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What improv does for us

Came across some scribbled notes about what improvisation does for us as people. 

So here they are. Can’t tell you where they came from. Thought it was worthwhile writing it down. 

You can use improv techniques to:

  • loosen up a team
  • understand up and down stream processes 
  • tell stories
  • harness knowledge
  • listen better
  • communicate and play together
  • strategise together 
  • work creatively within constraints
  • build team
  • break routines

Life is not a Rehearsal – let’s improvise is a team building program that will get you team thinking more creatively, working together rather than splitting off into sub groups, and being overall a better team. Talk to Cindy about your team challenges and how your team could benefit from improv based soft skills.  This workshop can run live OR online.  

And here is another writer talking about the mental health and wellbeing benefits of making things up together (i.e. improvising). 

And an article around improvisation as active mindfulness.

This behavioural scientist article talks about turning groups from strangers into team mates, which is what improv calls “group mind”.

Our findings suggest that the importance of getting everyone “on the same wavelength” is not merely metaphorical. Teams that literally achieved that state, where people’s brains operated in rhythm, outperformed teams that were out of sync. Indeed, we found that neural synchrony was better at predicting teams’ performance than their members’ emotional intelligence or their liking for the group.

In an episode of Jimmy Carrane’s Improv Nerd podcast (sorry, i can’t work out which one), I heard the guest say

I was rewarded for everything that used to get me in trouble

He is referring to how on improv stages you’re supposed to go off on tangents, thgink of exceptions, notice the weird, play with it.

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