Enhancing Learning in the Business Classroom: An Adventure with Improv Theater Techniques

10.1177/1052562905277311JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / December 2005Huffaker, West / IMPROV THEATER TECHNIQUES

ENHANCING LEARNING IN THE BUSINESSCLASSROOM: AN ADVENTURE WITHIMPROV THEATER TECHNIQUES

Julie Sheldon HuffakerOn Your Feet: Improv for Business

Ellen WestPortland State University

Improv? In a business classroom? The goal was to find out how these toolsmight enhance learning. This article describes the authors’ journey exploringusing improvisational forms in a business class. The article describes the threeprimary learning objectives that the authors hoped to accomplish using improvtools, a detailed account of how the tools were used, and how it all worked out—the classroom outcomes—along with observations and feedback from the stu-dents. In addition, instructions for three easily implemented improv forms areprovided so the reader can experiment with them in the classroom if desired.

Keywords: improvisation; experiential learning; creativity; building com-munity; risk taking

OK, everyone—put your hands under your chin and wiggle your fingers.

Up until the last moment, we wondered if they’d do it. The group wasdiverse: we had engineers, stockbrokers, a varsity football player, a florist, a

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Authors’Note: We would like to thank On Your Feet: Improv For Business (www.oyf.com) and,in particular, cofounder Gary Hirsch, for the inspiring example and facilitation of the forms iden-tified in this article. We have learned much from him. Also thanks, too, to the ad agency, Red Spi-

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, Vol. 29 No. 6, December 2005 852-869DOI: 10.1177/1052562905277311© 2005 Organizational Behavior Teaching Society

at TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY on December 22, 2014jme.sagepub.comDownloaded from

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doctoral candidate, and the mother of two who woke up each morning at 4a.m. and drove a Zamboni at the local ice rink. Would this group of businessstudents really give it up and act like rabbits? Very slowly, with a what-is-thislook on their faces and eyes shooting around to see whether classmates wouldcomply, they raised their hands to mime whiskers.

Fourteen minutes into the first class meeting of the term, we breathed aswift sigh of relief, smiled at each other, and forged ahead. Certainly, theclass itself—a course titled “The Power of Soul and Spirit in Business”—wasunusual. However, the techniques we’d decided to try were more unusualstill. We were doing our best to create a spirited and meaningful learningexperience for the classroom community, an experience that reinforcedcourse themes and used experiential learning to get at their essence. Specifi-cally, we’d plucked a series of interactive exercises from the improvisationaltheater tradition to use in the course. We knew this so-called bunny businesshad profound implications and had used it to great effect in a number of busi-ness environments. However, we also knew that at that exact moment, as fin-gers wiggled limply, our students were wondering how quickly they couldget their hands on a Course Drop Form.

The Premise

This article describes our journey exploring the use of improvisationalforms in a particular business course. Specifically, our goal was to find outhow these tools could enhance learning in a business classroom. We offer thethree primary learning objectives we hoped to accomplish using improvtools, a detailed account of how we used them, and how it all worked out—the classroom outcomes, along with our observations and feedback from stu-dents. In addition, we provide instructions for three easily implementedimprov forms so you can experiment with them in your classroom if desired(see appendix). In keeping with the spirit of improv, we’ve kept the tone ofthis article personal and playful. We urge readers to enjoy the duality of play-ful spirit and serious content, absorbing the impactful learning our experi-ence, and improv itself, have to offer the business classroom.

Huffaker, West / IMPROV THEATER TECHNIQUES 853

der, under whose roof Planets and Moons was born. We are grateful to the Scholarship of Teach-ing Resource Team funded by the Center for Academic Excellence at Portland State Universityfor their financial and collegial support during the development of this article. And finally, thanksto the editor and two anonymous reviewers whose suggestions mightily improved our article.Please address correspondence to Ellen West, School of Business Administration, Portland StateUniversity, P.O. Box 751, Portland OR 97207; e-mail: [email protected]



Our three primary objectives in using improv were (a) to build communityand encourage risk taking to create an environment conducive to learning, (b)to facilitate experiential learning about key course themes, and (c) to providea dynamic alternative to traditional classroom discussion, capitalizing oncreative, nonlinear expression and idea exchange.

The course in which we used these techniques was a 10-week businessmanagement elective looking at issues of soul and spirit—personal develop-ment and values, sense of humanity and community, creativity, andtransformational leadership—and its current relevance to business. The classprofile was an apt mirror for our urban university’s diversity: The vast major-ity worked part- or full-time. Many of our 16 class members were adult stu-dents, with three fourths being undergraduates and the rest in the MBA pro-gram. The class divided evenly across gender lines and encompassed someethnic diversity.

