Very few companies consider the benefits of improv team building activities when it comes to helping their team to connect better. Having a team that works well together gives you a unified presence no matter what your company may be presented with. Learning improv techniques can give your team the ability to quickly think on their feet and react positively when approached by something new or someone they have never worked with before. This ability to simply react in a positive and helpful way can give your company the edge over the competition.
Other Benefits of Improv That Can Help Your Team
On top of being able to react more quickly, improv can also help build up your team by giving them increased motivation and confidence. Instead of waiting for things to happen and then react, improv teaches you to be proactive. Your team is going to be more apt to go out and make things happen. They are going to know that they need to work together to accomplish big goals, and that is going to boost their cooperation and drive. There are no limits to what your team can accomplish, if you help them learn the skills to work together.
Finding the Right Team Building Activities in NYC
While you may not think that improv is worth the investment, consider the benefits your team would get. First, they learn to react properly on their feet. Second, they learn how to react to each other in a positive and helpful manner. Third, they learn the power of the words they use in a very quick manner. Finally, each of the team members learns to work together on a friendlier level. Improv is a great way to bring your team together in NYC or anywhere around the world.
Team Building – Thinking Outside the Box
Our improv classes not only offer the training needed to work as a team on its feet, but it also provides the added impetus of thinking outside the box. Improv is a brain-builder, requiring quick thinking and reliance upon self and others that can’t be matched by other types of team building exercises. With the ability to utilize their cognitive skills more rapidly, efficiently and creatively, your team will be able to see solutions not available to someone who hasn’t undergone this type of training. The Barrow Group will not only teach improv, but this New York City school will teach skills that will prove useful in each member’s corporate life.
Building Team Trust
One thing improv teaches you is to rely upon each other. It goes beyond trust falls. If one member goes up and can’t think of what to say, it’s up to the rest of the team to jump in and take over. This faith in each other makes for a stronger team, one that works as a cohesive unit rather than a conglomeration of individuals. Knowing that one is not alone in the team, ready to be thrown to the sharks, goes a long way in building team trust. Learning improv from The Barrow Group will not only teach your team to think on its feet, but will also teach them to rely upon each other when the need arises, creating a more interconnected and productive unit.
Activities to Build Teams in New York City
Improv classes at The Barrow Group’s acting school in New York City aren’t just for actors, but for business professionals as well. These lessons are especially successful in building teams, teaching the members to work together, trust each other and listen to each other. The success in the business world that comes from attending our exemplary classes is immeasurable. Imagine a team where they coordinate as one, each member becoming part of the whole, and all that entails.
There’s a bonding that takes place in our improv classes. It is built of trust and faith in the others, knowing that they can rely upon their fellow student if they go blank in the middle of an exercise. Shared experiences, scenes that have gone very well, laughter … all combine to create a fellowship that can last for years. This can translate very well into the workplace, where corporate teams need to work fluidly with each other, building a level of trust which creates a positive and productive work environment.
Examples of Team Building Activities in NYC
There are many different manners in which all of these listed objectives are achieved. There are improv games that help with team building activities in New York City, some basic and others more intricate, but all key to building your team into a cohesive unit.
One of these games is called Trust Fall (mentioned above as a good team building exercise). Two people stand, one with her or his back facing the other. At a prearranged signal, such as a one-two-three count, the person in front allows herself or himself to fall backwards into the waiting arms of their partner, who catches them safely. This exercise encourages trust between the partners, and thus effects team building at its very core. Partners then switch roles, with the “faller” becoming the “catcher”. All team members should interact with each other this way.
There is also a game called the Janus Dance, where two people perform a slow dance together; each with their head on the other`s shoulder. They are not looking at each other, and their eyes don’t meet. While dancing, they perform a 2-3 minute improvised scene. This offers invaluable listening practice, since players aren`t looking at their partners. The physicality of it is good for people who may be uncomfortable with some of their teammates, as a way to break the ice.
To find out more about how improv can help improve your business, give The Barrow Group a call today!