The Second City – where countless actors and comedians got their start. They’ve been bringing the funny for over 60 years. Now the first name in improve and comedy, they’ve expanded well beyond the stage and into business, wellness, education and so much more. 

Kelly Leonard, Executive Director of Learning and Applied Improvisation at The Second City, joins Bill and Megan in this episode to talk about improvisation, creativity, and whether and how it can be used in conflict communication – especially in high conflict interactions. For over twenty years, he oversaw Second City’s live theatrical divisions working with such talent as Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Seth Meyers, Steve Carrell, and others.

In this episode, we’ll talk about:

• Kelly’s book, Yes, And
• improvisation and creativity beyond the stage
• allowing anything to be on the table
• differences between creativity and innovation
• allowing yourself to be a human being
• the effect of the body on the brain and anxiety (he’ll talk about what can be seen on an MRI when a smile is involved)
• so much more

Links & Other Notes:

• KELLY’S BOOK
  • Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses "No, But" Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration--Lessons from The Second City
• KELLY’S PODCAST
  • "Getting to Yes, And"
• KELLY’S TEDxBroadwayTalk
  • Embrace Your Failures
• KELLY’S COURSES
  • The Second City

Our website: https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/

Submit a Question for Bill and Megan

All of our books can be found in our online store or anywhere books are sold, including as e-books.

You can also find these show notes at our site as well.

Note: We are not diagnosing anyone in our discussions, merely discussing patterns of behavior.

• (00:00) - Welcome to It's All Your Fault
• (02:18) - Meet Kelly Leonard
• (09:08) - Yes! And...
• (12:16) - Using It in Conflict Situations
• (15:33) - Times to Not 'Yes And'
• (18:19) - Thank You, Because...
• (19:51) - Avoiding Escalation
• (20:46) - Humor, Surprise, Delight
• (21:27) - Why Improv?
• (26:49) - The Science
• (36:44) - Reminders & Coming Next Week: Jackhammer Parents

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