The Possibilities

What we found thrilled us. We discovered that students really stepped upto the plate, expressing a generally high level of enthusiasm for improv tools.Although a few felt more uncomfortable with the techniques, the overallimpact was very positive. We recognized an unusual degree of support andtrust among class members, leading to rich collaboration on projects thatwere introspective and illuminating. In addition, improv exercises were animpactful way to facilitate experiential learning around themes embedded inimprov philosophy, such as creativity and distributed leadership. Similar toother instructors who have brought theater into their classroom (Greenberg1991; Moshavi, 2001), we also observed an extremely high level of engage-ment with course content when improv exercises were used to facilitate ideaexchange. An unexpected boon was that, as instructors, we had great fun andwere more spontaneous, resulting in more creative facilitation and greatersensitivity to student process in class. We believe that improv can be used invirtually any business classroom sharing one or more of these goals.

When compared to other experiential techniques, improv boasts a uniqueset of benefits. To engage in improv, participants must shut off their internalcritics, become intensely focused and present, and listen skillfully (John-stone, 1994). While experiential modalities such as role-plays or simulationsmay be enhanced by these practices, improv requires—and facilitates—them. In addition, forced to provide in-the-moment responses to stimuli theycan’t predict, students surprise themselves by moving spontaneously from

854 JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT EDUCATION / December 2005



their own intuition, making subtle connections and forming patterns fasterthan they can think cognitively about them. This enables access to a skill setdifferent than the cognitive, judgment-driven discrimination typically honedin the business classroom. Facilitating a sort of “learning by surprise,” thiscan also act as an emotional catalyst for learning that allows the learner to beless intimidated by the subject matter (Cimino, 2003). Finally, in improvthere’s no hiding. It leverages the joy of play to create a paradigm ofunilateral participation.

A Bit About Improv

Some understanding of improv is important here. Enjoying a recent surgeof popularity through airing of the television show, Whose Line Is It, Any-way?, improv is often defined as spontaneous scene work by actors on stage.Typically, a group of actors—who have no idea what they’re going to say ordo before they do it—use suggestions from the audience to launch a scene orstory. They use certain parameters to build on each other’s ideas, creatingsomething wholly new and unplanned. The majority of audiences are mostfamiliar with this type of short-form comedic improv, although a wide varietyof styles and approaches exist.

There is no doubt that adept on-stage improv requires skill and experi-ence, a fact that intimidates some would-be improv users. But hear us now:Improv forms can be used successfully in the classroom with students whohave no theatrical experience, as our own experiment showed. The basicimprov forms we used in our class are highly accessible learning tools andcan be facilitated by any instructor willing to take risks. Game-like forms inwhich basic improv principles are practiced, such as “Bunny, Bunny” fea-tured in this articles’s opening quote, are particularly accessible to improvnewcomers and nonactors.

Beyond the stage, improv increasingly is finding its way into businessesand the business classroom. Organizational development and branding andcreativity consultants leverage the strength of its model for innovation, com-munication, and collaboration, among other applications (Booth, 2000;Crossan, 1997; Ferdinand, 2000; Quintanilla, 1999). In fact, much of ourinspiration and most of our techniques came from the work of one such inter-national consultancy, On Your Feet: Improv for Business. On Your Feet hashelped organizations such as Nike, FedEx, and PricewaterhouseCoopersdevelop their capabilities in these and other areas. One of us is a collaborativepartner with On Your Feet and has used improv methods across a variety ofindustries for outcomes including team building, collaboration, and commu-




nication; vision and identity creation; organizational change; and brand and/or character development. The other one of us, a business school facultymember, has employed improv techniques as warm-ups in a variety ofclasses and faculty meetings. In business curriculum, improv often shows upunder the auspices of management techniques or presentation and communi-cation effectiveness; Columbia, Stanford, and Duke have all offered improv-based courses for business students during the past few years. Discussion isgrowing about the power of improv’s underlying principles to nurture cre-ativity, spontaneity, freedom, and energy within a business classroom(Greenberg, 1995; Moshavi, 2001).

So what are the underlying principles of improv? On Your Feet frequentlydescribes them this way:

• Being present—implies a lack of self- and other judgment, and the resultingwillingness to take risks, along with an ability to focus and be receptive in thepresent moment rather than concentrating on specific outcomes.

• Being fit and well—infers a high level of confidence and competence, regard-less of whether the tasks one faces are known or unknown; being fit and wellmeans being willing to take risks with a positive attitude.

• Listening—calling strongly on the ability to be present, listening requires putt-ing one’s own train of thought aside so as not to impede receptivity and focusingwholly on the speaker(s).

