Why Speakers Need Improv

Speakers need to have grace under pressure, confidence when things don’t go as expected, and the ability to remain calm when things don’t go as planned. As a speaker at the front of the room, you instantly become a role model and the audience is trading their time and possibly money for what you have to offer them.

As experienced speakers will tell you, things can go horribly wrong in the middle of your presentation and without notice. How you react to the sudden chaos can build your credibility with your audience or destroy it. The audience looks to the speaker as a leader in the event.

 

Welcome to Bill Corbett’s video podcast, from the soapbox to the stage. Created from his bestselling book and his experience as a professional speaker, you’ll learn quick tips that can set you apart from your competition and leave your audiences inviting you back for more.

 

In the middle of one speakers’ talk, a man in the audience near the front row passed out and died! He keeled over and fell onto the floor. The audience directly around that man knelt by his side and the speaker looking frazzled, took out her phone and dialed 911. The audience automatically looks to the speaker to take charge in any unusual situation.

 

The experience of going through an improvisational class won’t fix a sudden bad situation but it will give a speaker the sense of feeling comfortable and confident enough to react quickly in the best interest of the audience, in the face of chaos. He or she will feel calm enough to be able to think clearly on what to do next.

To get the most out of an improv class, stay out of your head and leave your perfection behind. Avoid trying to second guess what will happen next and know that each activity will not have predictable outcomes. Focus more on what others are doing and saying, and quiet the voice in your own head.

If you’re a perfectionist, this experience could be uncomfortable because you won’t have full control of the outcome of each exercise and you have to embrace looking silly. No one is judging you in an improve class so be prepared to let you hair down, as they say. You’ll be more successful. Let your playful child out to play and you’ll be more successful.

I hope this inspires you to take a different step toward personal growth as a speaker or even a manager. Take the plunge and find an improve or acting class and do something for yourself that will move you to the next level as a professional. Do it today.

Thanks for watching this video podcast and if you made it this far, an extra thank you. If you want more tips to help you grow as a speaker, check out one of Bills latest books on professional speaking. I hope you’ll subscribe to this blog, like it and share it with others.

Think On Your Feet: 3 Ways to Manage Holiday Stress Using An Improvisor’s Mindset

The meme of “holidays are stressful” creates a stress of its own. We become stressed at the inevitability of seasonal tension so the meme becomes fact.  One of the life-lessons I learned from my very stressful stint as an Improv group member was that applying Improv practices to real life situations helps me manage stress. Here are 3 Improv principles to help smooth the way:

1. Know the game you are playing and your role in it.

Holiday stress, like most stress in our lives, is predictable.  You know pretty much how you react to predictable stressors and you know who and where those stressors are going to appear. Plus, you know that at during a holiday season, an unexpected event will likely appear.

Improvisers understand their role is to respond to events in the moment while keeping the long range goal of the game in mind. They act on things they can control, such as their response in the moment and let go of things they cannot control, such as other peoples’ responses. They know how fruitless it is to try and control other people’s behavior.

Ask Yourself: “Am I spending energy on trying to control things I can’t control?”

2.  Don’t “should” on yourself.

“Shoulding” is a form of negative self-talk that is rarely productive. The problem with “I should (or shouldn’t) ”….. or “I should have”…. or “they should….”  is that the statement is either in the past or the future.  Staying in the present is a key stress management principle.

 Improvisers know the only time and place to act is here and now. What has happened is past, what will be is as yet undefined.

Ask Yourself: “What can I DO NOW that will help me move towards my goal.”

3  3. Differentiate between acceptance and agreement.

When we expect a certain outcome or behavior we can easily label a different result as being wrong. When we deal with what IS, rather than what we EXPECTED, we are dealing with reality and minimizing the time spent in disappointment and negative feelings. The ideal is nicely summarized in a quote by Ray Magliozzi; “Happiness Equals Reality Minus Expectations.”

Improvisers use the technique known as “Yes…And” to deal with what they are given. The model is, “YES, I accept that you feel this way, or believe this or differ from me AND I will offer my opinion, idea, or perspective.” This is very different than “Yes…But”, which says, “yes, you feel that way, BUT I feel different.” “Yes…But” is a zero-sum game. “Yes…And” allows for difference perspectives to co-exist.

