Fresh

A big group of us went to a PAF workshop with On Your Feet today. It focused on how to use improv theater techniques to help teams create fresh ideas. It also seemed really beneficial for anyone who needs to think quickly on their feet (presentations!)

One of their key points was that people doing improv need to be really good at going with the flow. It is detrimental to discourage ideas. When someone throws an idea out at you, instead of saying “no, that’s a bad idea” think how you can use it, play off of it, include it into the flow. They spoke about not being too attached to your “shadow story”, which is your pre-conceived notion of what something should be. Instead, be open to new interpretations of a concept. They talked a lot about turning off your “inner censor” and letting ideas flow regardless of whether you think they are good or not.

Another key idea was to look at things from a different angle than you usually do. If you are stuck, get someone who is not used to thinking about the issue to help you come up with solutions.

They taught us three games/techniques that were really fun, too!

(more…)