What We Learned From Six Weeks of Improv
When you think of improv you might think of a few things…
Maybe you first think about Michael Scott
Maybe you think of stage fright or general anxieties
Or maybe you just think of your everyday life and how your very existence in a social community is improv.
All of these initial reactions are correct. However, improv becomes most applicable to the real world when you view it like it is — living your life. In a business setting, improv is an extremely effective tool that encourages team building, drives problem-solving, develops presentation skills, encourages creativity, and generates confidence.
So why is improv so effective? Soft skills like these are almost impossible to teach through a power-point or a lecture. The only way to really develop these skills is to do them. For this reason, improv is a phenomenal source of education, because it replicates real-life scenarios and allows people to gain these skills through hands-on experience. Not only that, but It makes the development of these skills fun.
The SiteCrafting team knows that in order to grow our skill set it is important to try new methods. For this reason, the team has been engaged in a six-week improv workshop with these goals in mind.
Encourage team building
SiteCrafting recognizes the value of having a team that trusts and supports each other. Our team regularly connects through many different methods: yearly retreat, nerf gun fights, launch parties, company events, ect. While the team already began with much trust and support, the improv exercises have really stretched these qualities in different directions. Improv places the group in unique and fun scenarios ranging from being on a famous talk show to skipping around a rodeo. The team has found that being placed in an uncertain environment naturally and authentically forces them to work together. It challenges people to let down their walls and requires them to depend on others.
Drive problem-solving
Problem Solving is an everyday thing for the SiteCrafting team. In order to become better problem solvers, we need to exercise regularly. The improv exercises we do place us in situations where we have limited time to come up with a solution. Being put on the spot increases the pressure, intensity, and stakes of a situation. Angie and Alma took this pressure and spun it to work in their favor. Instead of being embarrassed about not knowing what a rodeo was, Angie and Alma were able to make that a part of the humor in their scene. This was a direct representation of finding ways to catch our mistakes and capitalize on them instead of viewing them as failures.
Develop presentation skills
Presentations are a regular part of the SiteCrafting team’s responsibilities. Some of us enjoy presenting and don’t feel the pressure or stress that comes along with it. However, many experience natural anxiety when placed in front of a group of people and are expected to “WOW” them. The team has found that improv replicates the kind of anxiety and uncertainty that presenting creates. Our improv exercises provide an objective and an opportunity to achieve without any real rules or equations on how to get there. The only thing you can really do is try. We saw that the dedication our team put into these exercises really made us lean into our seats like when Tiffany told her story of being a jewel thief and when Jen explained her clay paintings.
Encourage creativity
Our team is filled with incredibly talented people who all have different specialized skills. Some people’s talents are more artistic while others are more technical. At SiteCrafting we want to celebrate these skills, but we also want to encourage stepping outside of one’s comfort zone. Improv has been a part of that journey since it has encouraged more business-oriented individuals to unlock their own creativity. Improv games encourage creativity and stretch your imagination to consider possibilities or ideas you would never have thought of had your brain not been stimulated in a specific way. Leah really demonstrated stepping outside of the box by dazzling the group with her performance of the hit single the group created called “Maybe.” The uniqueness of the situation really added to the tension and the value of the scene and kept the whole group engaged.
Generate confidence
Perhaps the most essential skill our team really built upon is personal confidence. The team recognizes that confidence is a game changer in the business world and the performing world. Any chance to enhance that confidence is a major plus. Our team has already understood how to trust each other, but from these exercises, we have also learned that everything becomes easier if you trust yourself 100%. It is hard to get to that 100%, but our team found that if we threaten that confidence by being on stage it strengthens it even more. Daniel did a great job of stretching his confidence when he came out on stage and the crowd booed at him for having developed a controversial cure for procrastination. He demonstrated that knowing how to prevent things from breaking down your confidence is possibly the secret to sustainable confidence.
Overall, the team was able to develop many skills and has the tools to continue to do so. Through these activities, the team has recognized the importance of failure and will practice getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
