Jessie Shtrenshus - Improv, Safety, and "Yes, ... and"

Jessie Shternshus is the founder of The Improv Effect and the author of “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today”. In her work, Jessie often incorporates improv techniques to help people tap into the things they need to become better communicators, team members and leaders. She also coaches organizations through Agile transition and cultural change. After recently completing my first improv class, and not feeling very confident that I “got it”, I had lots of questions. Jessie was kind enough to spend some time talking with me about my experience, the benefits improv can provide, what “yes, and…” really means, why it is important and the elements needed to create a safe space where people can thrive and be creative. SHOW NOTES 00:00 Podcast Intro 01:58 Interview Start 02:22 What Jessie has been up to lately 03:42 Jessie’s work coaching people to help them amp up their presentation skills 04:45 The Creative Courage Summit 05:58 Jessie’s Book “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today” 06:17 Intro to the Improv Discussion 07:00 Dave’s fears about the safety provided by the improv framework 07:46 “I’m happy to tell you your being dumb” 08:22 How can you have an environment that is supportive AND critical 08:41 Dave missed some important pieces 09:08 Learning from what makes you uncomfortable 10:04 It’s important to find the class that is right for you 11:50 How you establish a safe improv space 13:36 Safety comes from setting expectations, modeling behavior and getting to know people 16:12 Finding a way to use improv to build camaraderie with remote teams 18:20 Do you always have to “Yes, and…” 18:50 How “Yes, and” works, and the benefits it can bring 21:22 What skills improv can offer to individuals and teams working in an office setting 22:50 Advice from Jessie on how to pick the right class for you 25:19 Part of being creative involves tapping into your childlike self, but you have to feel safe going there 26:18 What if you can’t let go of everything and reach that childlike state? 28:20 Being mindful of the things you are resisting 30:02 Getting in touch with Jessie CONTACTING JESSIE http://www.improveffect.com https://www.facebook.com/improveffect/ https://twitter.com/TheImprovEffect LINKS: Jessie’s Book: “CTRL SHIFT: 50 Games for 50 ****ing Days Like Today” http://amzn.to/2rhOxPk The Creative Courage Summit: http://CreativeCourageSummit.live My Video Podcast interview with Jessie at the 2015 Agile Conference: https://vimeo.com/135568636