• Willingness to change and/or let go of one’s agenda—a key ingredient thatenables use of information gained through listening, the willingness to change(and thereby to be changed) indicates flexibility, adaptability and openness tonew development.

• Accepting offers—in improv lingo, an offer is anything you can do somethingwith—a car, a smile, a sigh, a small dog. The skill of working with offersinvolves sharpening one’s awareness of all that present themselves; removinginternal filters or prejudices that might cause one to block offers unnecessarily;and learning how to maintain so-called flow between participants so as to drawproductively on the unique individual talents in service of the whole.

When a group practices these skills together, they are capable of inspiringcreative collaboration.

The Bunny Is Certainly Funny,But We Had Three Serious Intentions

Although improv is great fun to play with, we were quite serious in ourdesire to make it work for us in the classroom. As described earlier, wewanted to use improv forms as the means to attain three specific outcomes:(a) create an environment conducive to learning, (b) facilitate experiential




learning about key course themes, and (c) facilitate creative, nonlinear ideaexchange and colearning. In the following sections, we discuss the specificimprov techniques used to achieve these outcomes and talk about whathappened.

#1. USING IMPROV TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENTCONDUCIVE TO LEARNING: TAKING RISKS, CREATINGCOMMUNITY, HAVING FUN, AND GETTING FOCUSED

Our primary purpose in using improv was to create an environment con-ducive to learning—a roomful of students who felt a strong sense of commu-nity, a high degree of group trust, and a willingness to take risks in front of eachother. We viewed having fun as important, as well. Although often under-rated in the business world and the classroom, we consider it a key ingredientand wanted to use fun to create an emotional connection to learning, increaseclassroom energy, and facilitate rapid, easy access to ideas (Caudron, 2000;Huy, 1999). Finally, we wanted some mechanism that would help students bepresent and focused during class. At the beginning of the term, we focused oncreating a sense of community and trust. Then, we began each individualclass session with an improv warm-up to energize, inject fun, and help focusthe class.

Taking risks and creating community. Right off the top on the first night ofclass, we launched into the improv game called Bunny, Bunny, described at thebeginning of this article. This form creates a group paradigm in which stickingyour neck out, looking silly, and stepping outside your comfort zone is accepted,even admirable, while choosing not to do so is decidedly uncool. Unlikemany improv games, which are cooperative, the Bunny Game uses an ele-ment of competition to prompt students to embrace the risk taking paradigm.

After demonstrating the ridiculous actions required in the game, weopenly acknowledged their bizarre nature. We then proceeded to make visi-ble the students’choices as we saw them. They could go through the motionshalfheartedly, inwardly judging the game (and the others playing it) asexceedingly silly. Alternatively, they could commit fully to being ridiculousin front of their peers, thereby choosing to engage physically and mentally.

Our students later described this as a moment when they watched theirpeers decide whether to be “in” or “out” of the class. As the game wore on, wewitnessed much laughter; however, we also saw our new students becomeincreasingly present, focused, and energetic. The entire roomful stayedhighly engaged for the 15 min it took to play the game. That engagement bledover into the weightier course content discussions that followed. When we




gathered them for a reunion 7 months later, the class wanted to begin the gath-ering with a rousing round of Bunny, Bunny.

After setting the stage with Bunny, Bunny, we played the Name Game.This is a simple interchange designed to help classmates learn each other’snames and something about one another. Where the Name Game distin-guishes itself, however, is that it enables people to build on the true-to-lifelikes and dislikes they hear each other share—for example, “I’m Tom, and Ilove roller coasters”—by creating imagined histories for each other: “He’sTom, and he loves roller coasters . . . because in second grade he pushed thebully Deeny Sticklemeyer off one at the state fair . . . prompting Tom tobecome a roller coaster engineer . . . which is how he made his first million.”

Fictional endowments such as these create a sense of belonging throughshared creation and humor. Throughout the term, students used the imaginedhistories as the basis for banter and connection. They used each others’ dis-tinguishing likes and dislikes to check in on each others’lives, adding contextto course issues. In fact, during a class devoted to the concept of being one’s“whole self” in the workplace, Tom brought a framed photo of a roller coastergiven to him by his son to commemorate a special ride, thereby sharing apiece of his real roller coaster–related history with the class. Seven monthslater at the course reunion, it was apparent from conversation that our stu-dents still remembered and cared about each others’ likes and dislikes.

Having fun and getting focused. We launched roughly one half of ourclass meetings with one or more short improv forms, each warm-up sessiontaking about 10 min. Our purpose was to loosen and energize the class, andhelp them get present and reinvigorate that willingness to take risks for therest of the evening. For example, we began one class with a common improvform we call Word-at-a-Time Story. In this form, small groups tell made-upstories together; each student is allowed to contribute only one word at a timeto help the story move forward. The stories are most satisfying when partici-pants listen intently, let go of their own preconceptions about where the storywill go, and embrace mistakes—unexpected words—and enfold them intothe story.

