Name Gesture Circle
From OER Commons Wiki
Improv Goals:
- To give participants tools to collaborate during the conference—new ways of being together.
- To help them see that they individually don’t have to have “The Amazing Idea”, that that can be discovered.
- To have them experience “Yes, And…” as a technique to achieve this.
- To build trust within their groups
Tenets of Improv:
- Suspend judgment (Stay present—evaluate later)
- Let go of your agenda/be flexible (Be open, see your partner as brilliant)
- Listen in order to receive (Listen for where you agree or can support)
- Build on what you receive (Connect and move forward WITH your partner)
- Make your partner look brilliant (Focus outward. Build on what they say.)
- Look for connection/what you can accept
- Serve the scene. (Serve the bigger picture)
Improv is NOT about being cleaver, funny, witty or fast. It’s about listening, connecting, and collaborating. It’s a “state of acute cooperation.”
Focus for the facilitator: to have participants experience equality; how a short simple offer engages their partner; suspending judgment to support their partner.
Name Gesture Circle
- Objective - Build trust and support; experience the impossibility of failure
- Setup - Stand in a big circle. Shake it all out. Move around. Lead in some crazy sounds and movements.
- Explain - Going around the circle, each person will step into the center of the circle, make a gesture, and say their name. Then the entire group will step into the circle and repeat the name and gesture.
- Example – You go into the center of the circle and say your name and create a gesture. The group then steps into the center and repeats your name and gesture. After you demonstrate, ask the group who is planning on what they’re going to do? Encourage them to try to be present and just see what happens when they step into the circle. They can’t make a mistake – everyone’s job is to make them look brilliant.
- Activity
- Debrief - How did that feel? What was it like to be supported and non-judged? How was it when everyone did your gesture?
Improv Resource: Life Plays
