness

Tips for navigating the path from passion to purpose

28 Feb

It can be a bumpy ride, this whole passion and purpose adventure. Buckle your seatbelt but please remember to take in the view.

Here are some practical tips for navigating the journey to finding and pursuing your passion and purpose.

1. Mistakes are gifts

Something I’ve learned over the past 8 years is to truly embrace the improv principle of: “Mistakes are Gifts”. If we can learn to view what might be considered a mistake, as a gift, there really are no mistakes. Our definition of a mistake, or a failure can be shaped by our mindset — and our mindset is something we can control. What did you learn from each experience, and what lessons can you take with it on to the next stop in your adventure?

My “mistakes” contributed to so many positives – I feel more equipped to take on challenges, I have come to appreciate my breadth of experience, and I actually found my passion because of some of the “mistakes” I made in choosing past jobs.

Increase your bounce-back rate from these “mistakes” and use them as intuitive guides to help shape your path. What gold can you mine?

2. Diversify your dreams

This blog from HBR’s Passion and Purpose series stresses the importance of diversifying your dreams. It may seem silly to treat our dreams as stocks. But what happens if your dream never generates a return?

Keep an open mind as you look to follow your passion. Several years ago I was convinced I would be happy IF I landed a certain dream job. I very much had a “if then, this” attitude. I landed the job after over a year of waiting and paying my dues. Turns out, it didn’t make me happy. What I thought was my passion was just a hobby. Finding your passion doesn’t always include a means to an end. As so many say, the reward is the journey, not the destination.

Diversify your dreams. Find the tools that inspire you and keep adding to your toolbox. Remember that the tools you acquire can be used for a multitude of projects and jobs. Keep searching for more tools, keep adding to your toolbox. And most of all, keep an open mind.

3. Celebrate the small wins

It’s more important than we realize.

4. Practice gratitude in the face of uncertainty 

This quote from today’s HBR article encompasses the grateful, open-minded approach we need to keep on the path:

“develop a folder of gratitude – a constantly updated listed of all the things in life you’re grateful for. Chances are, many of the things on your list correspond neatly with your underlying passions. Then, take your list and amplify these passions with intelligent experiments. Test and invest in your areas of interest, and cultivate the joy of learning from failure. Finally, just like any investor worth their salt, double down on winners. If something strikes a chord, reallocate more time and energy to it. View your dreams as organic and ever-changing, and you’re much more likely to be pleased with the outcome”

Remain flexible, adaptable, open-minded and most of all curious. Set your intention and keep moving one foot in front of the other. There may be multiple paths, but the unknown is as exciting as it’s ever been.

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TOOL: Listening

28 Feb

So far we’ve added these important tools to our toolbox:

1. Empathy

2. Connection

3. Play

4. Strong Offers

5. Obvious instead of clever statements

What happens when you don’t feel listened to? What are the consequences?

One of the greatest tools an Improviser possesses and a tool that builds empathy, connection, along with trust and support is the ability to really, truly, listen.

To listen as an Improviser means to be fully present, in the moment, and to pay attention and observe everything that is being said and done on stage. It means to take care and support our partner because what they have to say is crucial to making sense of the unknown, and to co-creating a scene together.

Professional development training which infuses experiential training allows participants to build their listening muscles and increase these skills through habit-building and tie-back to real-world scenarios.

An improviser is also skilled at active listening = not merely hearing, but being affected by what they hear.  Improvisation guru and famed instructor and performer Rebecca Stockley teaches this mantra:  ”everything my partner says is fascinating”. Repeating this mantra reminds us to be affected by what our partner says and to not let any offer or idea pass us by or be easily dismissed.

It’s true that for many of us, we listen better once we’ve said what’s on our mind. Unfortunately, if we are concentrating on what we’re going to say, we’re not listening as actively as we could. Adding some Improvisational tools to our training toolbox helps us to stay present in our conversations, add an element of give-and-take, relinquish control and to build listening muscles that extend beyond roles of customer service, sales, and leadership.

Listening is a skill that directly affects our ability to communicate and collaborate.

Not only are these tools must-haves for our toolboxes, but they can also be applied and “built upon” in a myriad of ways.

Begin with a strong offer, and then listen actively to build connection and empathy.

Now… what did you say?

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Tips for delivering feedback like an Improviser

24 Feb

Delivering and receiving feedback is an art form in and of itself. We can’t always control how the feedback we give will be received, but we can control our approach to delivering the information.

Learning the principles of Improvisation can not only help us stay present and adapt to the information we receive in conversation, but also provide useful tips on our feedback approach.