In retrospect, we see that we grossly underestimated the power of helpingstudents get present in the classroom. Magic happens. Particularly for ourvaried, urban students who carry so much on their plates and have so manyother life roles while in school—parent, manager, employee, football player,partner—the warm-up functioned to enhance classroom interaction andengagement each week. The class became used to getting up out of their seatsfirst thing, shaking out their limbs, focusing on the game, and engaging




actively. They seemed to look forward to the laughter that started each class.Afterward, we watched them listen very carefully to each other, respondingwith keen attention and respect. Especially noteworthy was the supportiveengagement with their peers’ weekly presentations. In addition, we noticedan exceptionally high quality of listening, in-the-moment creative thinking,and constructive verbal participation when discussion of course readingsfollowed these warm-ups.

#2. USING IMPROV TO FACILITATE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNINGABOUT KEY COURSE THEMES: CREATIVITY AND LEADERSHIP

A secondary purpose for utilizing improv forms was to facilitate experience-based or active learning about select course themes. We used improv to illus-trate two key themes: cocreative processes, and bottom-up leadership. Avariety of authors have written about the effectiveness and value of involvingadults in their learning experience through experience and simulation(Knowles, 1984; Knox, 1986; Ruben, 1999). Chickering and Gamson (1987)went as far as to describe experiential learning as a best practice for under-graduate education, emphasizing the processes which make learning mean-ingful and memorable as follows: “Learning is not a spectator sport . . . (Stu-dents) must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to pastexperiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learnpart of themselves” (n.p.).

Our key teachings required attitude shifts on the part of many of our stu-dents. Direct experience and firsthand exploration seemed to be the best wayto get there.

Creativity. Class exploration of creativity was focused on models thatemphasized collectivity and collaboration during the creative process asopposed to the more traditional paradigm that designates so-called creativeversus noncreative roles. We’d invited a panel of community professionalsto discuss these issues, all of whom held positions commonly consideredcreative—artistic director, journalist, architect. In past experiences with thisclass, we’d watched students respond to the panel by feeling alienated fromcreative roles. Despite panelists’ attempts to the contrary, the panel’s effectseemed to be to underscore the inaccessible nature of creative acts and atti-tudes to those not in obviously creative job positions. The students believedthey weren’t “allowed” by their managers to be creative at work.

Therefore, our intention was to give the students an experience of them-selves as creative prior to the panel discussion in an effort to dissolve the bar-riers we’d witnessed with previous classes. Because the panelists were there




with the group, they jumped in and played with the students. The effort hadunexpected benefits.

We played a game commonly called Swedish Story in which one persontells a story while his or her partner injects unrelated words, which the story-teller must then incorporate into the story. Although it’s tempting to view thestoryteller as providing the majority of the creative juice, our studentsdescribed during the debrief that they felt the creative product was “owned”by both participants. They professed surprise: at their own creativity, and forstudents pairing with panelists, at themselves as contributing equally to cre-ating something with a creative professional. The class was not only ener-gized by the experience but also indeed felt a connection to, rather than a sep-aration from, panelists and their experience.

In contrast to our experience of this panel in earlier classes, the shared pro-cess of creation between panelists and students vastly enriched the discus-sion they were able to have. Panelists and students referred frequently to theirspecific experiences crafting stories together and the processes that enabledthat. They had a shared base for delving further into the subject of cocreativeprocesses in the context of business and organizational forces. This launchedfurther discussion about the opportunities for and barriers to creativity intheir own work lives—a discussion that was relaxed, genuine, and inquisi-tive, enhanced by the relationships that had formed between students andpanelists during the earlier improv play.

Leadership. Another essential course topic was the importance of alterna-tive leadership models. Class reading included the inspirited leader paradigm(Moxley, 2000). We knew it would be easy to wax philosophically about dif-ferent leadership styles, juxtaposing focusing lateral empowerment with theevils of top-down hierarchy. Better, we thought, to give students some first-hand experience struggling to make the former come to life.

Therefore, we began our class session on leadership with an improv formcalled 1, 2, 3 People Walking in which the group must ensure a certain num-ber of people in motion at any given time. The number of people that need tobe walking changes from moment to moment, as called out by a facilitator.Experientially, this game provides an experience in which there is no desig-nated leader; however, everyone is asked to take responsibility for finding away to deliver on the larger goal of the group. Members are encouraged toavoid overt verbal or physical communication but rather to balance participa-tion through awareness—at times yielding and at times asserting—to achievethe goal. This form of leadership has received significant airtime of late inbusiness literature (Seifter & Economy, 2001; Zander & Zander, 2000).




