In this episode of Time Billionaires, Rebecca Shaddix explores how improv training builds better leaders, more creative teams, and faster collaboration with Holly Mandel, an improv professor and corporate trainer who has worked with PwC, IBM, and Pfizer to bring improv principles into their team dynamics.

Trained at Los Angeles’s Groundlings Theater, Holly explains why the core improv principle “Yes, And” isn’t about agreement, but about creating momentum and collaboration by acknowledging someone else’s version of reality. Together, Rebecca and Holly unpack how improvisers build trust, interrupt cycles overthinking, and easy ways to unlock creativity, confidence, and adaptability with easy improv warm-ups anyone can do in 5 minutes. 

This conversation goes beyond “being present.” You’ll learn how:

They also dive into the neuroscience behind improv, explaining how shifting out of a fight-or-flight brainwave can reduce stress, spark fresh insights, and rewire your default mindset toward openness and innovation. By the end of this conversation, you’ll understand why improvisers don’t fear not knowing the next step, because they realize they already have all the tools they need to use uncertainty to create something entirely new.  

Timestamps

Connect with Holly 

Website: https://www.hollymandel.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-mandel/

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