by Shawn Westfall | Sep 20, 2013 | Improvisation
This month’s improv tip is written by Shawn Westfall, The Get Real Project’s improv guru.
If Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen’s concept of “Disruptive Innovation” taught us anything, it’s that the world as we know it won’t be the same tomorrow as it is today—nor will it be what we imagine. As Christensen points out, disruptive technologies, ideas, and business cultures have the potential to radically transform society as a whole, and often do.
by Shawn Westfall | Sep 6, 2013 | Improvisation
This month’s improv tip is written by Shawn Westfall, BossaNova’s improv guru.
For a professional improv comedian, even “play” becomes work from time to time. In this article, Shawn Westfall shares his personal reflections of an important turning point in his 10-year teaching journey, with valuable lessons for us all about how and when to step aside and start anew.
by Shawn Westfall | Apr 22, 2013 | Improvisation, Leading with trust
This month’s improv tip is written by Shawn Westfall, the Get Real Project’s improv guru.
Somewhere around class three or four of the beginner’s improv class I teach at the DC Improv, I make the entire class stand up, raise their hands, and yell, as loud as they can “I FAILED! I FAILED AT IMPROV! I FAILED AT MAKING CRAP UP! HOORAY!”
by Shawn Westfall | Mar 20, 2013 | Improvisation
This month’s improv tip is written by Shawn Westfall, the Get Real Project’s improv guru.
There’s a popular short-form improv game called “Here Comes Mr. So-And-So,” and here’s how it’s played: you ask the audience to suggest a bunch of personality quirks or annoying character traits or habits, and then assign them to the improvisational actors. The quirkier, more annoying, more challenging, or more outrageous the better. Some of my favorites from past shows I’ve either been in or hosted include:
by Shawn Westfall | Apr 20, 2012 | Improvisation
Written by Shawn Westfall, The Get Real Project’s Improv Guru
Why should organizational leaders care about why improv scenes succeed or fail? Because what plays out on an improv stage is a lot like what happens in the organizational arena. Read on to discover exactly what it takes to demonstrate resiliency in either setting.