The results were fascinating. The group struggled for a while but ulti-mately found balance and flow. Initially, some students tried desperately tocontrol activities through overt hand gestures or loud stomping to coordinatea pass to other walkers. While a few accepted these approaches for short peri-ods of time, the group ultimately rejected them. Over time, the group relaxedinto attentive awareness, balancing the individual desire to be walking withresponsibility to the group to maintain the appropriate number of peoplewalking overall. They smiled and laughed appreciatively at smooth, sponta-neous passes between class members and made swift adjustments whenimbalances occurred. Several refrained from walking, watchful but still, themajority of the time. These individuals shared during the debrief that they feltthey could best serve the group, particularly as the number of people thatwere supposed to be walking diminished, by staying motionless. Theypracticed leadership by knowing when to get out of the way.

For us as instructors, this experience paved the way perfectly for a discus-sion of inspirited leadership. The student connection to the topic was nowrecent and personal rather than simply intellectual. Class members talkedabout how frustrating it was to not be able to control what others would do,and how rewarding it was when the group finally found its rhythm andhandoffs flowed smoothly and spontaneously. They talked about their ownanxiety and desire, tempered ultimately by the mandate to serve the group’sgoal, during the process of deciding whether to be walking at any given time.Leveraging their discussion of the game itself, students were then able to con-nect the dynamics of their experience with ideas presented in course materialand with their own workplace experiences.

An additional and delightful surprise was the class dynamic created by theform itself. Our students carried with them into discussion the sense of joyand accomplishment they experienced from having interacted successfullyin this way. We saw in their discursive interaction a sense of connection andgenerosity that appeared to elicit particularly even participation, careful lis-tening, and respect for each other’s ideas.

#3. USING IMPROV TO STIMULATE CREATIVE,NONLINEAR IDEA EXCHANGE AND COLEARNING

Desiring to create a highly interactive learning environment, we alsoexperimented with the use of improv forms as stand-ins for traditional class-room discussion. While discussion can be stimulating and effective, and weused it frequently, we also recognized its limitations. In our experience, tradi-tional discussion often develops in a linear fashion, around a single line ofquestioning, which can limit the richness of exploration. Participants contrib-




ute one person at a time, which disallows the benefits of the mind’s rapid gen-erative ability and the potential diversity of contribution. Traditional discus-sion also caters to extroverts and may be dominated by heavy participatorsunless carefully managed, depriving the class of valuable input from studentswho are more quiet and less verbally oriented.

For these reasons, we looked to improv to incite nonlinear and potentiallymore creative exploration of course content. Particularly given that thisappeared to be a quiet and reflective group, we wanted to ensure participationfrom all class members. In addition, given the deeply personal nature of someof the topics covered in class, we wanted to be able to recognize and zero inon some of the topical areas our students found most intriguing, allowingtheir resonance to guide discussion rather than our agenda. Finally, wewanted to experiment with a fairly radical concept: the idea that studentlearning and thought processes would be enhanced through structures thatfacilitate physical movement and engagement. During two class sessions, weused improv-based forms in place of traditional discussion. Here’s what wefound.

Creative, nonlinear idea exchange. For the second class meeting, we useda form called Idea Lake to establish personal connection and a shared pool ofknowledge around the course topic. The dynamics of this form are unusual. Ittakes place in three distinct stages over about an hour, beginning with havingstudents walk around the room and respond all at once to specific questionscalled out by the facilitator, for example, “What would a ‘soulful’ place towork look like for you? Describe it.” Next, individuals stand in a semicircleand step forward spontaneously to call out answers to the earlier questions.Finally, the group uses a form of multivoting to identify areas of interest andresonance, and open discussion ensues.

As with many of the improv forms we used, the uncommon dynamics—such as talking out loud simultaneously—were uncomfortable for students atfirst. Before long, however, they became highly participative and playful.Even the quietest class members were prompted to march around and shareperspectives; even those initially reluctant were carried along with the learn-ing. The group generated rich, significant content about prevailing condi-tions in the workplace today through generating images and ideas about theirown experiences, along with speculating about drivers and root causes. Whatalso surfaced were their own emotional attachments to the topic—their hopesfor the kind of workplace they might enjoy.

Colearning. The second tool we used is an adaptation of a brainstormingtool, a group affinity diagram called Planets and Moons, which culminates in




clusters of so-called moon ideas revolving around central planet concepts.We had students write their observations about the readings—anything theyconsidered compelling or important—on sticky notes and post these on awall. Without speaking, they then arranged the stickies into affinitive groupings.This continued in silence (albeit with giggles and scuffling) until the entiregroup indicated satisfaction with the arrangement. We then held a student-ledexploration of what each constellation was all about.

