Do Improvise: Less Push. More Pause. Better Results. A New Approach to Work (and Life) (Do Books) -Robert Poynton Everyday we deal with the unplanned and the unexpected – from a broken toaster to losing (or gaining) a major client. Our natural ability to improvise gets us through. But we feel as if we’re winging it, rather than acting with courage and conviction. Robert Poynton teaches an acclaimed method to some of the world’s biggest brands and companies. Improvisational skills that an actor might use on stage are honed and applied to the everyday business of work and life. The end result is a new approach that embraces change as a natural process and has creativity and innovation at its heart. With killer games to put the theory into practice, Do Improvise will help you: • Become more productive without trying harder • Overcome creative blocks and generate new ideas • Respond fluently to circumstances beyond your control • Inspire and motivate others Not sure what to do next? Improvise.
Applied Improv
Applied improvisation talks about the application of impro techniques that encourage spontaneity and creativity in environments beyond the stage such as life, social relationships or work.
Everything s an Offer’ tells the story of one business person’s adventure in the world of improvisational theatre. It explains how the practises improv is based on can help you make more with what you have, using less effort, less energy and less resources (whilst creating less difficulty and stress). It illustrates, with myriad examples and stories, how anybody leading a busy and complicated life can put these ideas into action and why doing so will help them lead a more satisfying, creative and sustainable life. It extends the applications of improv far beyond team building and offers a new language for thinking about how we go about business – a language that has been used by Fortune 500 companies such as Nike, Intel and FedEx to help them communicate better, build stronger relationships (internally or with customers), propel people into action and get to new ideas and solutions.
This collection of Applied Improvisation stories and strategies draws back the curtain on an exciting, innovative, growing field of practice and research that is changing the way people lead, create, and collaborate. Applied Improvisation is the umbrella term widely used to denote the application of improvised theatre’s theories, tenets, games, techniques, and exercises beyond conventional theatre spaces, to foster the growth and/or development of flexible structures, new mindsets, and a range of inter and intra-personal skills required in today’s volatile and uncertain world. This edited collection offers one of the first surveys of the range of practice, featuring 12 in-depth case studies by leading Applied Improvisation practitioners and a foreword by Phelim McDermott and Lee Simpson. The contributors in this anthology are professional Applied Improvisation facilitators working in sectors as diverse as business, social science, theatre, education, law, and government. All have experienced the power of improvisation, have a driving need to share those experiences, and are united in the belief that improvisation can positively transform just about all human activity. Each contributor describes their practice, integrates feedback from clients, and includes a workbook component outlining some of the exercises used in their case study to give facilitators and students…
Business professionals often overlook a crucial tool for thriving in today’s fast-paced environment: improvisation. In Getting to “Yes And”, veteran improv performer, university professor, CEO, and consultant Bob Kulhan unveils a form of mental agility with applications far beyond the entertainment value of comedy troupes. He shows how improv techniques can create more productive meetings, swifter decisions, stronger collaboration, positive conflict resolution, mindfulness, and more.
TAKE IT EASY™ isn’t about a new way of doing improv, nor is it meant to replace your own style or approach. Instead it’s a mindset that can inform your performance and approach to improvisation. “Highly recommended for the beginning improvisor or the seasoned pro trying to rediscover the fun.” – Sam Super, The Second City Training Center’s 2017 Teacher of the Year This isn’t an ‘intro to improv’ book, nor is it a how-to manual. Instead, TAKE IT EASY™ is a collection of thoughts and observations designed to give people a different perspective on their craft, and it also includes games and exercises for people to do on their own or to bring to their group to reinforce the book’s teachings. Web: Ryan Millar – Take it Easy
Free Play discusses the inner sources of spontaneous creation, explains how to learn the skills of improvisation, and suggests ways to overcome common obstacles to creativity.
In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors. Let’s face it: Life is something we all make up as we go along. No matter how carefully we formulate a “script,” it is bound to change when we interact with people with scripts of their own. Improv Wisdom shows how to apply the maxims of improvisational theater to real-life challenges–whether it’s dealing with a demanding boss, a tired child, or one of life’s never-ending surprises. Patricia Madson distills thirty years of experience into thirteen simple strategies, including “Say Yes,” “Start Anywhere,” “Face the Facts,” and “Make Mistakes, Please,” helping readers to loosen up, think on their feet, and take on everything life has to offer with skill, chutzpah, and a sense of humor. Listen on audible, narrated by Patricia Ryan Madson