Ask Yourself: “Can I respond to this difference or disagreement with an acceptance that this person feels this way or that this event has happened without needing to make them or myself wrong.”

Oh, let's add a 4th lesson from Improv- Have Fun!!

Izzy Gesell, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.  
 Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. "His video course  on Applied Improv for Leadership" for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course,  is "Humor in the Workplace".  **NEW APP**- Improv4you on Google Play and Apple.

3 Foundational Skills That All Innovators Possess - Fluency, Flexibility & Uniqueness

It seems evident that an innovative mindset is helpful in today’s business climate. What’s less evident is how each of us can hone our natural innovative skills to get unstuck, think on our feet, solve complex problems, and navigate around our habitual thinking patterns? Let’s start with a look at two related words- creativity and innovation.

          Are Creativity & Innovation The Same?

A workable dichotomy on the concepts comes from Theodore Levitt who says “creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”  This perspective highlights the importance of transforming creativity into real world applications. Ideas are great but insight without action makes no difference. Take a look at the TV show “Shark Tank” to see how creativity is interesting yet,  without application, nothing changes. I look at creativity as a source of raw material and innovation as the blueprint for how to use the material. The formula looks like this: Creative thinking + Real World Application = Innovation

          Developing an Innovation mindset

Edward de Bono reminds us that "creative thinking is not a talent. It is a skill that can be learned.“  That’s good news because it means  all of us can enhance our creative and innovative ability through practice. As with most skills, practice is what allows us to access the skill when we need it.  When asked where his inspiration comes from, artist Chuck Close responded with, “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.”

          Innovation Skill Development

Practicing these 3 skills will hone your creative and innovative abilities:

1.      Fluency is the skill of generating as many ideas as possible. Try this: In 1 minute, write down as many things as you can which can be described as “sharp.” When the minute is up, look at the list and ask yourself, “What else? What more?” Add any new words that come to mind. Carry your list with you and add to it whenever a new “sharp” word comes to mind. See what you have after 3 or 4 days. Practice with different words on a regular basis.

2.      Flexibility is the skill of seeing things from many perspectives. Try this: Time yourself for 1 minute and write down as many uses for an umbrella that you can conceive of. When done, ask yourself, “What other ways can I perceive this object?” Look at attributes like size, function, sound, color, material, etc. Add any new words that come to mind. Carry your list with you and add to it whenever a new use for “umbrella” word comes to mind. See what you have after 3 or 4 days. Practice with different nouns on a regular basis.

3.      Uniqueness is the skill of looking at something and seeing a new use for it or a new way of presenting it. “Uber” and “Dollar Shave Club” are examples. Try this exercise: Make a list of 25 professional categories from the Yellow Pages (Remember the Yellow Pages?) Choose 2 categories at random and combine them into a new profession.  Then, within 2 minutes, come up with as many names for the business and tag lines for the new business. Examples: Pet Shop and Bar becomes “Pooch & Hooch: 1 Stop for Hair of the Dog AND Hair on the Dog “; Lawyer and Landscaper:"Sue or Sow: Trim Your Lawn and Wallet at the Same Time.” Practice often with new combinations.

          Trust the Process; Trust Yourself

Your creativity skill is like a vein of gold within an unmined mountain. The more you exercise your creativity and innovation muscles the quicker you will get to that gold.

Izzy Gesell, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.   Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. "His video course  on Applied Improv for Leadership" for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course, "Humor in the Workplace" was recently released.

People Assess Your Value/Reputation Based on How Your Actions Impact Their Emotions

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Early on in my programs, I invite a volunteer to come up and learn an Improv game.  Generally, there are very few takers.  I then ask for some of the folks who hadn't volunteered to share what thinking they went through that kept their hands from going up.  The reasons are many.  Among the most common answers are: "I don't want to look foolish," "I don't know what the game is about", "I don't like to be first", and "I was taught never to volunteer." Eventually, someone does volunteer.  As the person comes up, I ask the people sitting in the audience how they feel now that someone had volunteered.  Most of the comments are about much relief was felt, how relaxed they now were able to be, and how grateful they were to the volunteer for stepping up.  In other words, the person who stepped up had the power, through his or her action, to transform the emotional climate for the whole group.  The volunteer thereby gains a very high status in the group.  A status gained not by a conscious effort to be liked, but by a desire to volunteer to play for whatever personal reason.  And the entire group took note!

