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CreativityWhat if communication goes right?
A fellow facilitator described how he had worked with a high-performing team and tested the team with an activity with which some of you may be familiar.
It’s called ‘Telephone’ and it involves each player in the team passing a mimed
Your storytelling is more than just the story
Your storytelling is more than just the story "The art of storytelling is centred on the storyteller's involvement with character and plot. He cannot, in James Joyce's words, sit back godlike and pare his fingernails. He must have an attitude towards the contents of...
Changing the innovation agenda
When developing an agenda for a government-backed think-tank event on innovation, in climate risk insurance practices, we were wondering what would make for stimulating activities between facilitating heavy rounds of technical discussions.
Breaking up proceedings with a ‘two-minute chat-to-your-neighbour’ break seemed ideal, but we had to make a careful choice of topics.
Getting beyond the fear when we drop our scripts
I’m always glad to see new books about applying improvisation. From a random dip, there’s a lot to like in Jeff Katzman and Dan O’Connor’s ‘Life Unscripted’. I was particularly looking forward to this one as I’ve enjoyed watching Dan perform and was glad to see he might be combining an improviser’s insight with those of his psychotherapist co-author.
Why it’s important to celebrate risk-taking rather than mistakes or failure
Why it’s important to celebrate risk-taking rather than mistakes or failure It’s in our nature to make mistakes, notably in everyday life. We pour the wrong drink, utter an incorrect word and leave the house without an umbrella. We get unintentionally overcharged, on...
Playing to play – on and off the sports field
Playing to play - on and off the sports field One of my favourite tenets of Applied Improvisation (AI) is 'Play to Play'. It reminds us that most people play most games to win - which, to be fair, is inherent in the nature of many games. Take for example the Cricket...
Join the Anti-Perfectionist League
Join the Anti-Perfectionist League What are the benefits of joining the Anti-Perfectionist League? It takes away the stress and pressure of having to get everything right. Which is a good thing in circumstances in which you don’t have to get everything right. But that...
The shift to quantum storytelling
The shift to quantum storytelling In the classic storytelling of novels and movies, the story is created by the writer or the director. Once produced, it’s out in the world, unchanging. It gets consumed by its audience, who may or may not enjoy it. Sometimes they may...
Story secrets of improvisers at Disney
Story secrets of improvisers at Disney When you grow up with Disney films, you are encouraged to dream. Still, I never dreamed I would be invited to California to teach Disney animation staff how to tell better stories. Yet here I am in Burbank, for the first of two...
How to access your creativity with Improvisation
Meet your Muses: The Muses were Greek gods and goddesses and the Classical idea was that people were not in themselves creative. But you could – in the right circumstances – be inspired by the God or Goddess visiting you. You would be the instrument of that Muse’s creativity.
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