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Home > Using Improvisational Comedy As A Business Training Tool
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Using Improvisational Comedy as a Business Training Tool
by Doug Dvorak
One of the major issues in today’s corporate work environment is the “lack of trust and team work”. Businesses have to be ever so focused on the “Bottom Line” because of the competitive pressures facing them from the global community; including: corporate downsizing, restructuring and downward price pressures on products and services. As a result of these new business drivers, we have lost our sense of trust in our employers and fellow employees. These observations were made evident to me in the many companies that I have consulted with over the years. Most workers want to trust, build and be part of a team, but feel there is a huge chasm with management in this area. When people go to work and don’t trust colleagues and senior management, the work atmosphere is filled with a negative vibe, much of which is unspoken. Some of the detrimental issues that a work environment devoid of Trust and Teamwork can exhibit are:
UncertaintyNegativityFear of losing one’s jobLack of cooperation and collaborationReluctanceZero creativityThis is where Improvisational Comedy can help. I needed a break from the “Corporate Rat Race”, so I enrolled at The Players Workshop of The Second City to learn Improvisational Comedy. While attending the classes, I gained some valuable insights into human behavior that could improve and enhance Trust and Teamwork in the workplace by utilizing Improv Games and Exercises. One of my favorites, which I still use today, is Gibberish.
Gibberish is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: gib‧ber‧ish /ˈ-/ Pronunciation Key [jib-er-ish, gib-] –noun
1) Meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing.
2) Talk or writing containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words.
—Synonyms 1. nonsense, foolishness, babble, gabble, drivel, gobbledegook.
Gibberish Improv Exercises
Gibberish Commands
How it Works Players start in pairs. Have each play issue a command to her partner, in Gibberish. Players can't move on until the command is understood and executed. Simple things will do, like 'pass me the salt, please' . The idea is not to mime the command, but to try and make it obvious for the way the command is issued, and the environment that has been set.
Translate Gibberish
How it Works This is best played with an odd number of players. Everyone in a circle. The first player gives a gibberish word to her right neighbor, who translates the word. The next player provides the next gibberish word, and so on.
Variations The receiver can provide both the translation, and a new gibberish word. You may want to add the origin of the language along with the translation.
Notes Any gibberish word might be translated as 'banana' of course, but that is not the idea of the exercise. For your translation, use the first thing that comes to mind. You may be inspired by the whole sound of the word (it might sound like something 'known'), or parts of the word (only the vowels, or only the consonants), or by the intonation of the 'giver', or even by her expression or body language.
Gibberish Expert
How it Works One player is an expert on a subject, often provided by the audience. Furthermore, he's from a foreign country (perhaps also supplied by the audience). The expert gives a lecture in Gibberish and a second player translates.
Variations Have the expert tell a story, instead of giving a lecture.
Just Gibberish
How it Works Play a scene, completely in gibberish, no translations provided. The scene should be perfectly clear to the audience - we should be perfectly able to translate every gibberish sentence, and the story should make sense.
Notes
This will only work if the stories are extremely simple, and if the platform is made clear right from the start. Some players tend to do this as a scene without words, but that is not the idea of the exercise.
Improvisation Strengthens Trust in the Workplace
When you hear the word “improvisation”, many people think about the funny antics of comedy improv that they have seen on a television show like “Whose Line is it Anyway” or at a nightclub. Most people are unaware of the power of improvisation and its ability to bring positive results to even the most negative of people. The guiding principles of improvisation are all based in Trust and Cooperation. By trying these gibberish exercises in the work environment, you can have fun and increase the level of Trust and Teamwork.
(Improv Games Compiled from Improv Eneyclopedia)
About the Author
Doug Dvorak Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak's clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. His background in sales, leadership, management and customer loyalty has allowed him to become one of world's most sought-after consultants, lecturers and teachers. This vast experience has helped him shape and determine his philosophies on success in business, which he now shares annually with thousands of individuals through keynote presentations, syndicated writing, television, seminars, books and tapes.847-369-6969 dougdvorak.com
Storytelling Keynote Speaker Doug Stevenson
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