Improv Your Way to Influence
Avish Parashar is a fantastic opening and closing keynote speaker. He teaches audience how to incorporate lessons of improv comedy into their daily lives, helping them become more adaptable, innovative, creative, and successful.
For those of you who know me, you know that I’m a comedy nerd. I’ve probably watched every stand-up special on Netflix and definitely every episode of Who’s Line Is It Anyway? – both U.K. and U.S. versions. Yeah, it’s like that.
That’s why I am so happy I got the opportunity to speak with Avish about how his philosophy about how “Ding Happens” can be applied to communication skills and building influence.
I REALLY recommend that you watch/listen to the entire interview, but just in case you don’t (again, REALLY recommend that you do!), I’ve jotted down some of the highlights from the interview below.
Enjoy!
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Learn about “Ding Happens!”
- Anyone can do really well when everything is going right. But, periodically, the universe is going to throw some curveballs. How you adjust, adapt, and improvise will ultimately determine your success.
- Mindset before Technique: Learning new techniques and tools is great, but they will ultimately be pointless if you don’t have the effective mindset to adapt.
- Learn why I use my favorite interview question, “If you were a superhero, which one would you be and why?”
- Sometimes you aren’t judged by your answer, you’re judged by your reaction to the “ding”
- Why “yes, and…” is a way of life! (I LOVE this!)
- If you want to be innovative and creative, you have to get out of your comfort zone. “Yes, and…” can help you with that.
- Process of building your adaptability: awareness, asking if you could say “yes, and…,” then grow into the “yes, and…” mentality. If you never have the “yes, and…” conversation to start, you might miss out on so many opportunities.
- Very little greatness happens doing the same thing you did yesterday
- SPEAKER TIPS:
- … No forced volunteerism
- … Demonstrate the activity first
- … Be involved in the activity; don’t just leave it up to the volunteers
- … Use “yes, and…” to to keep your presentation on track when audiences have questions
- Your success in improve is determined by your ability to connect unconnected things
- Trust the Process!
- Spontaneity, justification, and incorporation is the 3-step process to successful improv
- The Medici Effect and connecting the unconnected
- Observe the physical reactions when you say “and” vs “but”
- “Yes, and…” requires you to observe