1. Start Positive

  • It may sound obvious, but how many of us start our feedback session with a positive?
  • Help set a positive tone for your meeting
  • Starting positive is not about stroking an ego, it puts your team in the right frame of mind to hear the feedback that will follow
  • Starting positive establishes connection and builds trust
  • Reminds employee you are both working towards the same goal

2. Be Specific

  • Improvisers stay away from vague offers because it doesn’t help move the story/conversation forward
  • Be specific in your feedback and praise so that the receiver is as clear as possible
  • Are your offers vague, closed, or open?
3. Know your objective
  • Stay focused on the goal  - ask yourself, what do you hope to get out of this meeting?
  • Tie back to the objective as much as possible
4. Make your partner look good
  • As improvisers, our number one goal on stage is to support our partner. We do this by actively trying to make our partner look good. We achieve this through focused listening and maintaining an open dialogue as much as possible.
  • It reminds us we always have our partners best interest in mind
5. Adjust your approach to failure
  • When delivering and receiving feedback consider your approach to the dreaded term of: “failure”.. Can we learn to view failure as a learning opportunity instead of an error that we can’t recover from?
  • What behavior are we modeling?
There is an art to giving feedback, and it can make all the difference  in getting to desired results, establishing trust, and building a connection with your employees.

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Three fundamentals of adult learning

22 Feb

One can surmise adults are busier, more stressed, and saturated with more information than ever before.

So, when tasked with creating adult learning initiatives, here are 3 fundamental concepts to keep in mind:

1. Make it matter to them - if you want people to change their behavior, they have to understand what’s in it for them. Make the learning relevant, specific, and directly applicable.

2. Build time for self-learning and self-reflection – Adults don’t like to be told to change their behavior – it is a threat to their status (and one of David Rock’s social triggers). If you want people to change, build interactive learning experiences that lead adults to discover for themselves that change is important, and how they can achieve it personally.

3. I do, we do, you do – If adults have to teach others, they are more likely to do it themselves. Create active (not passive) learning environments and help the learning stick by giving participants responsibility for communicating the learnings to others. Provide adult learners with opportunities to be in charge of their own learnings to build accountability, self-reflection and the new insights and connections that follow.

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Defining the value of Applied Improvisation in 4 words

21 Feb

What if I asked you to define your mission, or the value of your product in 32 words? How clear, concise and deliberate could you be?

Next, could you define it in 16 words?

8 words?

4?

How about 2?

Here’s the kicker – not only must you create this definition in a limited amount of words, but you must agree on this final definition as a team. And… you only have 2 minutes per round.

This activity was created by performance training guru Thiagi, and it is an activity my Applied Improv Network colleagues Chris Sams, Cheryl Gould and I worked on together yesterday afternoon to help us define the value of the work we do as facilitators and trainers.

First we started by defining creativity. We each silently composed 32-word definitions and then shared them out loud. Hearing the ideas of our team members helped us to go back and individually create 16-word definitions. We repeated the process, then created 8 word definitions, 4-word, and together decided on one 4-word definition of creativity.

Creativity = Freedom to think differently.

Our next challenge was to define Applied Improvisation. Here are our results:

8 word mission : Maximizing organizational potential by enhancing communication, teamwork, trust.

4 word mission: Adapt, innovate, lead, collaborate

This activity allowed us to model the behaviors that Improvisers use on stage. We had a clear, defined objective, and worked together to agree as much as possible. The debrief in between “rounds” was full of eye-opening discussion, brainstorming and respect. We were able to weave in common themes,  while being open and non-judgemental of our team members ideas.

It also forced us to take what could be broad and generalized definitions and turn them into succinct, action-orientated value statements.

Try this with your team to help define your mission or value. Rallying around a common purpose is one of the keys to employee engagement, and the clarity of this purpose will only aid your success as a difference maker.

TOOL: To build a culture of innovation, focus on connection

13 Feb

Take a moment to think about how much time you spend cultivating and building connections in your daily life.  How do you feel when you truly feel connected to someone else?

If you are like me, you feel happy, safe, supported, and heard.

Now imagine if you could maximize these feelings at work…. and increase your company’s capacity for innovation. It is possible!

I wrote last week of management expert Gary Hamel’s fantastic innovation and management portal and its inspiring conversations around building organizations for the future.

Ivy Ross is the Chief Innovation Officer at Gap, and in this video she shares her tips for creating an innovative workplace. For her, innovation begins with connection.  She argues that forming genuine, human connections between co-workers is the crucial first step to creating a culture of innovation.

Connections are nurtured through trust, and by learning about each other in a deep level. This trust and freedom of expression fuels creativity and innovation.