IMPROV TECHNIQUE TO PRACTICE: Trying to figure out what's right or best or most creative or most helpful or most controlling is futile in Improv.  The only way through is to be spontaneous, authentic and expeditious in your actions.  Make your statements or actions flow from what you want to do.  Whenever you notice yourself attempting to figure out what someone else needs or desires, bring your focus back to what you want or need to do.

HERE’S WHY IT WORKS: In life, once you know that others are watching you and judging you based on their own feelings, you realize you may as well act on your own beliefs and desires.  Do what you want to do and how you want to do it.  There is a saying that "nature knows neither right nor wrong, only consequences."

Since it is futile to try and figure out how to please all others or what they are expecting, you may as well do what you believe is right.  If you fail, at least you fail with your own truth. Living your own truth is the simplest way to being authentic in your life.

Izzy Gesell (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.

Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. His video course for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course, "Humor in the Workplace" was just released.

The Four Elements of an Engaging & Impactful Story

Storytelling is a necessary ingredient in a speaker’s recipe for success. Stories work because they are able to connect a speaker’s unique experience to an audience’s universal truth. What starts as a personal recollection transforms itself on the way to the audience and is received as a shared perspective. This creates empathy for the speaker and gives validity to his/her concepts.

When developing a story, keep in mind the 4 features that combine to  create interesting and relate-able anecdotes:

The Set Up: Who is the main character and what is the situation they are in?

The Challenge: What is the problem/conflict the main character in finds him/herself in?

The Resolution: How does the story turn out? How is the problem solved?

The Relevance: How do you answer the audience’s main question, which is “So What?”?

Let me illustrate with a story….

              A few years ago I was on a small plane that was bouncing along through extreme turbulence like it was a rock skipping over a pond. I was so frightened that every time the plane hit a bump, I’d grip the sides of my seat and scream, “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.” And when the plane smoothed out, I’d exhale and relax.

          Sitting across the aisle from me was a boy who could not have been more than 6 years old. And EVERY time the plane hit a bump and I shrieked, “Ahhhhhhhh”, the kid would lift his arms in the air and yell, “Wheeeeee”, just like he was on a roller coaster.

        I was both humbled and enlightened as I realized that life had just slapped me in the face and said, “Pay attention.” I understood that the boy and myself were both being given exactly the same information. The data we used to judge our situation was exactly the same, yet our responses were completely different from each other. How could that be? Because our beliefs about the situation were different! And it is our beliefs about a situation, as expressed by our self-talk, that drive our behavior, not the nature of the situation itself.

               My lasting takeaway? If I am going to change the way I act in a situation, I have to change my self-talk rather than try and change the external situation.

Here is how I used the four ingredients to create my story:

• .            The Set Up: Who is the main character and what is the situation? (I was on a turbulent plane ride)

•           The Challenge: What is the problem/conflict the character finds him/herself in? (How come the boy is having fun and I’m so afraid?)

•          The Resolution: How does the story turn out? How is the problem solved? (I understand about self-talk)

•        So What?: (I now have a way to manage stress and deal with fear; I learned something about myself)

Now that you have the ingredients, go cook up your own great stories! 

Izzy Gesell (Izzy's website) is an organizational alchemist who helps individuals and organizations transform their thinking from commonplace to extraordinary. Through his keynotes, trainings, coaching and facilitated sessions, Izzy offers imaginative, intuitive and immediately useful insights and programs. He is skilled at delivering meaningful material in a way that makes participants enjoy their time with him.

Izzy was one of the first to use Improv Theater concepts as tools for personal and organizational learning. He is the author of Playing Along: Group Learning Activities Borrowed From Improvisation Theater, a co-author of Cancer & the Healing Power of Play, a co-author of Humor Me: America’s Funniest Humorists on the Power of Laughter, and a contributor of a chapter on Improvisation as a facilitation tool in the IAF Group Facilitators Handbook. His video course for Lynda.com was their first  course shot before a live audience. A second Lynda.com course, "Humor in the Workplace" was just released.