From the Inside Flap
The right education and the right experience will only get you so far in the fast-paced world of business. Because business can change faster than you can keep up, you also need the ability to think on your feet and turn on a dime. You may not know it, but the skill you need to achieve in business is the same ability comedians have in spades-the skill of improv.
It makes sense; dealing with clients and colleagues requires the ability to quickly come up with solutions to unforeseen problems. That's the art of improv. And that's what you'll learn from Joseph Keefe, founder of Second City Communications and sage potentate of funny business. In Improv Yourself, he'll show you how to use humor and spontaneity to improve your business performance.
In fact, you already have improv skills you use every day-in meetings, sales calls, brainstorming sessions, or even just while hanging around the water cooler. But you probably didn't know that by mastering your improv skills you can become more productive and dynamic professionally, have more fun and rewarding business interactions, and achieve at a higher level than ever before.
Improv Yourself features exercises and games specially designed to refine your "improvability"-and make you more comfortable with the process of creation, the skill of spontaneity, and the expert use of humor. You'll become a more innovative business thinker and have more fun at work and at home. You'll also learn the fundamentals of improvisation and understand improv theory as it relates to business.
With the skills you'll learn from Improv Yourself, you will improve your ability to:
* Think and act on your feet
* Quickly respond to changing circumstances
* Generate new business ideas
* Handle a crisis with speed and flexibility
* Take risks and reap the rewards
* Tap into your sense of humor when you need it most
With practice, you too can nurture your improvisational skills and develop lightning-fast problem-solving techniques. You'll grow the skills you need while improving your business and personal life. Best of all, Improv Yourself lets you try out your new material before you find yourself in front of a fickle throng of business suits.
From the Back Cover
Praise for Improv Yourself
"The use of improvisation skills in the corporate world teaches executives to listen to audiences more closely, focus on issues at hand, understand audiences, who they are and what they need-and, of course, improv allows you to do this quicker. Joe Keefe's Improv Yourself teaches you how to develop those skills."
-John Bace, Vice President, Director of Research & Knowledge Assets, Gartner, Inc.
"Joe knows more about the business of being funny for business than anyone in the business."
-Tim Kazurinsky, Screenwriter, About Last Night
"Joe is an impressive blend of creativity and business acumen. Who knew those two could actually exist together? Look for his approach to create a revolution of improv innovations where they are needed most-in today's business environment."
-Laura Caraccioli-Davis, Starcom Entertainment
"Using improv and humor to communicate in the business world is effective and powerful. No one knows how to do this better than Joe Keefe."
-Tom Farley, The Chris Farley Foundation
"This is the best work on improv since my book-Truth in Comedy."
-Charna Halpern, Producer/Cofounder, ImprovOlympic
"Comedy is a science, and Joe Keefe is its Einstein. If you're serious about the business of comedy, Joe Keefe is your man."
-Eric Scholl, Assistant Chairperson, Television Department, Columbia College, Chicago
"Joe is the leader in his industry-although what that industry is I'm not quite sure. This book represents Joe's theoretical and practical applications of his art. This art is desperately needed in today's corporate environment. Read, learn, then practice what he's preaching."
-Tom S. C. Weeks, Starcom Entertainment
"Joe Keefe may not have invented corporate comedy, but he perfected it. He brings the funny and understands the money."
-Tom Purcell, TV Producer
