Yes, and presentation
- 1. Yes, And How Improvisation Reverses “No, But” Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration
- 2. Overview The Second City & Authors Three Pillars of Improvisation Seven Elements of Improv One Last List
- 4. Authors: Yes, And Kelly Leonard Executive VP The Second City
- 5. Authors: Yes, And Tom Yorton CEO Second City Communications
- 6. The Three Pillars of Improv CREATIVITY COMMUNICATION COLLABORATION
- 7. Seven Elements of Improv 1. Yes, And 2. Ensemble 3. Co-Creation 4. Authenticity 5. Failure 6. Follow the Follower 7. Listening
- 8. 1. Yes, And Bedrock of improvisation Give every idea a chance to be considered Stretch and affirm ideas in order to “Create something out of nothing” (page 23)
- 9. Yes, And
- 10. Yes, And
- 11. 1. Yes, And in the “Real” World Compels you to consider others’ ideas even if you don’t like them at first Affirm and build on the ideas of others Encourage sharing of ideas Build collaboration among team members Focus on idea not the person who generated it “You’re not going to love every idea, but if helps to love it for at least a little while” (page 29)
- 12. 1. Yes, And Exercise Word at a Time Setup: Each person contributes one word at a time to create an original story Focus: Affirm and build on others’ ideas; Realization that the created story is probably more interesting than one you could have created just by yourself
- 13. 2. Ensemble “Successful solo acts are rarely, in fact, solo” (page 53) Ensembles create synergy, a chorus of creative voices Every member contributes to and is vital to the overall success of the group To be effective, we must work successfully with others
- 14. 2. Ensemble Difference between teams and ensembles Team connotes competition Ensembles work together to create Give and Take
- 15. 2. Ensemble: Exercise Parts of a Whole Setup: Group members must all work together to organize themselves into various items such as an animal, shoppers in a store, or fish in an aquarium Focus: To succeed as a group with each member doing his or her part.
- 16. 3. Co-Creation Focus on finding the idea, not promoting your idea Cede control over the creation process by obtaining input and ideas from others Remove blocks to creation such as a fear of failing or looking foolish
- 17. 3. Co-Creation: Exercise Thank You Statues Setup: One person in the group strikes a pose as the rest of the group forms a circle around him. Once he is set, the next person will step up, tap the first person “out,” and assume a pose of her own. The first person will say “thank you” and take his place back in the circle. After a couple rounds, the group will pick up the tempo so that things move more quickly. Eventually, they stop tapping the person out and just go one-by-one to the middle and take a pose that builds on the pose of those already there, ultimately creating a statue. Focus: Bring forth ideas without judgment. Focus on supporting one another’s ideas and not getting caught up in your own.
- 18. 4. Authenticity Don’t be afraid to challenge convention, break the rules Promote innovation Create avenues for management to receive respectful feedback to avoid information vacuum that usually surrounds upper management
- 19. 4. Authenticity Reverence vs. Respect Show respect but be careful not to be reverent Reverence impairs ability to question, innovate, and pursue new ways of looking at things Reverence discourages progress and invites stagnation
- 20. 5. Failure “Key to staying relevant in the world is constantly challenging and reinventing yourself” (page 139) Failure is an unavoidable and natural part of the creation process • Build failure into your plans so you are not devastated when it occurs • Try to fail incrementally • Fail together – no one person is to blame Build upon failures to create successes
- 22. 6. Follow the Follower Everyone has a chance to be the Leader Maximize results by utilizing everyone’s talents Ideas generated throughout organization not just on a top-down basis
- 23. 6. Follow the Follower: Exercise Follow the Follower Setup: Members of a group sit in a circle. Each group member is instructed to make movements and sounds. At the same time, they are also instructed to mimic the movements and sounds of others in the group. Focus: Focus attention on others and learn to work better as a group.
- 24. 7. Listening Most important element Listen to the whole person Build emotional intelligence to really understand Body language Micro-expresssions We only listen with 25% comprehension rate
- 25. 7. Listening: Exercise Last Word Response Setup: Divide up into pairs. Have partners begin a conversation, each speaking one sentence at a time. The only catch is that the participants must begin each sentence with the last word spoken by their partner. Focus: Listen all the way through to the end of a speaker’s thought before starting to form or express your response.
- 26. “ ” Business and improv worlds have a lot in common: we both have audiences to reach and win over, we both have to create and work on teams, and we both feel pressure to perform…
- 27. One Last List Smile Don’t check your texts or email when someone is talking Be curious Eliminate the word “No” for one day Be on time Excel at preparation Ask, what is the problem you are trying to solve? Make your partner look good Respect, don’t revere Applaud others Say “We” rather than “I” whenever possible Consider that you may not be right Don’t work from fear; work from a sense of possibility Be an improviser
Editor's Notes
- Book was intriguing with its promises to help you to think on your feet Use of humor to improve work and life situations
- During this presentation, I will share a quick description of The Second City and the book’s authors I will describe the 3 pillars of improvisation and the 7 elements of improv developed by The Second City to promote the 3 pillars And finally I will share portions of the One Last List, words of advice shared by the book’s authors
- Improv theater opened in Chicago December 1959 Comedians who have worked at The Second City: Stephen Colbert Tina Fey Dan Aykroyd John Belushi
- Kelly Leonard Spent entire career at The Second City Started as a dishwasher and usher to work his way up to Executive Vice President
- Tom Yorton Background in advertising and marketing CEO of Second City Communications, training and development arm of The Second City
- First pillar is Creativity Second is Communication Third is Collaboration
- Elements developed by The Second City to promote improv’s 3 pillars
- Big Bang Theory The show is primarily centered on characters living in Pasadena, California: Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists at Caltech, who share an apartment; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives in the apartment across from them. In this scene, Sheldon comes to Penny for advice on public speaking as his teaching manner has been criticized. Note how Penny demonstrates the philosophy of Yes, And while Sheldon most certainly does not, to comedic effect.
- Very applicable in the “real” world. Contrast yes, and to my auditing background
- Authors provide some exercises to help develop skills in the various improv elements.
- As anyone who has every been on the second string knows, some team members are more valuable than others. Ensemble: compared to an orchestra, all with different parts, all playing together at the same time, to make music
- 28
- Not in the book but I feel it illustrates failure’s role in success.
- While the book was light on statistics, the authors provided numerous anecdotes of business’ success using improv principles and I feel they made a persuasive case for the applicability of these elements in real life situations.
- At the end of the book, the authors shared their One Last List of advice they have learned over the years. I share some of my favorites here. Thanks for listening.