Training and Events
Since 2005
Improv Theatre
Corporate Improv Training
Hoopla! is the UK’s first improv theatre and improv school.
For almost 20 years, 1000s upon 1000s of students have passed through our classes. Students leave our classes more effective communicators, more confident storytellers, and better team-players. We can help grow people in your business in the same way. Our experience is unrivalled. We have a track record of great results with a huge range of big corporate training clients. We’ve delivered improv for business workshops for clients including Google, Facebook, Accenture and Unilever and many more.
[re]connect: to Your Team, to Your Audience, and to Your Self
Our Corporate Training Clients Include:
Improv Techniques for Business
You want a corporate training solution that offers profound learning, fast. And from our experience you also want training that engages participants, so that not only do they enjoy learning: it sticks. Improvisation ticks all these boxes.
Improvisers are:
And improv for business training can manifest these qualities and skills in your people.
They work in teams which are…
Improv techniques for business training can create a similar culture at your organisation.
I thought this workshop would be good, and helpful in some areas of work. But it was applicable in every single part of what we do. I thought it was fantastic.
Thanks for making the event yesterday such a success. The feedback we had from the group was extremely positive. You did an amazing job.
Working with Hoopla was easy. They relaxed everyone from the start, they gave people the space to get to know each other and used great techniques to break down self-consciousness and really get people to lean into building new relationships.
I’ve had great feedback from everyone about the workshops. We all had a real laugh & connected to each other in ways we hadn't before. But most of all, we learned new storytelling & communication skills we can put into practice straight away.
Thank you very for your brilliant contribution to our conference in Barcelona. You drew a great response from our thousand strong sales team and the skills you taught them will give them a real competitive edge in the market place.
If you’re looking to improve communication and collaboration within your team, this is by far the best team offsite I’ve been a part of. We walked away with communication techniques that will stick with us for a lifetime.
Hire us for your event
Whether you’re looking to engage and energise guests at your next conference, strengthen team communication and culture, build skills or add some fun to your next meeting, we will work with you to create a memorable event.
Our offerings include:
Hoopla Business specialize in delivering improv for business events and corporate storytelling experiences at large scales.
We are market leader in delivering to big audiences, from 100 to 2000 and beyond. We’ve done it for hundreds of big clients. From retail clients like Ralph Lauren and Chanel; FMCG brands like P&G and Unilever; through to media brands like Hearst and Trinity Mirror.
We bring almost 20 years experience to help you design an event that will live long in the memory, and-crucially-land the messages in an engaging way.
We aren’t just the funny people: we make learning stick and help you produce events that make your audience say ‘wow.’
Every Sale, Every Negotiation, Every Conversation You Have is Improvised. Are You Ready?
Yes, this is a book about improvisation. And it’s a book about business. Specifically, it’s a book about how to build confidence, be more creative and face anything.
A Financial Times top business book of the year.
Finalist, Business Book of the Year Awards.
Audie Awards finalist.
Online improv workshops for business
We are delighted to offer our acclaimed improv for business workshops online.
These workshops are:
- Online-first: designed for the medium they are delivered in, not a normal workshop just
whacked on Zoom! - Short and sharp: suitable for people working from home.
- Available all over the world: we have delivered these across multiple time-zones and so this is perfect for geographically dispersed teams.
Online Team Building
Our improv team building workshops are the perfect way to [re]connect a hybrid or remote team. Our interactive and fun workshops are designed to bring your people together in a very human way – and to get everyone smiling. Plus, in our virtual improv workshops they’ll learn collaboration and communication skills that will last a lifetime. To find out how we deliver our virtual workshops, get in touch now.
Get in touch to see how we can help with your brief.
Short of time?
Here are 5 reasons why Hoopla improv for business workshops and corporate training will deliver a clear ROI:
Inclusivity
All participants will learn inclusive behaviours that bring everybody into the conversation, so that we celebrate and create using the diversity of the group. We call it Group Mind. It’s founded in listening, respect and the passionate belief that we are greater than the sum of our parts.
Innovation and change management
Innovation is the buzzword of our times. Disruptive technologies are changing the world, and everyone either needs to create their own or respond to the change they’ve unleashed. And they need to do it fast. Improvisers create hundreds of ideas together at speed, adapting to each new concept as they move. They are great people to look to for how you can achieve the same result at scale.
Employee engagement
Employee engagement and retention is a key challenge for every organisation. Talented people are attracted to (and stay at) organisations that are invested in their growth. But what’s more, they want to enjoy their learning. Fun, experiential learning is central to what we do. And we walk the walk.
Culture
A strong culture is fundamental to a successful business. Every company in the world, has their ‘values’ sprawled on the walls in lurid colours. But what about the behaviours that manifest these values? We can help you bring them to life and make them stick. Plus, you want a culture where people collaborate closely and open their mind to new ideas. At Hoopla we default to ‘yes, and’ rather than ‘no, because…’ We can help you have the same culture.
Inspired by the arts, grounded in science
Everything we do is fun and inspired by our heritage in the world of improvisational theatre. However, we sense check every principal and exercise with research from behavioural economics, social neuroscience and performance psychology to make sure you get the corporate training outcomes you want. Plus there are practical work-place takeaways landed at every turn.
