Baton Rouge, LA – While visiting my brother at LSU (he’s getting his PhD there), I gave a guest lecture in two of his classes (Public Speaking and Argumentation and Debate). For both, I led the class through improv exercises and linked them back to becoming better public speakers.
Both sessions were very well received and were so much fun to facilitate. While it felt a bit traitorish to be helping LSU students (given that I’m an OSU grad), the students were so great I didn’t mind.
UPDATE: My brother shared with me some feedback from his class:
- “The next time I have to deliver a speech, I will be able to do it with more confidence than ever before.”
- “It was non conventional but very effective.”
- “When Drew was finished with his hour and a half production, I felt as though I could get up in front of any audience and speak with more confidence than I do in daily conversations with my peers.”
To learn more about how improv could help teach your curriculum, check out our college humor programs.
Las Vegas, NV – I was once again invited back to the P&G Prestige National Sales Meeting (this year dubbed Leadership University), but unlike in years past, I didn’t perform stand-up. Instead, I taught members of the organization improvisation as part of their “recharge” sessions.
The classes focused on the most fundamental maxim in improvisation: the concept of “Yes And.” We explored the application of Yes And in communication, relationships, problem solving and, of course, just having fun. The sessions were short (45-minutes), but powerful. Overall, the groups had a blast, with many participants suggesting it be required training at next year’s event.
UPDATE: We got the results back from the post-event survey and the Improv Class ranked #2 out of all recharge sessions. Here is some anonymous feedback from the survey:
- “Yay improv!”
- “I thought Drew did a great job keeping the participants engaged.”
- “Loved the class…such a great way to refocus our energy!”
If you’d like to learn how improvisation classes could help your organization, check out the details of our improv for business classes.
Improv was one of my first forays into comedy and remains one of the most valuable things I’ve ever done. The tips, tricks, techniques and skills I’ve learned from studying improv have infiltrated my everyday life, making me a better communicator, presenter, employee, friend, son and member of society.
Still not convinced, even after knowing what you’ll learn in an improv class? Here are 5 reasons you, yes you, should take an improv class:
- You improvise everyday, you might as well be better at it.
- It’s fun.
- You’ll learn how to better communicate.
- You’ll meet new people.
- It will make you laugh. A lot.
Ready to take the hilarious plunge? Search Google for improv classes in your area, or hire me or one of my friends to teach an improv workshop at your work, school, or organization.
