In 2015 Google released the results of its 4 year study into what makes a successful team. After interviewing numerous leaders in and out of Google, including TV producers, Sports coaches, and industry leaders across many professions, they came to the conclusion that Psychological Safety is the #1 factor in Team success!
We stumbled upon this, and after reading the articles about the study, and eventually abstracts from the team behind the project, we realized the power or improv comedy in developing psychological safety.
There are now 1000s of books and lectures and TED TALKS and webinars discussing the power of psychological safety and even some interesting techniques on ways leaders can build their teams creating psychological safety.
BUT IMPROV IS PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY. Simply playing improv games with the team develops psychological safety on your team. Or it reveals where your team is not working they you think, or at least the way you think it should.
The #1 rule in Improv is Yes And…
We teach folks to say YES… AND follow up with words and actions.
“YES!” is all about accepting your colleagues and their contributions to the team. We create a safe space and level playing field for all. We accept our colleague 100% as is. EVERYTHING they say and do. We do not judge. We do not fear. We trust each other AND ourselves.
“AND…” is all about contributing valuable work and information to the team. We are going to take this to the next level by accepting our colleagues’ work, building upon with our own contributions. Performance drive is not a selfish process. We have a collective ambition to grow and achieve together as a team.
When the whole team embraces “YES! And…” we enter the learning zone together. No challenge is insurmountable when we work together in a supportive exchange of ideas and actions.
Invaluable Life Skills
YES AND… is just step one. Our two hour workshop puts into the muscle memory that which 1000s of books merely discuss. Simply playing these games builds self confidence, listening, focus, creativity and critical thinking. We develop community and leadership skills. We develop powerful presentation and sales skills.
They say STAGE FREIGHT is the #1 phobia, but I thinks it’s just part of a much bigger FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN and FEAR OF FAILURE. For some STAGE is easy but one on one interactions cause anxiety. For a rare few, even leaving the house is a struggle.
There is something magical, somw5hing we see every day leading improv workshops, when folks have the realization as to how easy Improv games are to play. Up until go time, we get emails and texts sharing the fears shared by a team. Without fail, within 10-15 minutes of starting the workshop, everyone is laughing.
The secret is creating a fun safe space to play. We define OUR #1 RULE as HAVE FUN BUT NEVER AT ANOTHER’S EXPENSE. We teach how to be funny with lout TRYING to be funny, which usually means being jerky. We teach to trust being clever, instead of trying to be clever. We teach TRYING is a function of ego and insecurity, which destroy focus, creativity, community and leadership. We define EGO as an over compensation for fear, as is arrogance. TRUE CONFIDENCE being OK with not being funny or clever, not worrying about being correct. By the end of the session, that fear of failure brings out the worst in us. We hold ourselves and our teams back.
When we let go of fear, allow ourselves to stumble imperfectly, we stumble upon our true genius and surpass all expectations we have for ourselves.
Ready to empower your team?
Contact us today about shows and workshops. In addition to improv comedy, we also have murder mystery, minute to win it games, trivia and more.
A division of Improv Theater LLC Improv Theater LLC is a one stop edutainment center for corporate team building, office / holiday parties and more. Our comedy shows and workshops deliver high impact results. Clients include Google, Mercedes Benz, META /Facebook, TikTok, JP Morgan Chase, Accenture, Morgan Stanley, Twitter, Roblox, Rimowa, EI Digital, Accenture, Datadog HQ, Milbank, BING/Microsoft, Band of America – Merrill Lynch, Home Depot, Ernst & Young, Johnson & Johnson, Louis Vuitton, Coach, UBS, BDO, AMEX, Master Card, Macy’s, 360i, IBM, GM, Kraft, UNILEAVER, HBO, Prudential, Convene, Conference Board and many more…
Providing College / University campus activities at Harvard, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Princeton, Georgetown, Vaughn, Molloy, Montclair State, Bloomberg College, High Point, Williams College, Lynchburg College, Southern New Hampshire University, Ferris State, Mount Isa, Misericordia, Sacred Heart, Hastings, Pace, Vaughn, College Misericordia, University of Vermont, Stone Hill, Yeshiva, Columbia, NYU, Hofstra, Cooper Union, John Jay, Fordham, Sacred Heart, Seton Hall, and more.
Additionally, 1000s of public and private events at The Smithsonian Portrait Gallery, Wolf Trap, The Argyle Theater, Emelin Theater, Gerold Opera House, 72nd Street Pier, Cherry Point Marine Base, Disney Resorts, Ohio National Guard, Connecticut DCF, First Nights Winchester VA, Binghamton First Night, Haddonfield First Night, Chateau Briand, Babylon Carriage House, retirement homes, numerous libraries, YMCA, JCC, Parks and Recreation, 1000s of k12 schools and summer camps in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska.
Artistic Director, Walt Frasier has 25+ years of professional credits in comedy, Theater and music. He got his big break in TV performing comedy sketches on MTV’s Stankervision, Late Nite with David Letterman, TruTV’s Friends of the People, and most recently on HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay. As an actor, Frasier has appeared on NBC’s Blacklist, CBS’s Blue Bloods, USA’s Royal Pains (Filmed in Puerto Rico), Netflix’s Lilyhammer (filmed in Norway) and NICK’s Naked Brothers Band. In addition to 1000s of live performances around the world, Frasier has also appeared in numerous commercials, industrials, webisodes and reality TV shows. Arthur Avenue regulars may also recognize Walter, if you add a white beard and red suit, as he has been official Little Italy Santa for the past 15 years.
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