Introduction Sue Pontarelli & Vikki Rood Job /Improv studies /story Hi Im at Sue Pontarelli Hi I am at Vikki Rood WE ARE IMPROV YOUR WORK Sue – Thank you for having us We are excited to be here and kick off the AGCCP conference. We really hope that you enjoyed our spoof on a Contact Center….Not that far from the truth. Before we get going we would like to introduce and share a little about ourselves Sue: Job History/Information IMPROV History/Information My mom got me into improv from a newspaper ad because I was too loud….focus your energy Vikki: Job History/Information IMPROV History/Information playing make believe has helped me in the business world. I have two kids and though I embarrass often I have to improvise with them daily.

What’s on the Agenda WARM UPS WHAT IS IMPROV? RULES OF IMPROV WORK & IMPROV Vikki & I will be working with you this morning on some fun and different improv techniques for you to use at work and in your daily lives. Basic skills that gives us tools for work and life. Sue Review Agenda….. WARM UPS LET’S PLAY

What is improv? Definition: something that is performed or created without preparation Music/Art Classic on stage Improv Presentation Meetings Conversations at work Parenting Relationships

IMPROV and WORK Improv in the context of your world… You are improvising! EXAMPLES OF HOW IMRPOV HAS HELPED AT WORK Sue – For example on a day in the call center when you are short staffed and there is a snow storm We improvise on call times, entering service request using an alternative methods, order in food so we can work through lunch.. Sounds so basic you are actually improvising! Only up and running tool were the 911 phones. Nothing worked…. Improv without a choice. Vikki – Sales Meeting Vikki -We are all improvisers in this room already! We have given you 15 Rules of Improv & we picked 3 of our favorite to talk about today

Yes And…….. RULES OF IMPROV Refer them to their rules of improv. Let’s do an example of yes and…with the” Yes, and..." is a rule-of-thumb response in improvisational comedy that suggests a participant should accept what another participant has stated ("yes") and then expand on that line of thinking (“and"). "Yes" The "Yes" portion of the rule encourages the acceptance of the contributions added by others.[3] Participants in an improvisation are encouraged "to agree to the basic situation and set-up." Thus, "By saying yes, we accept the reality created by our partners and begin the collaborative process." [1] "And " In addition to accepting the premise offer by others, a participant in an improvisation is expected to add new information into the narrative. Hence the phrase "Yes, And

PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS IMPROV LISTENING SKILLS CREATIVITY YES And Really crosses over into Listening skills: must listen to say yes Present moment awareness: being in the moment creativity to add communication skills COMMUNICATION SKILLS

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX RULES OF IMPROV THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX Most fun rules is thinking outside of the box….might have to change something. 2+2= 4 & 3+1=4 To think outside the box is to look further and to try not thinking of the obvious things, but to try thinking of the things beyond them Thinking outside the box (also thinking out of the box or thinking beyond the box) is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking. The term is thought to derive from management consultants in the 1970s and 1980s challenging their clients to solve the "nine dots" puzzle, whose solution requires some lateral thinking One thing I’ve learned in improv is there are no mistakes and/or some of the best moments come out of what we think are mistakes.

PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS IMPROV LISTENING SKILLS CREATIVITY Most COMMUNICATION SKILLS

RULES OF IMPROV Listening…… Listening improv

PRESENT MOMENT AWARENESS IMPROV LISTENING SKILLS CREATIVITY COMMUNICATION SKILLS

When we are getting ready for an IMPROV show we warm up our brain and body.. We are going to do some warms ups together Breathing Vikki Introduction to Neighbor and something you like to do Vikki Counting out to the 5’s Sue P.

Renaming Gift Giving Vikki Renaming: Why would we do this? How did that feel? Not have to really think about it. No right or wrong answer. What rule would this fall under? Yes And Gift Giving: Listening & Agreement & outside of the box thinking

Suggestions Vikki

Fortunately Unfortunately 1. Vikki: Get Relationship: Listening Agreement Unable to move forward without agreement How did this help? What did you learn 1.

A day in the life…. SUE Audience Volunteer: One person from audience Sue will explain exercise Introduce & interview ( talk to your boss…be honest when did you check your email… Day in the Life Morning until present Explain game to volunteer Monica stay with audience member to remind about bell & horn What did you learn & how does it help Simple situations and laugh at the moments. remind Improv performing for you is transferred to forklift agreement outside of the box thinkings, yes and….

one word story Vikki 3 audience volunteers Suggestion of Yes and Listening Clear Communication

Sue Registration you chose from some pre printed prompts or created your own. Ie: favorite line of a song, move, lat thing your boss said, best or worst employee response, something someone you love said to you. Build trust outside of the box thinking open mind justification yes and and listening skill. Intro Monica has fish bowl of slips tall chair slips in a basket Get a suggestion to get our scene started. Skills: Justification, Spontaneity, Agreement, Active Choices, Scene Development & Listening!

Gifts We want to leave with you Always have fun Be in the moment Make your partner/co-worker/boss look good Color outside of the lines! Improv crosses over all generations Challenge you to use these improv rules while for the rest of the conference. Notice when you could have done something different. and don’t puke on the bus.

THANK YOU! Why we are doing this and how it came to be: we met during an audition on a comedy troop we were in a jewelry box…..our passion is the gift of laughter. questions and answers Recap and summarize the day Thanks for your presence Prompting questions Restate your main point

THE RULE OF 3 Writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information. The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. The reader or audience of this form of text is also thereby more likely to remember the information