Tom Young

Corporate Training

What can Improv do for my Business?

Improv can help your business! Improv encourages creative thinking, enhances communication skills, develops team work, and builds confidence.
It also has the advantage of being fun!

Creative Thinking

When an idea is initially floated in a meeting, how often is the first response, “But...”? Creativity won’t thrive if the seed of an idea is immediately destroyed. Improv requires us to say “yes, and...” to the initial idea.
Improv is about making strong choices through “offers”. These offers are then accepted by another person, and built upon. We never start with a whole idea, but we can finish with one by developing it together. We can teach you how to do this through a range of simple exercises.

Communication Skills

Improvisers require excellent communication skills in order to create successful performances on stage. It’s not just verbal skill that’s important though, as 90% of communication is non-verbal. Improv can help you project confidence, and bring you success in business, personal, and public interaction.

Team Work

A great team will always beat a group of great individuals, and improv absolutely relies on the former.
Improv breeds collaboration and trust between players, and encourages productive risk-taking. While some ideas in improv may fail, the best groups know that this just means “try the next idea”. Many improv groups recite the mantra “got your back” to each other before shows; if one member of the team is going to take a creative leap, the others have to be there to catch him/her.

Confidence Building

When performing without a script, you have to have confidence in yourself, and the people around you. The team is your safety net, but everything else comes down to trial and error.
Once you realise that not being perfect first time is ok, you start to gain the confidence to try new things. “That doesn’t work? Ok, how about this?”
If the worst thing that can happen is you try the next idea, it doesn’t seem so scary, and once you’re used to working without a script, imagine how much easier it’ll be to give presentations with one!

What should I expect from an Improv Workshop?

95% of an improv workshop is practical, so be prepared to get involved. Experimental learning has been found to be more effective than theoretical learning, and is far more enjoyable.

We’ll be up and running from the first minute, so be prepared to start immediately. We’ll begin with some warm up exercises for body (it’s not a zumba class, so we won’t get too carried away!) and mind, and then introduce you to the fundamentals of improv: listening, agreeing, and building.

There will be a mixture of work in pairs, in small groups, and with the full workshop; you’ll never be pressured, but you will be encouraged!

You don't have to be funny!

You don’t have to be a comedian to be good at improv. The ability to think of “jokes” is not how improv works. There will be laughter, but it’s not about the individual - it’s about the team. You don’t have to be funny to take part in these session, but you will have fun!

Workshop Leaders

In most cases, Tom will lead your workshops, though if the number of attendees demands it, he may be joined by other members of The Same Faces.
All our group members look to foster a friendly, supportive environment, allowing everyone to enjoy themselves.

How long are the Workshops?

We’d recommend a minimum of 3-4 hours, in order to address goals like team building and communication. A whole day would allow for a more thorough approach, allowing time to really explore what improv has to offer.

The absolute minimum is 90 minutes, though this would be best suited as an ice-breaker at the start of a longer event. The longest would probably be a whole weekend (for the right price) - anything longer than that and we’d burn out!

Fees

This will vary dependent on expenses (travel, hire of venue, accommodation if required, etc), class size, number of tutors required, length of session, any workshop tailoring, etc.

Get in touch via the contact page to discuss your requirements.