Making Meetings Fun

A few months back I blogged about the Merits of Improv as a business tool.

Before I go further, here's a joke I stumble(d)upon today: The wife of an engineer tells her husband to go to the store. She says "Pick up a loaf of bread, and if they have eggs, get 6". The engineer husband returns from the store with 6 loaves of bread. The wife inquires. "What about the eggs?" To which the hubby replies "You never told me to get eggs."

Now back to Improv. There was an article I read on fastcompany.com titled "Do Improv Comedians Make the Best Design Thinkers?" which asserts that comedic improv boosts creative thinking.

Don't click the following links yet: A short article which links to a longer article posted on Dartmouth's Engineering site.

I have moderated more meetings that I can count. Brainstorming sessions were always prefaced with typical rules like no idea is a bad idea, job titles don't matter, must eat chocolate to participate, etc. I always prepped the team with stuff like the Ladder of Inference, anti-solutioning (loads o' laughs), jumping jacks, blah, blah, blah.

I wish I knew then what I know now ... basic guidelines for improvisation. In the last 9 months I have accrued nearly 100 hours in training at The Institution Theater and Coldtowne with professionals that have trained at Second City and IO and written/worked for SNL, Amy Poehler, Steven Colbert, etc. I am presently studying with Tom Booker, who is the shit.

I don't want to be a comedian. I don't want to get up on stage and make people laugh.

I do want to improve my ability to think in the moment, with creativity and honesty. I want to be able to think and act without frontal lobe interference. If you can already do this, you are blessed.

Most folks, me included, have a wicked nasty, nagging internal voice that inhibits our verbalization of brilliant (and sometimes dopey) ideas. The internal voice is good thing though, especially when dealing with cops, dentists and spouses. Unfortunately, this voice keeps our lips sealed in the workplace in times when our ideas could save or make buckets of mullah.

The practice of Improv invites creativity. It encourages community thinking. It builds relationships between colleagues. It teaches us to support each others ideas and to build. Plus, it's freekin' fun. Folks laugh. Laughter breaks silence. Laughter stimulates ideas.

So what? I was a bit curious why local Improv theaters advertised "corporate training" when I started. Now I get it. If you want to have a non-tradional, kickass brainstorming session, if you want to encourage creativity, if you want to build highly effective teams, if you want to win ... practice Improv.

If you don get it, watch Curb Your Enthusiasm or listen to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. These are two simple examples of wildly successful improvisation. Larry David only gives his cast an outline of scenes, no script. Miles Davis told his musicians two hours before recording what they were gonna do. There was only one take. Kind of Blue is the highest selling jazz albums of all time. From Wikipedia "As was Miles Davis's penchant, he called for almost no rehearsal and the musicians had little idea what they were to record."