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