Improv Wisdom PDF Download

Author: Patricia Ryan Madson
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0307531848
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
In an irresistible invitation to lighten up, look around, and live an unscripted life, a master of the art of improvisation explains how to adopt the attitudes and techniques used by generations of musicians and actors. Let’s face it: Life is something we all make up as we go along. No matter how carefully we formulate a “script,” it is bound to change when we interact with people with scripts of their own. Improv Wisdom shows how to apply the maxims of improvisational theater to real-life challenges—whether it’s dealing with a demanding boss, a tired child, or one of life’s never-ending surprises. Patricia Madson distills thirty years of experience into thirteen simple strategies, including “Say Yes,” “Start Anywhere,” “Face the Facts,” and “Make Mistakes, Please,” helping readers to loosen up, think on their feet, and take on everything life has to offer with skill, chutzpah, and a sense of humor.

Author: Peter A. Margaritis
Publisher: Advantage Media Group
ISBN: 1599325411
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Improve your life, where everything’s not made up and the points do matter. Drew Carey’s show Whose Line Is It Anyway? has turned improvisational comedy into a pop culture phenomenon. But improv is more than just laughs—it’s a valuable training tool that will make you a more effective business professional. Inside, you will discover how to: Š Replace negative phrases like “Yes, but...” with successful terms like “Yes, and...” Š Park your agenda and really hear your client out. By listening to understand, you can adapt to their ideas and produce a more positive outcome. Š Grow your client relationships beyond the numbers to build rapport, comfort, and trust. Improv is no Joke is must-read for accountants, bankers, and other financial professionals to sharpen the invaluable leadership and communication skills you need to successfully relate to clients and communicate complex information in a user-friendly way. “Peter is the first CPA speaker who actually made me laugh. Who knew accountants could be funny AND inspiring? Now, if I could just get my taxes to not be a joke!” —Judy Carter, author of The Comedy Bible and The Message of You

Author: Andrew Tarvin
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780984889761
Category : Corporate culture
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The author presents a collection of ways to reap the proven human and corporate benefits of humor at work, organized by core business skill and founded on his own work as a business speaker and coach with the consulting company, Humor That Works.

Author: Katie Goodman
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1402219997
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
"A practical, fascinating, and funny guidebook. I've already begun applying hints from Improvisation for the Spirit, and I'm hoping that from now on, when people point and laugh at me, it will be for more appropriate reasons. A delightful read, filled with wonderful strategies." - Martha Beck, Life Coach Columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, and author of Steering by Starlight Wish you could gag your Inner Critic? Feeling blocked creatively? Want to make a big change, but fear taking the leap? Comedy improv requires quick thinking, collaboration, getting out of your own way, and being in the moment without being a perfectionist. Katie Goodman, an internationally touring improv comedian and comedy writer, uses her witty and encouraging style to show you how to acquire the skills of improv comedy and apply them to every aspect of daily life. Along the way Goodman shares hilarious and insightful stories from her experiences onstage, as well as step-by-step exercises from her popular self-discovery workshops and retreats. Packed with creative, original, and, most importantly, fun exercises, Improvisation for the Spirit offers a truly transformational guide for anyone wanting to get more out of life. "Bottom line: Katie is funny. She teaches you to live your life like an improv scene - no fear and fully committed." - Wayne Brady, improv comedian, Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Don't Forget the Lyrics "Katie Goodman's writing fl ows and then jumps with anecdotes and prescriptions for finding courage. Fun to read, hard to put down." - Lesley Stahl, 60 Minutes "If you feel that something is holding you back, that the life you are meant to live is out there somewhere if only you could fi nd it, then this book should go straight to the top of your reading list." - Carl Honore, author of In Praise of Slowness and Under Pressure

Author: Stephen Nachmanovitch, PhD
Publisher: New World Library
ISBN: 1608686159
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A MASTERFUL BOOK ABOUT BREATHING LIFE INTO ART AND ART INTO LIFE "Stephen Nachmanovitch's The Art of Is is a philosophical meditation on living, living fully, living in the present. To the author, an improvisation is a co-creation that arises out of listening and mutual attentiveness, out of a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity. It is a product of the nervous system, bigger than the brain and bigger than the body; it is a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, unprecedented and unrepeatable. Drawing from the wisdom of the ages, The Art of Is not only gives the reader an inside view of the states of mind that give rise to improvisation, it is also a celebration of the power of the human spirit, which — when exercised with love, immense patience, and discipline — is an antidote to hate." — Yo-Yo Ma, cellist

