A few random thoughts from Banff
18 November 2007The AIN (improv) conference in Banff was a source of many ideas and connections. Here’s just a few. • Ecoductions – introducing yourself using place as the focus; a way to avoid the trap of defining yourself based on what you do and to revisit the way the environment shapes who we are. • The…
The Improvised Life
13 November 2007Today I did a workshop with David Matthew Prior at the improv conference in Banff. He introduced us to three principles for living an ‘improvised life’: 1 – Take a chance 2 – Effort over effect 3 – Sing your self This story from my friend Geoff Brown epitomises all of these. … through a…
On my way to Banff
10 November 2007I’m at LAX waiting for a connecting flight to Calgary then on to Banff for the improv conference – a highlight of my year for sure. It’s always fun to hang out with improv types and I also learn lots. Looking forward to it – and also at least two other Aussies will be there…
Which one?
28 October 2007My friend Fiona in Indonesia asked me if I could only attend one conference, what would it be? In fact, I think she actually asked which one was the most useful – I can’t remember that well cos, like my previous post, we were exploring the workings of the world with the aid of a…
Facilitation in Armenia
16 September 2007I’ve just finished a week’s work in Armenia working with folk who are trying to encourage community engagement, citizenship and social accountability in a post-Communist environment. it was an interesting and challenging experience. Some impressions on Armenia. I have absolutely NO IDEA how the pedestrian crossing system works in Yerevan (the capital) – green lights…
Metaphor to the rescue!
10 August 2007Imagine this. You have nearly 200 people in a room. It’s getting towards the end of a long day of travelling, meetings and workshopping – and you’ve promised to do some Social Network Analysis. You have about 30 minutes. That’s the scenario I found myself in this week. I know people (Andrew Rixon) who know…
Leadership – and the role of theatre
5 August 2007This article from Harvard Business School on Leadership is worth a look. It’s interesting that theatre is being considered in the same breath as leadership, delegation and control – those of us interested in the application of improv theatre principles in the workplace have been grappling with these concepts for a while now. The journey…
Aikido
25 July 2007Wow! I’m at an Asian Facilitation Conference in Malaysia and today attended a session on Kensankai Aikido Dojo. Aikido is a Japanese martial art, focusing on peace and harmony, using minimal strength and agression. We learned about presence and welcoming and centring and deflecting and movement and responding and blending techniques (enetering and turning). This…
Improvised Facilitation – the heart of facilitation
22 July 2007Making choices is at the heart of facilitation. Choices are made from the moment we agree to a facilitation task – and continue throughout the design process AND, most importantly, when facilitating with a group. Those choices include what to wear, how to act, what to say, what to do, how to respond… With so…
The world needs more facilitators – AND improvisers!
13 July 2007I was checking out Dave Pollard’s prolific blog and came across this. He’s describing 12 of the most important areas of expert consensus about the next pandemic: Resilience, practice and improvisation skills are more critical than good planning in a pandemic: Redundant systems, people who have been through emergency situations or rehearsals, excellent, evidence-based decision-making…