MEGA SESSION: Stop! Don’t Think! Improvise Instead
Life is improvised. Sure, “luck favors the prepared mind.” Yet no matter how much you prepare, true leadership is demonstrated in the moment, when the unexpected occurs. This session teaches you how to apply the best practices of improv comedy to day-to-day business life. Learn a style of thinking, listening, and working that is spontaneous, creative, and results-oriented. You’ll be laughing while advancing your business goals.
Shawn Westfall
The exclusive teacher of improvisational comedy at the DC Improv for more than eight years, Shawn Westfall teaches classes in beginning improv, advanced short-form and long-form improv, as well as improv workshops focusing on character, long form, and non-traditional improv techniques. His classes (and the numerous performances they've generated) have been featured in the pages of The Washington Post, The Washington Post Express, Washingtonian magazine, as well on Washington Post Radio, DC 101, WTOP Radio, Mix 107.3's "The Jack Diamond Morning Show," on The Food Network's "Dinner: Impossible!," as well as on such local media outlets as K Street Kate's video weblog, and other local blogs, including WeLoveDC.com, among many others. Not only has Shawn taught the principles of improv to individual students, he's also taught improv as a strategy for fomenting creativity, teambuilding and organizational development to various private, public and non-governmental organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Discovery Channel, B'nai Brith Youth Organization, Touchstone Consulting, Booz Allen Hamilton, and The Washington Post Company, among numerous others.
Follow Shawn on Twitter @shawnwestfall.
Cary Paul
Throughout his 16 years of consulting experience, Cary has helped dozens of commercial and government clients not only plan for the future, but enjoy the process of doing it. He has developed strategic plans, led decision-making off-sites, and created dynamic and exciting facilitated sessions. Clients have included Chevron, Speedway, Siemens, Booz-Allen, and Adventist Healthcare, plus public sector clients such as the Air Force Singing Sergeants, US Navy, Veterans Affairs, and Department of Justice. Cary is a BossaNova’s Chief Improv Officer, and the founder of The Village Circle Company, a consulting firm focused on creating specialized, facilitated experiences. Prior to founding the Village Circle Company, he worked as a Senior Consultant at HuthwaiteGroup, American Management Systems, and Booz-Allen Hamilton. Cary worked as a senior facilitator and engagement/project manager in each of those organizations, delivering expert guidance and support to the teams he served.