Diary of a Mad Business Woman / Improviser

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Diary of a Mad Business Woman / Improviser

It’s 2:15 PM on a Wednesday.  Your body has molded to your chair and your mind has gone into hibernation mode.  Such sweet slumber.  Suddenly the shrill ring of your phone jars you awake, your email is invaded by marching red flags, all marked “Urgent”, and your calendar dings a 15 minute warning about the quarterly meeting with your boss.  The list of tasks is staggering and the weight of responsibility is overwhelming.  What are you to do?

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Four Ways Improv Can Make You a Better Networker

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Four Ways Improv Can Make You a Better Networker

You just moved to a new city where you are out of your comfort zone, nervous and alone.  It’s your first day at your new job, and you think you’ve accepted a role that you aren’t quite qualified for.  Or maybe you’ve just started a new graduate program and your teacher assigned you a challenging group project.

In all of these situations, you want to build not only a professional network but a new social circle.  Where in the world do you start? Here are four ways the art of improvisation can help you overcome your fears, make connections and establish new relationships, all while having fun in the process. Networking is really NETing a new outcome based on the WORK you put in. Follow these four simple tips to help jump start the process:

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improve it! Challenge #1 "Showing Up"

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improve it! Challenge #1 "Showing Up"

Welcome to the improve it! challenge! This week's challenge is all about showing up for your co-workers and peers.

Here's how to play:

1) Watch this 37 second video for this week's challenge
2) Enter your results in the comments section on our blog page by Tuesday, March 24th
3) On Wednesday, March 25th a winner will be chosen based off their response and highlighted on our social media pages. *In addition, all winners will receive a spot in our Q2 Public workshop as well as receive a $10.00 Starbucks gift card.*

We will be showcasing a new challenge each week, and look forward to hearing your results!

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Going Up - Episode 3

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Going Up - Episode 3

As seen in Episode 2, The Spotty Truth has used improv to "elevate" their professional lives by applying the fundamentals to their current positions. We know that if improv helps them in their day to day, it had to help them LAND the job by conducting a flawless interview. 

To shake it up a bit, we wanted to see what happens when we asked The Spotty Truth to improvise based on the suggestion "awkward interview moments." This team was so much fun that our founder, Erin Diehl, even jumped in for a bit!

Now get cozy in your cubicle and be prepared to laugh, because this is a Going Up! episode you won't want to miss!

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Going Up - Episode 1

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Going Up - Episode 1

Welcome to improve it!’s video blog, Going Up! In this series, you will find our founder, Erin Diehl, riding some of the finest elevators in Chicago, with some of the most accomplished and inspirational improvisers in town.  

This vblog will give you insight into how the fundamentals of improv have “elevated” our guests in both their professional and personal lives. And, what better place to find out how they’ve reached new heights, then in an elevator? (Beware, this is not for the acrophobic or claustrophobic!)

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improve it! Public Workshop

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improve it! Public Workshop

On Wednesday, November 19th we held our first workshop open to the public at Robert Morris University, entitled "Use Improv to Improve Your Soft Skills." Participants in this unique and exciting workshop got out of their comfort zones, and discovered the impact that improvisation techniques can have on their communication skills and overall professional presence!

In our two hour workshop, guests participated in an interactive lecture and series of improvisation-based exercises led by one of our improv teams, Knuckleball. Everyone gave 100%, supported one another, and had a blast in the process. 

By the end of the workshop participants practiced how to use verbal and non-verbal techniques to enhance interpersonal communication skills, how to more quickly build rapport, and how to establish trust with others. 

We will have more workshops open to the public in 2015. Stay tuned for more updates!

 

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The RedEye Chicago Big Idea Finale! →

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The RedEye Chicago Big Idea Finale!

We did it! We made it to the final round of the RedEye Chicago Big Idea Awards! Thank you so much for the support we received from so many of you during the semi-finals --- we seriously can't thank you enough for your kind words, encouragement and votes!!

We would like to personally invite each of you to the final round which consists of an in-person event at Chop Shop on Friday, November 14th at 7:00pm. The event will feature each of the sixteen finalist companies and the winners from each category will be selected based on votes that are cast at the event! 

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