Improvisers spend a great deal of time getting to know each other to cultivate the level of trust that’s needed to succeed at our task.

Similar to an improv stage, a truly innovative workplace values a diversity of perspectives and the connections that can be formed between them in pursuit of a common purpose.

Building trust, empathy and genuine connections (away from our computer screens and smart phones, preferably) helps to humanize an organization. If we understand our peers, we know what makes each other tick, we know how to help each other become better, more motivated and more inspired at work.

Together we can create a culture of innovation.

TOOL: Play your way to innovation

6 Feb

This recent Forbes article is just one of many shedding light on a secret success for innovation. It’s a secret your company not have been told, or worse, one you have been ignoring:

…PLAY!

Many adults can’t remember the last time we took the time to just “play”. But companies are increasingly realizing its value by creating work spaces designed for play, collaboration and interaction and by setting aside time for play.

As adults, the definition of play does not change (To engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose), but its uses and applications become more practical and more fully realized.

We often hear: “Give me proof, logic, and an excuse to play. I need a clear ROI, we are strapped for time”.

A clear ROI is forming. Ask Dr. Stuart Brown, the world’s leading expert on play. His findings tell us play makes for smarter and happier adults which can directly lead to a more productive and perhaps innovative workplace. Play can be a part of your workday.

By purposely allowing time and space for safe exploration of ideas and our curiosities, we engage more of ourselves (including our right-brains), play with building blocks of ideas, and refresh our minds.

Perhaps most importantly, play helps build trust. Dr. Brown tell us the basis of human trust is established through play signals.

What does a culture of play look like from an Improviser’s point of view?

  • A safe environment
  • Mistakes are viewed as gifts instead of failures
  • failure is fast, cheap, and disposable
  • a stage to practice real-life scenarios and role-play
  • a place to express ourselves without fear of judgement
  • An environment where trust is established among groups of people, often leading to the formation of teams
  • Time for imaginative play and storytelling
  • Learning how to play well with others
  • Collaborative storytelling and spontaneous, joyous expression of ideas
  • An environment where failure is embraced
  • Emotional bonds are strengthened and collaboration among team members is enforced

As adults we sometimes need help reminding ourselves how to play. Can you relate?

TOOL: Be obvious

2 Feb

I’d like to dispel a common myth about Improv. The very presence of this myth keeps many people from thinking they can improvise. Here it is…

Improv is not about attempting to be funny. Instead, one of the most important tools in the Improviser’s toolbox is the ability to be obvious, instead of clever.

Trying too hard to be clever or funny takes us away from the principles which make teams successful – the ability to make each other look good, embrace failure, accept each others offers and say, “yes, and”. If we’re trying too hard to be clever, we’re not really listening and focusing on the ideas of our teammates. Similarly, if we are censoring ourselves from the ideas that seem too obvious to us, we are assuming our simplest ideas are of no use, when in fact they can point us in a delightful direction on stage or off.

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Making the case for experiential learning

30 Jan

“Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.” –  Confucius

How many times have you uttered the phrase, “I just have to experience it for myself”? If you’re like me then books, articles, videos and lectures are helpful but I often cannot fully grasp a concept or develop deep knowledge until I’ve  reflected on specific experiences. This is especially true when it comes to soft-skills training:  including communication skills, presentation skills, conflict resolution and leadership training. I learn best by doing, and reflecting on how the experience felt. What worked? What didn’t work? What can I tweak and practice?

My name is Lindsey and I am an experiential learning junkie.

Experiential learning capitalizes on the participants’ experiences for acquisition of knowledge. It engages the learner at a more personal level, by allowing them to make meaning and learn directly from experience through reflection.

Experiential Learning theory tells us knowledge is constructed through transformative reflection on our own experience. Instead of hearing or reading about others’ experiences, we are making discoveries and are simultaneously reflecting on our own experience in the moment.

Enter Applied Improvisation.

Here, we also engage the learner at a much more personal level and require of them self-initiative and self-evaluation to drive their own learning. We also sprinkle in humor, visual cues, a touch of fun, and principles that can be applied across many of our most common business scenarios and environments.  Learners set goals, experiment, observe, review and action plan – learning new skills, new attitudes, and constructing meaning in a way that’s unique and also incorporates the cognitive, emotional and physical aspects of learning.

Improvisers know experiential learning is a proven method that allows us to interact, practice skills and reflect on what we’ve learned in the moment. Instead of reading a book or listening to a presentation, try using your training time to rehearse, practice, reflect and learn while being fully engaged. Your practice will pay off when you step on stage – whether it’s an important meeting, a sales pitch, or a job interview.

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