fun | Let's Talk

Building Engagement Brick By Brick

This past month has seen a lot of Lego building. No, not at the weekends, not as de-stress therapy, but as an integral part of my working day.

I was asked to run a series of workshops for a medium-sized organisation (around 75 staff) to boost employee engagement, and to provide an opportunity for everyone to examine and discuss the internal issues that were . . . → Read More: Building Engagement Brick By Brick

Which Reindeer are you?

FIND OUT WITH THE XMAS PROFILER FROM LET’S TALK

Our North Pole Training Associate, Mr Kringle, specialist in Snowciology and Psycho-baubles, has developed a special Xmas psychometric yule-tool. Find out which of the 8 Reindeer Personality types you match with the Let’s Talk Sleigh-Team-Role Preference Profiler.

Which of the following sentences best describes your approach to work?

1) I like to whizz through my . . . → Read More: Which Reindeer are you?

Furnishished with Expectations

I was thrilled and delighted earlier this year to be invited to run two Applied Improv workshops at UNESCO in Paris, as part of a series of development events for staff from the Culture Sector. It’s great to know that more and more organisations are beginning to understand and appreciate the skills and learning that Improv can bring to the workplace.

The workshops proved . . . → Read More: Furnishished with Expectations

And that’s why they call it a Play...

It’s been 11 years since I hung up my spurs as a professional theatre director, and refocused my working life as a trainer/facilitator/consultant. Since then I have been asked many times whether I missed the theatrical life, and had any plans to stage a return. My answer has always been a steadfast and happy “Nope!” The multitude of things I do now . . . → Read More: And that’s why they call it a Play…

Another big, fat, useful, mistake...

Recently I have been rolling out some customer care training for a national retail client. Rather than bring their staff into central venues, the company decided to hold the training in each branch, in the evening, after work (pizza provided!) As the branches are all different sizes, sessions are held with groups as large as about 20, and occasionally as small as 3.

. . . → Read More: Another big, fat, useful, mistake…

Dude, where’s my delegates.....?

The undisputed highlight of a training course this week was the moment when half the delegates disappeared! Far from worrying that something had gone wrong, I knew in that instant that everything was fabulously on track.

Research, not to mention all my personal experience, re-affirms that the best learning takes place when students are in an open, curious and lively state, more concerned with . . . → Read More: Dude, where’s my delegates…..?

Fun but far from Frivolous

I’ve just got back from a 3-day conference in Amsterdam of the Applied Improvisation Network. A gathering of about 200 people from all over the world, who use Improv not just for entertainment, but to bring about social, personal, political or organisational change.

Now, if you’ve read my page on Applied Improvisation, you will understand that training in theatre Improv promotes and nurtures a number . . . → Read More: Fun but far from Frivolous

Whistling in the Light

Box of Frogs has been meeting for 6 months now. There are around a dozen regular attenders, and about another 20 or 30 who drop in occasionally. We’ve been talking for a while now about performing in public. Because it’s one thing to amuse ourselves, it’s another to stand up in front of a real audience and see if what you do has any . . . → Read More: Whistling in the Light