Choosing Activities

Here are some broader theoretical thoughts about choosing activities.

Actors have another little tidbit that we can steal. When preparing a scene, they ask, “What is my objective?” This simple question should be asked by anyone attempting to communicate anything. Certainly, it serves the trainer greatly.

Any interaction with another has embedded in it a desire to change another. Perhaps we want them to be changed by knowing a new piece of information (knowledge): "Turn right at the second light."

Or to affect how they feel (attitude/belief): "What a lovely dress!" "You heartless cad!"

Or to change their ability to do something (skill): "Hold the violin like this. Move your bow thusly."

When training others this intention becomes even more explicit and intense:

When we are training others, we are more consciously trying to change them - especially in ways related to performance outcomes.
When we are training, we have been given explicit permission to try to change others, either by the participants or their bosses or both.
When we train, we are presenting ourselves as experts - more than normally able to change others in the ways they wish to be changed.

As trainers, then, what differentiates our workshop environments from everyday communication is simply that we have special opportunity and power to influence, and that we are held especially responsible for what we communicate. Therefore, we contend, we have a special responsibility to be clear about our desired outcomes.

So, let's look at the categories illustrated above:

When we design training we are attempting to affect others’ Knowledge, Skills and/or Attitudes.

Knowledge = information
Skills = an ability to do something
Attitude = a mindset or feeling about something

When you are designing a session, are you always clear which of those you are aiming to affect? Do the activities you choose align with your learning objectives? Interactive activities are great; fun is fun; but if you are not clear on what the POINT of your story or activity is - in what way you are trying to change a participant - you are squandering that special influence you have been granted.

Improv games can address all three areas. Often, one activity can be applied in a variety of ways that target different objectives. Here is a way to think about activities and link them to Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes:

"Jolts" are activities that affect people’s attitudes and beliefs. They produce "aha" moments. Usually they work once.

"Exercises" are activities that build skills and provide practice. They can be played over and over again without losing their impact, like machines at the gym.

"Frame Games" are templates or shells into which any content can be place. They are useful for imparting knowledge and assessing retention and understanding. When using improv games in this way, the principles of improv become less important. The game simply provides an opportunity to engage the learners in an active way.

Again, many activities can fit into more than one of the design categories above. The point is to know the point. In this context, let me offer an exercise (which may also serve as a jolt.)

Think about something you teach. Figure out whether you want to use an activity to address a knowledge, skill or attitude gap in the learner. Choose an activity that is the aligned jolt, exercise or frame game to best meet that need. Repeat as needed.

Facilitating Improv Activities

With the help of countless colleagues, and in response to a specific request at the Applied Improvisation Network Conference in Baltimore, 2011, the following Top 10 List for facilitating improv activities in the workplace was created. I am delighted to share it with you here. Many of these tips can be found in the previous chapters, but for expediency, here is the list in its streamlined form:

Know your objective: (See Above) Improv is no different from any other learning and development intervention. You must know what you are trying to accomplish. Ask yourself "What do I want the participants to DO differently when they leave here?"
Focus on your partner - The workshop participants are your partners. It is all about them. Keith Johnstone often criticized the emcees in his format, Theatresports, for competing for the limelight, instead of simply holding the space and providing a context for the performers to perform. Anything you do - including being charismatic or funny - should support your objective and add value for the learners, not just make you feel smart or attractive or important.
Acknowledge and celebrate failure. Things don't always go according to plan, or well for that matter. As we are encouraging our learners to take risks and try on new performances, we must also be willing to try new things, adapt to the needs and styles of the learners in the room, and acknowledge and celebrate when activities don't work. San Francisco-based improviser and trainer, Diane Rachel, gives a great example of saying, "Well, that didn't go the way I planned! Whoo hoo!" People notice, and are delighted when you demonstrate that you too are fallible and willing to grow.
Safe is different from comfortable. This is one of my personal favorites, and one that I credit my colleagues at Performance of a Lifetime with bringing home to me. I used to believe that creating a safe environment meant not requiring anyone to do anything that made them uncomfortable. Then it became clear that "comfortable" was the wrong goal. In some ways it is the opposite of the goal. Learning and growing is by definition about moving outside our "comfort zones". Creating safety means creating an environment (and a mindset) in which one can seek out, and sit with, discomfort in order to stretch and grow. Just like working out at they gym or doing yoga. Duh. Ask yourself: What can I do to support the participants in trying NEW performances and gathering NEW insights.
“Yes, And” the participants - Or as our guru, Thiagi would say, "Let the inmates run the asylum." If you don't really want to know about participants' experience of an activity or their answers to your questions, don't ask! If you do ask, honor their input - even if it is not what you were expecting, or like, or wanted. If we are really good we should be hugely prepared, and completely willing to throw away our plan if it turns out our agenda is not aligned with the needs of the learners.
Dare to be dull - As I was about to run the a foundational and familiar game as an example of a non-verbal leadership exercise, to an audience of applied improv facilitators, I thought, "Geez, everyone here is going to know this game. What do I have that's clever and original and impressive?" As teachers, many of us like new things and want to feel exciting and clever and original and innovative. But the good ol' staples are staples because they are great. They are simple and clear and foundational. And for many of your participants your old activities are fresh, even revelatory. My father used to talk about how orchestras like to play obscure modern pieces, but audiences want to hear Beethoven's 9th. Use the game that meets your objective best, not the one that is most exciting to you. (See Tips 1,2 and 5) Of course, new games can be good, too. The times to try new game are when you feel you need something that meets a specific need better than the material you have. Or when you need to do something fresh to keep yourself focused and developing.
Show, Don’t Tell. Experiential learning is valuable because it's experiential. Do not tell the participants - before or after the game - what their experience will or should be. Ask, listen, respect, build from their comments.
Debrief: “An activity is just an excuse for a good debrief, ” says the incomparable Thiagi. Tip 7 notwithstanding, we do not learn from our experience, we learn from examining our experience. Think about your objective and structure your debrief in service of it. Here are Thiagi's famous and fabulous 6 Debrief questions (citation) - useful for any activity in any circumstance:
1. How do you feel?
2. What happened?
3. What did you learn?
4. How does this relate to the real world?
5. What if? (e.g. What if we played with strangers; What if I told you you were wrong after every offer...)
6. What next
Respect differences - Use activities that are varied. Respect different behavioral and learning styles. Even within improv, there are activities that appeal to introverts and extroverts, the verbal and non-verbal, those who like to think outside and inside the box. Do not just choose your favorites. Mix it up.
Trust Yourself - Improv is valuable. It is not just a metaphor. We are all improvising all the time. Do not over-sell. Trust that if you thought about Tips 1 and 2, your participants WILL see value. If investment bankers and physicians and steel company executives can play these games, so can your learners.

One final note, please feel free to adapt the exercises in this course, and use them for purposes other than those specified here. After all, that kind of innovation is what improv is all about. And when you do, we would love to hear about how it goes. Happy playing!