- Dare to be Human: Courage through Improv - Kat Koppett & Livia Armstrong
In a fast-moving, unscripted world how do you Dare to be Human? How do you show up as your full authentic self, flaws and all? How do you reach out to other humans and connect? How do you reach your goals and fulfill your potential?
These are the question we ask in each segment of our Dare to be Human podcast and we think the answer – at least some answers – lie in the world of applied improv. “Improv is the gym for life”, we say. In this talk, we will share “Dare to be Human” stories from a wide variety of experts and guests and offer tips from the world of applied improv on how you can expand your awareness and range of options for your own exceptional and adventurous human life.
- Relational Intelligence: Play as a Way of Being - Saliha Bava
Living is an improvised activity. Drawing on 20 years of experience of play/workshops across the world and research in performative practices (in leading, coupling, teaching & research), I will introduce the idea of play as relational intelligence. I introduce the notion that everyday improvised interactions is how we construct our lives and illustrate how AI is more than a tool or a mindset. It is a way of being. Being human is to be improvisational. In my practice, I expand the everyday notion of play as an improvisational way of being with the people to engage across our differences. I will share practices on how to draw on applied improvisation as a way of being for a more engaged relational space and how a play-oriented presence is critical not only for tomorrow's unknowns but also for the serious stuff of life, like mental health. Participants will take away ideas on “How might we approach our lives as the biggest stage of all applied improvisations?”
- Improv, Love, and the Paradoxical Theory of Change - Jon Trevor
The Greeks recognised six kinds of love - Improv embraces at least five of them. But love implies acceptance without the need to change the Beloved - yet Applied Improvisers are hired by organisations specifically to bring about change. How to square this circle?
This talk offers an answer - - through the lens of Arnold Beisser’s “Paradoxical Theory of Change.” Companies often wish we could change them to how they think they should be. If we take our lead from Beisser, then the first step is to help organisations see who they actually are right now. Applied Improvisation is arguably the best way to do that …
- An AIN Love Story - Eric & Aden Nepom
In improv, we talk often about the relationships between characters. In facilitation: the relationship between a presenter and their audience. With corporations: the relationship between customer and client. No matter what the context, relationships matter. They can lead to future business partners and mentoring, can foster growth and support, and if you are really lucky, they can become something more. Aden & Eric met at an AIN Conference and their journey involves many of these relationships, from a chance meeting in a crowded room, to partnering on potential business opportunities, to actually dating…and marriage! Join A&E as they share their relationship journey, built (fairly) in the world of the Applied Improv Network. The good, the bad, and the magic of a relationship built on communication and collaboration.
- Cultivating Psychological Safety Starts With You - Kristy West
We are hearing more and more about Psychological Safety as it relates to organizational development and team performance through advocates like Dr. Amy C. Edmonson, Harvard Business School Professor and the highly publicized research in the 2015 Google Study called Project Aristotle where Psychological Safety was ranked the highest driver for top performing teams. Anyone working to shift cultures, mind-sets or behaviors knows that initiatives can sometimes fall short of making their way into the day to day employee experience. Let's empower ourselves to be the change we want to see in others by cultivating psychological safety within ourselves.The parallels between Improvisation and Psychological Safety cannot be denied and anyone familiar with the principles of Improv can easily link them. At the heart of Psychological Safety is our ability to be vulnerable. Ultimately it is our choice to be afraid and try it anyway. In this session, we will explore how to embrace a Psychologically Safe mindset for yourself and drive change by example.