The focus of this exercise was a set of assigned course readings aboutorganizational creativity and positive turbulence (Gryskiewicz, 1999). Ourstudents greatly enjoyed the exercise, and we noted a very high level of par-ticipation from this normally studious and reflective group. As instructors,we were surprised by how many dug deep into the reading, grappled with theideas, and remembered them. The process of finding order among the planetsand moons prompted laughter and some competition; no one would stop untilthe arrangement was completely satisfying.

When we asked the class to talk about the moons, or themes, all who hadcontributed to a particular cluster explained their perspective. This uncov-ered a rich diversity of thinking about the readings and concepts. Studentsdescribed why they found particular concepts compelling and compared andcontrasted how they found so-called affinity among ideas. A deeper under-standing of course material was achieved, along with a wealth of connec-tions: students to material, and students to each other.

Further Analysis

The majority of our findings regarding the effectiveness of using improvfor the objectives described above are anecdotal and descriptive, based on ourown observations in the classroom. These observations have been sprinkledthroughout the article. However, we also want to call on more objective mea-sures, including information about class effectiveness as represented in ourmidterm and final course evaluations. In addition, about one half the classprovided specific feedback during a class reunion held approximately 7months after the course’s end.

MIDTERM AND FINAL COURSE EVALUATIONS

Midway through the term, we asked students to give us anonymous feed-back on the class. The overall level of satisfaction with the course was high,with an average score of 4.66 out of a possible 5. We did not ask specificallyabout improv; however, five students volunteered comments about its use.Most of these were positive:




Having improv exercises at the beginning of class sessions is what I have mostenjoyed. It really helps set the tone for the class and it allows me to feel com-fortable in this class with my peers. I wish all classes did this!

Some were less enthusiastic: “The improv games don’t work for me. Theymake me feel uncomfortable—and put people ‘on the spot.’ I’m not a lake ora bunny!” In a later discussion, students described understanding the value ofthe exercises despite initial discomfort.

The School’s standard end-of-course evaluation form has more to do withthe nature of the instructors than the instruction; however, two metrics mayspeak to the improv experiment. For the first, “Is sensitive to the response ofthe class, encourages student participation, and welcomes questions and dis-cussion,” the class gave a score of 9.83 out of 10. The second, “Enjoys teach-ing, is enthusiastic about the subject, makes the course exciting, and has self-confidence,” rated 9.92 out of 10. We believe comfort with participation andstudent excitement came about as a direct result of the use of improv.

CLASS REUNION FEEDBACK

Given how many other topics and techniques were woven into the course,we were amazed by how many students remembered the improv forms andcould easily play back specific learnings. Forms used to create an environ-ment conducive to learning, the icebreakers and warm-ups, were particularlynotable in this way. Many talked about the personal gratification of “gettingover the hurdle” with improv forms, moving beyond initial resistance toappreciate playing them. “I really liked the games we played—they werescary but I always felt good about it afterwards.” A few, however, describedsimply resigning themselves to participating and continuing to question whythe games were being used. Students seemed to feel that improv was espe-cially useful in creating the trusting, open environment they associated withthe class. “I learned that I could take risks in front of the other students—Imight as well look stupid, too.” Using improv also helped them focus at thebeginning of class. “The games helped me transition from what I was doingduring the day.”

When we probed about forms used to facilitate experiential learning, stu-dents were quick to recall Swedish Story and its creativity learnings. “Thatwas a great experience, working together and being creative.” The leadership-related exercise (1, 2, 3 People Walking) seemed less accessible, and fewwere able to remember much about it.

In terms of using improv to stimulate nonlinear idea exchange, there wasparticular enthusiasm about Planets and Moons. “I liked this exercise.” Incontrast, students remember being confused and inhibited during Idea Lake.




“It would have helped to understand the context; I felt self-conscious doingall of that in front of people I didn’t know very well—I wondered, what arethey thinking?”

Conclusions

In this article, we provided readers with some framework for the princi-ples and practices of improv; we described using improv forms for three spe-cific objectives in a business classroom; and we presented subjective andobjective evaluation about its impact and effectiveness. In addition, we pro-vide tips and techniques for taking improv into your classroom, as well asthree improv forms that can easily and successfully be used with yourstudents.

