By now you’ve probably heard us sing the praises of improvisation and its benefits in communication, awareness and listening. If you haven’t, the premise is simple- we think of improv as the best way to practice accepting and appreciating change. 

But it goes much further than that. Improv has been used to teach individuals interpersonal skills in countless arenas- from helping immigrant children assimilate to social settings in the U.S. to comedy, it’s now used pervasively as a learning tool for business school students, C-suite executives, military, lawyers, doctors, coaches and beyond. 

Today, we’re speaking with one of the world's authorities on improvising in daily life, Patricia Ryan Madson. She’s the author of IMPROV WISDOM: Don’t Prepare, Just Show Up and a professor Emerita from Stanford University where she’s taught since 1977. She is a frequent speaker for business and educational groups and her corporate clients have included: IDEO, Google, Gap Inc.'s Executive Leadership Team, The Lucille and David Packard Foundation, the Banff Centre for Leadership, Sun Microsystems Japan Division, Apple Computers, Adobe Systems, and Price Waterhouse. 

Today, we get to learn from her: 

• The essential “rules” and guiding principles of good improvisors

Connect with Patricia:

Via her website: www.improvwisdom.com

Via her blog: www.improvwisdom.blogspot.com

Via her email: [email protected]

If you’re interested in trying improv yourself, come to one of our communication workshops. At The Apprenticeship, you’ll be exposed to all of the principles we discuss on today’s show and many more. Not only that, we’ll equip you with the skills you’ll need to tackle life and leadership’s messy moments and a chance to practice them and fail safely.