Virginie Glaenzer hosts a roundtable where participants share what they learned about improvisation. They discuss building empathy through improv, starting habits with yourself before teaching others, letting go of control, and facing fear to try it at work and home. Several plan to use improv exercises in brainstorming and workshops.
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Very nice. Well, so as a timekeeper, we're about to come to the end of the hour. So first of all, I want to thank you everyone for this insightful conversation. We can speak for hours and we're just scratching the surface, right? But I'd like to end this discussion the way it began, with a tour de table. One of the promises of this podcast is that there's too much talking and not enough doing. So let's pass the mic and tell us what you've heard today, that will inspire you to start doing something differently than the way you did it prior to this conversation. And this might actually more apply to me than you as practitioner, but you may want to share anything that you want to leave the group with, or any person, you know, if you want to share also things around how do you push yourself to go beyond your comfort zone as a practitioner of improvisation. I'd be curious to know what it means for you. And I'm going to start by sharing my own takeaways to give you a moment to collect your thoughts. So this conversation was just amazing. Number one, I'm a big and firm believer that improvisation is an amazing philosophy and practice that actually can impact dramatically a culture of an organization because it creates a more meaningful place. You know, we've talked about empathy and listening. I think it just creates more meaningful relationships. So that's number one. I came in this discussion thinking I want to learn more about improvisation because I have a team of 8. I have a couple of interns and I want to teach them skills. But really my aha moment was during the conversation when I heard a couple of you say that it actually starts with your personal agency. And so it actually starts with me. So I want to train myself and I'm going to try with my husband. I'm going to try it with my neighbors, and have this almost new habit. And I know it takes time to say, and yes, and. So a big thank you for that. I also do want to somehow incorporate some exercises when I do a brainstorming session with a client or strategic meeting. So I'm going to do a little bit of research, and I hope that we can share in a follow-up best practices or tools or maybe exercises that you would recommend a company to kind of get themselves familiar. But so that's my takeaway. So thank you so much. Why don't we begin with Gabe if you want to share your last thoughts or anything you'd like to share.
Yeah, first, yeah, I want to bring Jamie and Kate into my office and have them teach a workshop here because I think it'd be really great to have them here. I've done those kind of things here, but I think it's nice to have somebody from the outside and especially two people that I respect to be involved because I think we need to implement those kind of things here. That's one thing that I've learned just from talking to all of you, and Rod mentioned empathy specifically. And, you know, we do a lot of active listening, but I want to do more of it. And it's really, I want to encourage the people I work with to do more of that and be empathetic to the other person's opinions and thoughts. And it doesn't happen consistently, and I'd like to make it, make it so that it isn't just coming from me. But everybody's sort of getting on the same page and behaving in that same manner, because I do think if you do that consistently, the work, the people you work with, and the actual work, the outcome of that, the results are only going to be positive and good. So I thank all you guys for kind of reminding me of that fact that listening and being respectful and empathetic is such an important pillar at any place that you work.
Absolutely. Rod?
I'll add on to what Gabe has said. I think for me, a relatively new group, and I'm trying to get them to think differently, and that's where the kind of some of the stuff I said kind of came from, comes from. And for me, it's I gotta now pass it down in a way. I can't be the only one constantly pushing it. And I've got to have others to kind of push and lead on their own. So part of that is kind of letting go a little bit of that in a different way, if that makes any type of sense, and instilling and making sure people know that it's now your time to take this over, right? Not that I'm done, right? I've got other fish to fry here, but now it's your time to take what you've learned and how it's helped you and pass it on in a way.
Beautiful. Letting go, big topic. Jamie?
I really like this idea again of empathy. Like, I had not thought of teaching that. Like I said, I've always thought more of like communicate clearly, understand each other, get on the same page. But I think empathy sort of takes it a little bit deeper. It involves some emotion, I think, like what is the other person feeling? Why are they saying this? And again, I keep saying I'm trying not to be a guru. I'm starting to think maybe I might be a guru because I think that Mr. Rogers is having a bit of a comeback, and my son— I try to get my son to watch Mr. Rogers, and there's a documentary, and there's a Tom Hanks movie. And I think that's because in our society right now and on the news, it's very divisive and people can't hear each other. And I think people are missing empathy, and they're remembering what it was like when they were children to be taught that and to experience that. So I really want to try to incorporate that idea into what I'm teaching, and maybe people can take it out into the world.
Beautiful, wonderful. And since you begin, Kate, I'm going to let you end this conversation.
Yeah, I'm going to piggyback on what Jamie just said. I mean, in thinking about what you guys were highlighting through the conversation, it also was empathy that just stood out. It was using that actual word, and I agree with Jamie. I don't know if we actually sit down and think about that, that point coming across, but how we could take it and add that angle into our teaching. The idea that we should be relating to one another on this human level. I often do hope that a lot of these exercises go out and, and that people use them in ways to connect. And similarly, I'd like to continue to follow my own fear. And listening to you guys, I— there are lots of things I'm fearful of. I was anxious before getting on this conversation. And a lot of times for me, I think in starting my own business, it was a huge leap of being absolutely terrified to say, well, what happens if I just throw out a class and see what happens? I want to continue on that path. I mean, it's been tremendous to follow my anxiety and, and hope that even if it— I kept saying, what would be failure for me? And there is no such thing at this point. It's doing all of these experiences, whether this podcast or teaching or whatever it might be. I'm learning so much by listening to everybody who's coming in contact with me. I can't tell you enough how important it was to listen to each of your stories about your days and what you'd like to do. And similar to Jamie and being a mother, I'd like to, you know, hope to teach my children these important rules as well. And Virginie, I know that's another conversation we were talking about having is improvisation as a parent and what it could do with relationships and also intimacy and partners. So it's something to tie into and think about further.
That would be a wonderful discussion. And when we talk about empathy, we're having another episode on social media and Gen Z, and I think this is really going to be around having empathy for them in various ways. So I'm just thinking about that. Great, wonderful. Well, thank you so much. And I also would like to end by asking viewers and listeners to like this video and subscribe to our podcast and actually tell us, what do you think? Can improvisation create a more productive workplace? So you can leave your answers in the comment. And again, thank you so much everyone for your time. I really appreciate it.