Based on this experience, we have no doubt that using improv greatlyenhanced our students’classroom experience. In particular, its value in creat-ing an environment conducive to learning—an open, risk-tolerant, creative,participative, and energized atmosphere—enhanced the amount of exchangeand exploration that took place. As reflected through our own observations,general satisfaction ratings and the students’ direct feedback, engaging withimprov as a classroom tool has a very positive impact for most students. It isimportant to note, using such playful, creative techniques with students alsoprovided us as instructors with a sense of exhilaration, rejuvenation, and joy.Should you decide to try it in your own classroom, we wish you the same.

AppendixTaking Improv Into Your Classroom

Although just about anyone can walk into a range of improv forms with absolutelyno improv experience, facilitating forms does take some skill and experience. Belowis some low-hanging fruit, so to speak: three highly usable forms, one for each of thebenefit sets we’ve discussed in this article. These are simple to orchestrate regardlessof your—or your classes’—prior improv experience.

However, first, a brief discussion of common stumbling points and ways to over-come them is useful. A common misperception exists that some audiences are appro-priate for improv, and others are not. It has been our experience that this is not thecase—although a less receptive group may require a more skilled and experiencedfacilitator. Case in point, we’ve successfully used improv with populations includingbusiness school faculty, state probation officers, technical engineers at a global company,and even the British Ministry of Defense. Most of the challenges facilitators encoun-ter have to do with fluctuations in group energy levels, group self-consciousness, andpreoccupation with the rules and “doing it right.” All of these can be managed




successfully by the facilitator (although the facilitator may have to fall and scrape herknees once or twice first).

A few tips:

• Cofacilitate, especially at first. The chemistry between facilitators is helpful inengaging a class, and it’s an easy way to become skilled with these techniques.

• Rehearse. Don’t just talk through what you’re going to do, walk through it,beforehand. Eighty percent of the avoidable mistakes can be worked out beforeyou get in the room.

• Start small. Beginning with simpler forms, such as Word-at-a-Time-Story, below,is fairly failsafe. Confidence will grow (yours and the class’s) and aid you in tak-ing on more complex forms.

• When giving game instructions, model. It’s extremely helpful for students tosee you demonstrate key stages of the game before playing.

• Take responsibility for any confusion about the rules. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault,that was confusing.” However, know that some groups will be extremely con-cerned about “getting it right,” and that can get in the way of having fun, takingrisks and being spontaneous. Sometimes, it’s appropriate to say, “It’s OK—wedon’t know all the rules. We’re just going to play a bit and see what happens.”

• Make it okay to feel silly. Especially at first, it’s helpful for the facilitator to letstudents know that they may—in fact, probably will—look and feel silly. Andthat this has certain benefits. They can choose to not participate because they’llfeel too silly; however, usually if you make this choice visible, people feel toosilly to look like they’re quitting because they’re afraid of looking silly.

Thus armed, below are three improv forms we’ve described in this article you maywant to try.

THE NAME GAME

This is a good getting-to-know-each-other game, also serving to focus and enlivena class.

• Materials: None—just some clear open space.• Prep: Ask the class to stand in a circle, in the open space.• To play: This game has three phases.• Phase I: Going one by one around the circle, each person steps forward and says

their name and something he or she truly likes or dislikes—for example, “I’mJulie, and I like coffee,” or “I’m Ellen, and I dislike being on a boat when thewater’s rough.” Encourage them not to feel like they have to be clever or funnybut simply offer up something they truly like or dislike.

• Phase II: Then, instruct students that the next time someone steps forward, nam-ing self and a like or dislike, they must name another person in the circle and thatperson’s like or dislike, for example, “I’m Julie, and I like coffee, and that’sGary, and he likes to eat canned prunes.” Then it’s Gary’s turn, and so on, untilthe group begins to feel fairly comfortable with each others’ names.

• Phase III: After speaking for oneself and then naming and calling out the like ordislike of someone else in the circle, participants add a fictitious reason for their




classmate’s like or dislike. For example, “I’m Ellen, . . . and that’s Gary, and helikes to eat canned prunes because his mother hides dimes in the bottoms of thejars for him to find.” Each time a person is named, the namer must repeat allthat’s been said and add one more element. Continue until everyone has beencalled on at least once.

• Debrief: In many ways, the outcome of this form occurs during the game. Thereis much laughter, participant focus goes up as the complexity increases, and youcan literally watch students begin to feel part of the class as their names arecalled out by their peers—and particularly when their fictional histories arebuilt. The banter and laughter moves the group to a place of comfort and belong-ing. The facilitator debrief afterwards can be a simple, “How was that?” Stu-dents often say they’ll never forget that Sally loves to wash cars, and so on, orthat it was a great surprise to find out the real reason they’d always felt drawn tothose canned prunes.

