Applied Improvisation practitioners often walk a fine line in workshops between safe practice content and real organisational issues.
In most cases, it’s best to use neutral or playful material during activities drawn from the traditional theatre-based repertoire. And to save the real workplace topics for the debriefs, where participants can safely make the connections themselves.
There’s little to be gained, for example, from having a group create a word-at-a-time story about team trust. Use the exercise to build the improv skill on a topic such as ‘Training elephants to water ski’, then ask how – for example – the listening skills required to succeed there might apply to building trust between colleagues.
Crossing that line carelessly can ruin both the activity and the learning.
Always ask: are we practising a skill, or having a conversation about our workplace?
Discover how to manage this boundary with confidence in Paul Jackson Associates’ Applied Improvisation training for facilitators and consultants.
Whether you’re exploring these challenges as an individual facilitator or looking to strengthen how your organisation learns, communicates and collaborate, Paul also offers coaching sessions tailored to your context. Sometimes a thoughtful conversation about where the line sits in your own practice can make all the difference.
To get the ball rolling and explore how Paul can help make team building, facilitation and organisational learning more effective – and more engaging – contact him directly at paul@impro.org.uk.
