Re-learning how to learn from mistakes
8 June 2012Watch any young child learning something new. Generally, there’s lots of false starts. Surfing is a big industry around here. On any day, there’s groups of people learning to surf – young kids, teenagers, adults. There’s no short cut to learning to surf. There’s lots of false starts. Yet every time someone misses a wave,…
Happy World Environment Day: here’s how improvisation can save the world
5 June 2012What does improvisation have to do with the environment? As it turns out, plenty. We humans are the ones that have tried to tame and control the environment. Nature adapts to what is, and is resilient. Michelle Holliday explains: Living systems (like plants and people and companies) appear to be static things, but in fact,…
Unpacking applied improv
4 June 2012Mention applied improvisation to most people and their eyes glaze over. Pity, really. There’s a lot to like about applied improv, especially if you work with people. In this series of posts, I’m going to explore how applied improv relates to different fields of work. I have no idea what you’re talking about! What’s applied…
Facilitation in pictures
25 April 2012In March I was delighted to facilitate a workshop at the Malaysian Facilitators’ Conference in Kuala Lumpur. And yesterday, “The world is getting smaller and smaller”, wrote a friend in an email. “Recently I contracted an artist for a project and saw this on her blog.” Thanks to the amazing Wendy Wong of Welenia Studios…
Once a decade conferencing
18 April 2012As many of you reading this blog will know, I’m sort of keen on improvisation theatre – especially on what I’ve learnt that influences my facilitation approach. Things like making your partner look good, seeing everything a group, or individuals, do or say, as an offer, and understanding status and how to shift it. I…
The future belongs to those who can be flexible and adaptable
7 April 2012A special Insight report in the weekend paper is about the future of a baby born in Australia this year. Here’s what caught my eye. “If current trends are anything to go by, today’s babies will inhabit a world in which flexibility and adaptability will be key. Their life trajectories will be whorls of activity…
I need help
28 March 2012Recently I received a great little gift from my friends at On Your Feet. It was a reminder about asking for help, and the rewards that often go beyond the help itself. So, here I am, asking for your help to let others know about a conference I’m organising. It’s called Thriving in Uncertainty and…
Navigating uncertainty with serious playfulness
12 March 2012If you’d like to know a bit more about these super cool cards that Johnnie and I have made, check this out. It’s all about using serious playfulness to navigate uncertainty. And they were designed by the super talented Mary Campbell. Three continents. Three individuals. Connected by a shared project. Now sharing it with the world.…
Improv in business
12 February 2012It’s no surprise – learning the practices of improvisation, has transformed the way I work, the way I facilitate, the way I relate to others, my outlook and my approach. Big claims? You bet. The internet enables us to find others who share this passion for improv. This is both a blessing and a curse.…