WORD-AT-A-TIME STORY

This form is a great icebreaker for the beginning of a class and can also help focusstudents’attention on course themes or concepts. An important lesson—about lettinggo of individual agendas and really listening to what other classmates are saying—can be extrapolated. It’s also a good creativity tool because surprising and humorousassociations often arise.

• Materials: None—just some clear space at the front of the room.• Prep: Ask for five to six volunteers and have them stand up in front of the class.• To play: Pick a topic, or ask the class for one. This could be a course theme or

assigned reading topic to explore. Instruct the group to create sentences on thetopic. Instruct them to speak sequentially, going down the line, and then contin-uing at the top of the line, and so on. Each participant should offer only one wordat a time. Caution students to listen to each other and to make the sentencesmake sense grammatically. They should not pause to censor, rummage for bril-liance, or seek to be clever or interesting. When the flow around a particulartopic starts to dwindle, or the story seems to reach a so-called logical conclu-sion, stop and debrief.

After this brief demonstration, ask the class to join the volunteers and try a roundor two.

• Debrief: A good debrief of this game begins by asking students how it felt toplay. We often hear students talk about wanting the story to go in a particulardirection, and being frustrated by only being able to contribute one word—especially when their classmates take the storyline somewhere else. Ask theaudience what they saw happening, and you might hear them talk about obser-vations regarding quality of listening; it’s easy to see when players are stuck ontheir own agenda, or too focused on what their word will be to listen to the oth-ers. This self-focus inevitably sabotages their ability to contribute effectively, alesson which is blatantly obvious to the audience. Finally, ask when the storywas most engaging. You will probably hear players and audience alike describe




a surprising moment, a point at which the story took an unexpected turn. Thisusually starts out looking like a mistake but ultimately functions as a rich turn-ing point in the story; this, of course, is a good place to extrapolate the value ofrisk taking, experimentation, and willingness to so-called fail.

PLANETS AND MOONS

Planets and Moons is actually less of an improv form than it is interactive affinitydiagram creation. The exercise can be used to facilitate whole classroom involvementin work with course material, prompting students to grapple with the organization andinterpretation of information in a nonlinear, interactive way.

• Materials: Pads of large sticky notes, medium black markers, one different-colored marker, and a large expanse of wall space.

• Time required: Depends greatly on class size and scope of material represented.For a class of 16 and assigned reading of four articles of moderate length, theexercise took approximately 40 min.

• Prep: Place sticky notepads and markers along the base of the open wall. Havestudents assemble around the wall. They may want to bring their assigned read-ing or course materials with them for reference.

• Phase I: Instruct students to record the ideas, examples, or themes from theirassigned reading that they found compelling (for any reason) on the stickies,one idea per sticky. When they’ve recorded an idea on a sticky, it goes up on thewall. The location doesn’t matter—it can be placed anywhere. They shouldcontinue recording and sticking ideas on the wall until they’re all “dried up.”This should be done without talking.

• Phase II: Have class members stand back to get an overview of all of the ideas upon the wall. Then instruct them to arrange the stickies into thematic groupings—similar or related ideas together in constellations on the wall. This, too, shouldbe done without talking (but don’t be surprised by laughter, a bit of competition,and increasing energy). Students can feel free to move someone else’s stickyand rearrange previously arranged stickies. This continues until everyoneagrees that the groupings are complete. (As facilitator, you can check in withstudents occasionally to encourage and spur them on.) The stickies on the wallsshould have formed clearly defined groupings. These are the “moons.”

• Phase III: The instructor steps up to the wall and picks out a grouping to start thediscussion. She or he can choose a sticky with an idea from that grouping at ran-dom and ask which student contributed it. Ask that student to come up to thewall and explain why she or he found that idea compelling, then to stay at thewall and facilitate other students with stickies in the group to talk about theirs inthe same way. The facilitating student should ask, “Anyone else with an ideahere? What moved you to put it up here?” until all ideas have been covered.Then, instruct the student facilitator to lead the group in naming what ties all theideas in that particular constellation together. Once the group agrees, have thestudent facilitator scribe the central theme, or “planet,” in the different-coloredmarker on a stickie and add it to the grouping. Thank this student and move on tothe next grouping, finding a new student facilitator to lead that discussion. Con-tinue until the central planet has been named for each grouping of moons.




• Debrief: Ask students what they noticed during the grouping exercise, and youmay see them articulate a growing awareness about the assumptions and inter-pretations attached to others’—and their own—comments and contributions.Ask student facilitators how it was to facilitate the naming of constellations, andthe class will often jump into a discussion about what they need from eachother—participation, listening, focus—to learn cooperatively.

References

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Enhancing Learning in the Business Classroom: An Adventure with Improv Theater Techniques