Thursday 9th
11:15 – 12:40
Workshop
Improvisation Skills for Facilitators
Julia E. Knight, Independent Harry PuckeringIndependent
Maximum Capacity 16
Summary
An experiential 2½ -hour professional skills workshop that focuses on developing the ability to operate 'in the moment' as a facilitator, trainer or workshop leader, through practising techniques drawn from theatrical and comedy improvisation. The session will be practical and playful in approach and will result in the development of strategies for use in professional practice
Abstract
Facilitating groups and leading workshops or training courses are common activities for Occupational Psychologists. Whilst we typically have well-developed interpersonal skills and a good understanding of how to create a positive environment to promote learning, developing the ability to feel comfortable dealing with situations as they arise and being able to face uncertainty with confidence is not always easy. Understanding the nature and principles of improvisation, as well as the practice of these can be seen to be a core skill for occupational psychologists who facilitate workshops and courses.
This workshop, designed and delivered by an Occupational Psychologist and a management trainer who are also performing improvisers, offers the opportunity to work on spontaneous expression and group work through structured improvisation exercises that demonstrate the principles of improvisation. Developing the ability to improvise and adapt 'in-the-moment' can help facilitators to become more responsive and spontaneously expressive.
The primary focus of the workshop will be to demonstrate the application of improvisation principles to facilitation. In addition, many of the exercises that the group will practise are also directly transferable to team-based workshops either as 'warm-ups' or more specifically to improve aspects of team-working.
Rationale
Interest in improvisation tools and techniques has been growing in recent years in the business world as the ability to 'think on your feet' has become a valued competency. Most of the leading business schools in the US now teach improvisation skills as a core module on their MBAs (see CNN link) and there are any number of TED talks available on the subject. So far, so fad! But in addition, there are also a number of academic studies that have demonstrated the positive impact of training in improvisation skills. For example, Vera & Crossan (2005) have demonstrated that training in improvising techniques contributed to improved team performance and subsequent innovation. Dow et al. (2007) demonstrated that delivering theatre-skills workshops to trainee doctors resulted in a significant improvement in their clinical empathy skills, and Kirsten (2008) showed a significant improvement in the climate for work group innovation in a health care management team that had received improvisation training against a comparable control team that had not. More recently, Tabaee (2013) studied the impact of improvisation training on leadership skills and has developed a model of improvisational leadership. Her thesis outlines the importance of being able to improvise in today's fast-moving and uncertain business environment and to feel confident making decisions 'in the moment'.
The skills that are developed through practising improvisation have been likened to 'mindfulness' as effective improvisation depends on "being attentive and alert to what is happening in the now" (Vera & Crossan, 2005). Mindfulness has received much attention recently and has been linked to improved psychological well-being, increased adaptability and awareness of emotion (Gulik, 2009). There is also a strong link with the concept of 'flow' (Csikszentmihalyi ) as the merging of action and awareness during improvisation is conducive to entering a flow state.
In terms of process, the workshop follows Lewin's model of change, so that participants are encouraged to firstly 'unfreeze' their usual behaviour, then to explore and adapt before 'refreezing' into a new state. This typically provides participants with a clear framework as well as giving them permission to try out new ways of behaving in a safe environment.
Who is it aimed at?
Practitioners who have experience in facilitation, running workshops and training, and who want to develop their ability to 'think on their feet' and to take a more creative approach to their work with groups and teams.
Note: Whilst there is nothing strenuous involved in the session, participants should be prepared to take part in physical exercises involving movement. We can usually accommodate participants with physical disabilities, but would require advance information/discussion to ensure that suitable adjustments can be made to the workshop.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this course, it is expected that participants will have:
- Explored the principles of improvisation and their relevance to facilitation skills
- Identified new patterns of behaviour that can help them to deal with uncertainty and new situations
- Practised techniques that promote effective team working
- Discussed how they could use their experiences to increase their effectiveness as a facilitator / trainer
Outline of content, learning methods and assessment
- Warm up work, where participants break out of their usual patterns of thinking and acting
- Exercises drawn from theatrical and comedy improvisation: participants practise unplanned communication and group interaction in a low risk and fun environment to explore new and different ways of thinking and to make sense of current and familiar ways of operating
- Learn new perspectives on team-working through practice, reflection and theoretical input
- Plan and decide how to carry the learning into professional practice, incorporate the learning into participants' self-concept and on-going approach at work.
- Participants will be provided with a short handout containing a summary of the key principles and exercises covered, as well as a list of resources and references
Resource requirements
Chairs in a semi-circle for the start of the workshop. The room provided must have sufficient space for the all participants (and workshop leaders) to move around freely and safely. No tables.
Comfortable clothes and shoes: the course involves movement and interaction with others.
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1992) Flow, Harper & Row
Dow, A.W. et al. (2007) Using Theater to Teach Clinical Empathy: A Pilot Study. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22: 1114-1118
Giluk, T. L. (2009). Mindfulness, Big Five personality, and affect: A meta-analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 805-811.
Kirsten, B. (2008) The Influence of a Team Development Intervention (Improvisational Theatre) on Climate for Work Group Innovation. Masters Degree Thesis, University of Stellenbosch
Tabaee, F. (2013) Effects of Improvisation Techniques in Leadership Development. PhD Thesis, Pepperdine University, CA
Vera, D and Crossan, M (2005) Improvisation and Innovative Performance in Teams. Organisation Science 16 (3): 203-224
CNN Article - Why using improvisation to teach business skills is no joke.