‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ hit our screens in September 1988, making the likes of Paul Merton, Tony Slattery and Josie Lawrence household names in the process. This remains most people’s first association with the word ‘improvisation.’ Thousands of people take ‘improv’ classes every year because they want how to make people laugh-many come to[…]
When you see professional improvisers on stage, in shows like Whose Line is it Anyway?, it looks like ‘winging it’ is all about what you say. Actually, improvisers first and foremost focus on listening. First, you can only respond accurately to what is in front of you if you’ve actually heard it. (How often do[…]
Growth Mindset. Grit. Bounce back. Bounce Forward. Pivot. Fail fast. Celebrate failure. Move fast and break things. Fuck Up Nights. Failure Resumes. Failure awards. We live in an era of the happy screw up. And it’s a good thing. All of these buzzwords reflect a culture that is at last embracing a healthy relationship with[…]
Use the secrets of improv to get your creative swagger back. The Covid-19 outbreak has not been good for our creativity. For many, stress is the anti-thesis of the sort of expansive thinking that originality requires. While homeworking has also been a challenge. For every person waxing lyrical about the cognitive benefits of an extra[…]
How improvisation skills can help you navigate a post-Covid world. Minutes after Boris Johnson had announced the UK lockdown on that cold evening in March, I got on the phone with my business partner. We had of-course discussed the trouble this pesky virus might cause, but our worse case scenario had extended to three months[…]
Most people’s first association with the word ‘improvisation’ is comedy. Their mind leaps straight to TV shows like Whose Line is it Anyway? But I believe learning how to improvise can help all of us off-stage too, especially when it comes to how we communicate. Improvisation is the art of acting without a script. And[…]
How we communicate with one another has changed enormously since the dawning of the Covid-19 crisis. Zoom is now a verb. As we’ve gained new skills on virtual platforms, there is a risk our face-to-face skills have declined. At the very least, many people have told me they feel less confident and more social gauche[…]
Public speaking frequently appears at the top of lists of people’s worst fears, making it even scarier than death! Improv comedians have learned some techniques to own any room-and overcome even the most hostile of audiences. Here are some top tips from improv to help you nail your own presentations at work. 1) […]
My name is Max Dickins. I am a professional comedian and entrepreneur. On stage, I have appeared on TV programmes such as Michael McIntyre’s Big Show. Off stage, I am co-director of Hoopla, a school of improvisation and London’s first dedicated improvised comedy theatre. I am also lucky enough to work with managers from leading[…]
A lot of people find meetings, especially with new people, awkward and anxiety inducing. There are many different reasons for this, of course. The one I hear most often from clients I work with in my coaching work is that the pressure gets to them. The meeting might be high stakes, perhaps with an important[…]
Who’d have thought, way back in January, that, ‘Karen, you’re on mute’ would be one of the phrases of the year? And, oh how we laughed at that poor Professor when his kids came dancing into his office when he was live on TV. Now we’re all trying to keep the show on the road[…]
Every month we give discounted courses to students and people who are unemployed or on low income. How to apply for a scholarship place Have a look at the full range of our improv classes and once you’ve found one you would like to do please contact us at [email protected] with: Your name. What course[…]