About the Workshop

Have you ever been thrown off by an unexpected (or even unwelcome) question in a Q&A? Ever left a pitch meeting feeling frustrated because you couldn’t break through? When was the last time you suffered through a fruitless brainstorm or rushed through your presentation because no one in the room seemed to be paying attention? 

We got you.  

Welcome to The Goodman Center’s newest workshop, Improv for Do-Gooders: Tools to Connect, Create, and Collaborate. This training will help you make every audience more engaged, every team meeting more collaborative, and every work session with essential partners more creative.  

We’ve combined our 35+ years of public interest communications experience with our 25+ years of work in improvisational television and theatre to build a curriculum for enhancing creativity in yourself and your teams, and practicing the skills the best communicators have (which is about listening as much as speaking!). You will learn to embody skills that energize the stories you gather and tell, the presentations you give, and the meetings you lead. 

Oh, and did we mention it will be super fun? 

This in-person workshop will cover three pieces:  

Part I: How “Yes, and” helps us build together.   

The most famous “rule” in improv will help you and your team:   

• Participate in meetings with a collaborative mindset  
• Make brainstorms more productive and creative  
• Connect with donors about their goals and needs 
• Improve presentations by handling Q&A like a pro and honing your stage presence  

Part II: Loving What Is and Creating an Abundance Mindset.  

When we operate under a framework of limited resources (e.g., time, money), collaborating can be difficult. In this part you will:  

• Learn to move through tension or difficulty as a team and re-inspire the work you do together
• Discover how to create a space of bravery and trust where you can gather the most powerful stories of your work and tell them in the most compelling way  
• Find ways to stay grounded in your mission and vision when stress is coming at you from every direction

Part III: Strength Training for Radical Imagination.  

Creativity isn’t a faucet we can just twist on and off. This module will help you rediscover your connection to your vision and your inherent creativity.

• In presentations, learn how to inspire your audiences into action with a vision they can picture  
• In meetings, find more ways to access creativity for problem solving
• In pitches, learn new techniques for building lasting relationships with donors and supporters by connecting at the level of vision and values  

 We hope you will consider this in-person workshop for professional development, retreats, board meetings on or off-site.