The Dream Team

By Sonnjea Blackwell

While I spent many of the past 24 hours basking in the unseasonably warm sunshine at the Embarcadero in San Francisco, drinking several of something called a French Bulldog and eating food that was so good I almost didn't come home, Mr. Held2gether himself, Darren Held, was hard at work leading a Held2gether Corporate Workshop in Denver, Colorado.

Yes, besides being masters of improvisation, we are also quite the jet-setters around here.

Anyway. Darren was working with a national insurance company, helping train agents to be more spontaneous and more comfortable in their interactions with customers. Some research we've come across (this is actually real research, not Sonnjea-believes-it-so-it-must-be-true research) indicates that sales people who work from scripts convert significantly fewer potential buyers than those who are able to (gasp!) actually listen to their customers and react appropriately.

And no, we at Held2gether are NOT experts in sales. That's not our job. Our job is to help people - sales or otherwise - listen and respond and think quickly on their feet. How these skills apply in each particular workplace varies widely, but what is universal is that these skills do in fact apply in every workplace.

Do you need to help your group/team/office/family bond? Work better together? Communicate without shouting? Do you need to boost morale before things deteriorate into a scene from The Godfather? Do you need to increase sales or productivity? Would you love it if everybody loved to come to work... and actually showed up most of the time?

We have Group Workshops for every type and size of group with every conceivable goal. From a generic out-of-the-box workshop to a fully customized training session, we can help you build your own personal Dream Team. Our website has more information on an improv workshop for your group, or you can email Darren for a detailed quote.

Team Building With Improv Comedy

Team building is one of those current buzzwords (buzzphrases?) that gets bandied about by HR people in companies composed of more than one human being, for those of you who don't know. The concept is that, by doing "stuff" that helps your team learn to interact better, both with each other and with your customers and clients, your employees will become more productive, more pleasant to be around and better looking. Or, you know, at least a couple of those things.

Improv comedy is a great way to accomplish these goals, because at its heart improv is about trusting, listening to, agreeing with and supporting each other. If your employees can master these skills, pretty much any human interactions they undertake will be enhanced. Many of the interactions they have with non-humans will also improve, as illustrated by the well-known fact that improv people walk their dogs more often than non-improv people.

Held2gether taught an awesome improv comedy corporate workshop this week, helping an insurance company train agents in selling techniques. We spent several hours over a 2-day period teaching the agents improv skills designed, among other things, to help them overcome potential buyers' defenses to their sales pitches. Besides having loads of fun, the agents learned a lot about how listening can tremendously boost sales.

Listening. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is and it isn't. But like most other skills, listening can be learned. And playing improv games is a fun and effective way to do it! If you have any questions about how Held2gether can help your company, or if you'd like to schedule your own team building or other corporate or group workshop, check out Held2gether.com or send us an email at darren@held2gether.com.