Fun, Games, and Improved Mental Health?

When I visit an organization to lead an applied improvisation session, I am often there to promote feelings of community, increase communication, and give everyone a fun experience playing games. There are many benefits to breaking up a work week with an applied improvisation session, and those include boosting confidence and reducing anxiety.

The notion of improvisation is scary to some people. It conjures ideas of unpreparedness, randomness, freezing like a deer caught in headlights. People love the skill of thinking on your feet and speaking extemporaneously, but often can’t take the first steps towards building that skillset. Nobody wants to be on their own without a plan.

This is where the training of applied improvisation takes over. When we train with a group and actively build a culture of support and empowerment, it allows all of us to prosper as individuals. The anxiety we experience when we need to improvise – whether it’s because the projector breaks during your presentation, an unexpected opportunity to woo a client, or just meeting new people - is fear of what others will think of you. In my applied improvisation trainings, we combat this with proactive acceptance.

When you are actively encouraging your fellows, listening, complimenting, adding insight, and building up their ideas, it is easier to accept that this can be done for you. Because the expectations are plainly laid out, you will know, consciously and subconsciously, that you will receive that same positive reception.?

In a work situation, this can allow team members to share ideas more freely, interact to find new solutions, and allow for more voices to be heard. The improvements in the team space will also help reset your baselines for confidence and anxiety in interaction and transition into other areas of your life. While the fun and games may only last a couple of hours, the benefits to your mental and emotional well-being will endure.

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Hi, I’m Noah. I teach applied improvisation helping organizations enhance #communication, boost #cooperation, and build #trust. Follow me for more insights about how connecting to #thepresentmoment makes us better people.