When Monique Rodriguez went to a business coach to improve her pet photography business, she got some unusual advice.
鈥淗e suggests all of his clients go to an improv class,鈥� Rodriguez, of Fort Collins, said. 鈥淚t helps in your business in a lot of ways -- sales, marketing, service.鈥�
An introvert at heart, Rodriguez said she was intimidated by the idea of doing improv -- an art form often known for its rapid-fire pace and extroverted nature. Rodriguez鈥檚 business coach Jeffrey Shaw said that鈥檚 how many of his clients respond.
鈥淣o one ever wants to do it, they鈥檙e always scared to death,鈥� said Shaw, who also hosts the Creative Warriors Podcast. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 the first one to say, which always makes them more comfortable, I suck at it and it鈥檚 OK to be terrible at it. It鈥檚 something you grow. It鈥檚 a skill set you learn.鈥�
Businesses around the country are sending employees to improv schools -- not just for teambuilding but to help improve the bottom line. The tenets of good improv include good communication, being agreeable, always making your team look good and thinking fast on your feet.
Because in business, as in improv, things can come at you pretty quickly.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 the phone call we get from a dissatisfied customer and we have to figure out how to respond in that moment, or somebody calls and asks about your services and you鈥檙e not entirely ready in that moment (...) you can learn to buy yourself the time that you need to think about your next move,鈥� Shaw said.
That鈥檚 what Rodriguez had in mind when she signed up for a class: Improv for the Business Professional, at the Fort Collins performing arts school, La-De-Da. She didn鈥檛 realize it at the time, but just the act of doing that meant she was already following the first rule of improv: Yes, and...
鈥淎lways when you鈥檙e having a conversation with someone, saying 鈥榊es, and鈥︹€� and adding to it instead of automatically saying 鈥楴o鈥� to something, really can open up a lot of possibilities,鈥� Rodriguez said.
Improv for the Business Professional isn鈥檛 your typical business class, but it鈥檚 also not your typical improv class, according to instructor Jessica MacMaster.
鈥淭his one is for people who don鈥檛 do improv or don鈥檛 act or don鈥檛 even know what improv is,鈥� MacMaster said. 鈥淪o, it鈥檚 really to sharpen soft skills more than work on how to build interesting scenes. It relates much more to everyday life and life in the workplace.鈥�
One example: the game 鈥淎nimal Couples Counseling.鈥� In this exercise, classmates act out a mock couples counseling session and give each other clues to figure out what animal they are.
So how does this relate back to the workplace? It鈥檚 all about listening to the other person.
鈥淎ll of the rules apply to what you鈥檙e doing every day and make what you鈥檙e doing every day easier,鈥� MacMaster said.
In the game, Brock Martin was a bunny rabbit, but in real life he鈥檚 a chiropractor. For him, listening is an important skill, especially when gathering a person鈥檚 medical history
鈥淲hat I think needs to happen for a patient might not necessarily be what they want to happen for themselves and we kind of gotta find a balance between what I, as a doctor, think is best for them and what they actually want to do,鈥� Martin said.
Really listening has also helped him with his business partner, who also happens to be his wife.
鈥淲orking as a husband-and-wife team you can often butt heads a lot,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e noticed that ... saying 鈥榶es鈥� has been a huge improvement for our business and our day-to-day (life).鈥�
But improv is not all fun and games, especially if you鈥檙e a perfectionist.
鈥淚鈥檓 not comfortable making mistakes and it causes me to not take the risks that I probably should take,鈥� Martin said.
Fear of failure or embarrassment is the number one reason Shaw said his clients give when they don鈥檛 want to try improv.
鈥淢ost people see improv as a means of entertainment and haven鈥檛 really thought about what they can gain from participating in improv and the skills that you can gain,鈥� he said.
At Shaw鈥檚 first improv class, he was surprised to learn that he really wasn鈥檛 a good listener and that he didn鈥檛 always adjust easily when someone offered him an idea.
For Rodriguez improv has already paid off. Recently another photographer suggested she take on some new clients: puppies.
鈥淣ormally I鈥檇 say, 鈥楴o, I don鈥檛 really have those type of clients,鈥欌€� she said. 鈥淏ut instead I was thinking of improv, so I said, 鈥榊eah, you know, let鈥檚 talk about that. Maybe I can implement it someday.鈥�
And then a few days later...
鈥淚 got invited to a breeder event, and so I鈥檒l meet a lot of people with a lot of puppies,鈥� Rodriguez said.
