When I first stepped on an improv stage for a highschool ComedySportz league, I knew that I had found something important. For someone like me who is a inveterate thinker and a planner, this environment provided a way to get out of my own way and let my mind and imagination run free. Even though I never pursued improv to its full extant, I've always stayed in touch with it, attending classes here and there over the years and going to see shows when I could. I picked up Improv Wisdom because of a recommendation in Dan Pink's To Sell is Human. The title caught my eye. And it was well worth the read! Big Thought "Life is an … [Read more...]
Monday Morning Mashup – Move Past Inertia
People think that inertia means standing still. But that's not actually accurate. More specifically, inertia is the tendency of an object to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity unless some outside force acts on it. That could mean standing still. But it can also mean doing the same thing, the same way, at the same pace. Where is there inertia in your life and business right now? Are you waiting for the perfect time and place to change? I have a true philosophical mash-up for your today. Three separate strands of thought that add up to one challenge: In physics, the idea of relativity means that every frame of … [Read more...]
Why Was That Brilliant?
Some of the most useful (and entertaining) professional development classes I’ve ever taken have been improv-comedy classes. Besides making me a little less unfunny at parties, I’ve learned some powerful and practical communication skills in these classes. One of them came from a brilliant teacher, Tim Whetham. (He was the teacher who pointed out on the first day of class that, “everyone is already good at improv, we do it 24 hours a day). In a class on performing an improvisational scene with a partner, Tim pointed out that your focus in the scene should be to validate the choices the other actor makes. In the heat of the moment it’s … [Read more...]