Corporate Training Resources
Thought leadership
Why Your Business Should Care About Improv
How We Use the Principles of Improv with Business Clients
How improv fits into the creative process of a workplace
How to Use Improv as Part of Your Company's Innovation Strategy
Women in Innovation
Improve Your Business Relationships with the ‘Yes, and’ Rule of Improv
Tips & Tricks
5 Improv Techniques for Businesses
Top 10 Rules for Running Effective Brainstorming Meetings
6 Tips for Making a Personal Impact When Meeting Someone
5 Ways to Build Your Creative Confidence
How to Listen to Customers and Stakeholders More Effectively
5 Improv Techniques to Help You Become a Better Leader
5 Ways to Improv(e) Your Career
Everything You Need to Know to Give Great Feedback (and receive it!)
5 Improv Exercises to Break the Ice at Work
F.A.Q.s
What is improv?
Improv is the art of making things up in the moment as part of a team. The core improv skills are listening, accepting and building on offers in order to create new ideas and stories as a team.
How can improv corporate training help me run my business more effectively?
Improv builds creative and motivated teams with better relationships between staff. Our training gives your team a shared understanding of a creative process that can be easily remembered and used every day at work. Individuals benefit from better creative skills, listening skills and teamwork skills.
What will individuals get from it?
Confidence in speaking up within a team. Better creative skills, spontaneity, listening skills, teamwork skills, storytelling skills and thinking on your feet. Also an understanding of a creative process that can be used throughout their career.
Is it scary?
Not at all. Nobody is on a stage in front of an audience. We do everything in exercises together as group or in pairs. We also warm into everything slowly so nothing feels like a big leap. The feedback we get at the end of workshops is how warm the environment is and it's something we really focus on. This is definitely NOT a comedy workshop. No one needs to know jokes and no one will be telling jokes. And it is definitely NOT a drama workshop. No one is going to be pretending to be a tree either! Everything is tied acutely into day-to-day relevant. The exercises and games are simply tools allowing participants to embody the learning.
Do I have to have any experience?
Not at all. No acting, improvising or any sort of performing experience is necessary whatsoever. You don't have to be funny either. You just have to be yourself.
Sounds kind-of weird. Is this a normal thing to do at work?!
Absolutely. We've worked with a huge range of corporate training clients across a gamut of industries. By using improv as a training tool you'll be following in the footsteps of Google, Twitter and Apple. Plus, improvisation training is now part of most leading business school programmes worldwide. In fact, we’ve worked with London Business School on their MBA programme.
Do you work abroad?
Absolutely. We’ve done conferences and workshops in Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris and Barcelona recently.
How many people can you cater for?
Anything from 5 to 200 for workshops, and at conferences we’ve done keynotes to audiences of up to a thousand. We have a number of coaches trained in our ideas and method and so we can cater for any scale.
What about venue?
We can do both off-site and on-site. We are happy to travel or we can help you arrange a suitable space.
How long do the sessions last? Can you vary the length?
We’re flexible with time, we usually do either half-day or full day sessions. We can also do short, fast and fun team-building and ice-breaker sessions of an hour or less. We can also get more involved with your company and do a longer run of sessions or regular ongoing weekly sessions to keep the improv skills alive in your company.
What are your fees?
Fees depend on size, duration and location of workshop, please get in touch and we’ll be able to send you a quote.
Can you adapt sessions to suit the needs of my company?
Yes. We meet with you before the sessions to fully understand your company and design corporate training to specifically suit your needs.
Can you get more involved with my company on an ongoing basis?
Yes. We can come back regularly and do a string of sessions, or get more involved with creative processes in your company.
What do you do in a workshop?
It depends from company to company. Generally we start with an opening chat about improv and its core concepts, and how they can fit into the workplace. We then do some friendly warm-ups and ice breakers with participants working in pairs or small groups. We then do some exercises to teach core improv skills like listening, ‘Yes, and’ and spontaneity. We then teach some applied exercises to show how improv can be used to build creative teams in the workplace. We end with a creative challenge where everyone puts the skills learnt into practice. Want to learn more? Drop us a line to see some case studies from our clients.
Will it work with shy people and people who don’t want to be in front of an audience?
Yes. We have over 14 years experience of teaching complete beginners. Our speciality is teaching improv skills to people with no previous experience. We don’t force people to do anything they don’t want to do, and we create a very fun, safe and supportive environment where people are free to be themselves.
Who else have you worked with?
We’ve worked with various corporate training clients from a huge variety of industries. Including Google, Apple, Facebook, Accenture, ITV, Unilever, LinkedIn, KPMG, AMV BBDO and more.
Do you have experience of my industry?
Probably. In addition to expertise in improv and comedy our trainers also have experience of working in TV, Advertising, Law, Sales, Business and IT.
Do you provide any supporting materials?
Yes. We can design handouts and booklets for each company that the participants can keep and refer to after the session.
Are there any physical restrictions?
We can vary the exercises to suit everyone’s physical needs.
What are the best things to wear on the day?
There are no special clothing requirements.
How do I book a workshop?
Please contact us.