Author: Jill Bernard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780615559797
Category : Improvisation (Acting)
Languages : en
Pages : 29

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Book Description

Author: Kelly Leonard
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062248553
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
Executives from The Second City—the world’s premier comedy theater and school of improvisation—reveal improvisational techniques that can help any organization develop innovators, encourage adaptable leaders, and build transformational businesses. For more than fifty years, The Second City comedy theater in Chicago has been a training ground for some of the best comic minds in the industry—including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Tina Fey. But it also provides one-of-a-kind leadership training to cutting-edge companies, nonprofits, and public sector organizations—all aimed at increasing creativity, collaboration, and teamwork. The rules for leadership and teamwork have changed, and the skills that got professionals ahead a generation ago don’t work anymore. Now The Second City provides a new toolkit individuals and organizations can use to thrive in a world increasingly shaped by speed, social communication, and decentralization. Based on eight principles of improvisation, Yes, And helps to develop these skills and foster them in high-potential leaders and their teams, including: Mastering the ability to co-create in an ensemble Fostering a “yes, and” approach to work Embracing failure to accelerate high performance Leading by listening and by learning to follow Innovating by making something out of nothing Yes, And is a must-read for professionals and organizations, helping to develop the invaluable leadership skills needed to succeed today.

Author: William Westney
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
ISBN: 9781574671452
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
(Amadeus). In this groundbreaking book, prize-winning pianist and noted educator William Westney helps readers discover their own path to the natural, transcendent fulfillment of making music. Drawing on experience, psychological insight, and wisdom ancient and modern, Westney shows how to trust yourself and set your own musicality free. He offers healthy alternatives for lifelong learning and suggests significant change in the way music is taught. For example, playing a wrong note can be constructive, useful, even enlightening. The creator of the acclaimed Un-Master Class workshop also explores the special potential of group work, outlining the basics of his revelatory workshop that has transformed the music experience for participants the world over. Practicing, in Westney's view, is a lively, honest, adventurous, and spiritually rewarding enterprise, and it can (and should) meet with daily success, which empowers us to grow even more. Teachers, professionals, and students of any instrument will benefit from this unique guide, which brings artistic vitality, freedom, and confidence within everyone's reach.

Author: Keith Johnstone
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136610456
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Keith Johnstone's involvement with the theatre began when George Devine and Tony Richardson, artistic directors of the Royal Court Theatre, commissioned a play from him. This was in 1956. A few years later he was himself Associate Artistic Director, working as a play-reader and director, in particular helping to run the Writers' Group. The improvisatory techniques and exercises evolved there to foster spontaneity and narrative skills were developed further in the actors' studio then in demonstrations to schools and colleges and ultimately in the founding of a company of performers, called The Theatre Machine. Divided into four sections, 'Status', 'Spontaneity', 'Narrative Skills', and 'Masks and Trance', arranged more or less in the order a group might approach them, the book sets out the specific techniques and exercises which Johnstone has himself found most useful and most stimulating. The result is both an ideas book and a fascinating exploration of the nature of spontaneous creativity.

Author: Stan Endicott
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310112966
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
You already know that there's no script for effective leadership... That's why Improv Leadership reveals five skills that will help you unleash your own leadership potential on every unexpected challenge and status quo. Anyone can read books and apply lessons, but only the best can develop what they know to bring out the best in any person or circumstance. These natural leaders understand the key principles of connecting, coaching, and communicating and use these ideas to build strong teams. In Improv Leadership, Stan Endicott and David Miller share five leadership competencies that all great, improvisational leaders have: Story Mining--how to uncover a person's story and let it shape the way you lead them Precision Praising--how to craft praise to inspire, motivate, and even course-correct your team Metaphor Cementing--how to create concrete illustrations to "cement" an idea in someone's mind Lobbing Forward--how to challenge people to look beyond today to what might be in the future Going North--how to use indirect influence to redirect a person's perspective IMPROV leaders apply these five competencies to initiate powerful conversations, create memorable moments with forward momentum, and craft personal coaching strategies that help people, and teams, grow. The five competencies of IMPROV Leadership are not rigid steps to follow. They are fluid and can be applied to any industry of field. You can't predict every challenge you'll face. There's no playbook that covers every decision. But you can cultivate teams of people who love their work (and each other) and who perform at a high level. And you can lead well in any situation.