Improvise This!: How to Think on Your Feet so You Don't Fall on Your Face [Hardcover]

Mark Bergren (Author), Molly Cox (Author), Jim Detmar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 2002

Businesses are sending their top managers to improvisational classes to learn how to give presentations, how to talk to clients, and how to finesse difficult situations. But those same skills can be mastered with the help of the simple and fun exercises found in this book. The authors explain how improvisation comes into play in our daily lives, and the rewards of taking risks in those situations. Improvise This! is filled with true-to-life business scenarios and offers methods for not only surviving but triumphing in those situations, making this a valuable and entertaining resource.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Look into your own private personality mirror and see a grin instead of a grimace." "Eat a completely different lunch at a brand-new restaurant. Just because." "Discover the name(s) of your own personal theme song(s)." Trite suggestions like these abound in this book written by partners of a sketch comedy/improvisation company that offers workshops to help business people loosen up. True to form, the authors don't call the sessions in their book "workshops"; rather, they prefer to call them "playshops." Their approach results in a volume that is lively, yet fails to make a real connection between improvisation and work. The authors contend that "businesses are sending their top managers and frontline staff alike to improv classes in droves," yet they fail to offer any concrete business cases that explain why. Other than mentioning that Southwest Airlines flight attendants use humor to get passengers to listen to flight instructions (an example now tragically outdated in the post-September 11 environment), there are few examples of how improvisation has led to product development, employee retention or increased profitability. What the authors do contend, however, is that loosening up in the workplace could have an indirect affect on these components, in that fun equals happy employees equals more success. A better choice for those interested in "out of the box" thinking in the workplace is Guy Kawasaki's Rules for Revolutionaries or The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from Ideo, America's Leading Design Firm by Tom Kelley et al. Agent, Laurie Liss.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Mark Bergren, Molly Cox, and Jim Detmar are partners in Out of the Blue, an enormously successful corporate workshop, sketch comedy, and improv company. They teach and perform nationally for companies and associations such as 3M, Kaiser Permanente, Rainforest CafT, State Farm Insurance, and the Paris Las Vegas Resort. They are based in Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (March 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786867744
• ISBN-13: 978-0786867745
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love the messege!, September 2, 2002

By 

Steve Purnick (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Improvise This!: How to Think on Your Feet so You Don't Fall on Your Face (Hardcover)

In a world where the corporate climate is becoming more and more concerned about don'ts, than dos, more worried about what can't be said, than what can, this delightful book is the perfect reminder of the power of play. I love the messege. Let's get out of our heads and have some fun. Then let's see how that fun effects our work product.

The authors give us inspiring examples of humor in the workplace, and a series of excerises to loosen up even the most button downed office. They manage to give sound advice while keeping tongues firmly in cheek. I found it an easy read, perfect for the airplane.

This is a great beginner's book for Improv in the workplace. Now,I would love to see a more in-depth work from this joyful team. Improvise This! has whet my appetite.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Encounter difficult situations? Use Improv Techniques!, August 22, 2002

By 

[e-mail] (Stillwater, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Improvise This!: How to Think on Your Feet so You Don't Fall on Your Face (Hardcover)

As a public speaker and trainer, no matter how well prepared I am for an engagement, I encounter situations, audiences and questions that can catch me off guard. This book offers concrete tools, suggestions and examples of how to handle these types of situations using various improvisational techniques.

It is also a witty, fun and playful reminder to trust our instincts and tap into the natural creativity that we are born with. A definite must have on your book shelf!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maybe the best in a small genre, but not satisfying, June 4, 2002

By 

Robert Springall (Lewisburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Improvise This!: How to Think on Your Feet so You Don't Fall on Your Face (Hardcover)

I talk and act for a living (yep, I'm in a sort-of sales position), so I wasn't as excited about this book after reading it as I thought I'd be. Some good exercises that are included just didn't strike me as too much different that a day working with a people with varying knowledge, maturity, and educational levels.

Maybe I got [pulled] into the idea that (1) I like improv comedy, and (2) I'm always interested in some self-improvement. But I get to laugh and learn everyday just by showing up at the office at 8:00 a.m.

If you are in a serious, stuffy workplace that could use some fun and constructive play, this book might be more enjoyable than it was for me.