“One thing that I took away immediately was all the shared smiles and laughter in the room.”
An advisor of the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) Capacity Development team said this after the Improv Embassy delivered a tailored hybrid workshop.
Why they came to us
GMF is a unique endowment funded by the Government of Canada and managed by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The Capacity Development Team mobilizes knowledge, convenes peer learning networks, and delivers training to help municipal staff, elected officials and their partners build inclusive, resilient and net-zero communities.
Like many teams, they have been through a period of transition. They were looking for a way to re-energize and celebrate the team for all their hard work.
What we did
“It was fun and we laughed.”
Our 2-hour workshop focused on fun and connection. We also threw in some exercises that allowed the team to flex their collaboration muscles.
Part of the team was in-person and other members joined the workshop online:
- We started with a simple icebreaker to get everyone on the same page and comfortable chatting.
- Exercises then focused on transferring positive energy and building on ideas.
- We ended with an exercise that had participants innovating together in groups and sharing the hilarious results with their colleagues.
- Exercises were debriefed and related to at-work applications.
The result
“I liked how energizing the retreat was. I felt like we learned a lot of new skills and how to think about our work in a new way.”
This team had the most amazing takeaways from each of the exercises! They were really able to make the links with their day-to-day work, which allowed them to make the most of the applied improv lessons.
This included things like:
- We often get stuck searching for the perfect word or perfect solution. It can be ok to go with the next most logical step, in the moment.
- Energy builds – when we bring energy, it allows others to feel that and build momentum.
- There’s a constant pull between needing to innovate and having tried and true methods that have worked in the past. Things flow when both can coexist.
The team also collectively created this great proverb in French:
Un moment pour chanter une mélodie vaut mieux entre amis.
Beautiful!
Takeaways
“My personal takeaway is that it’s important to make time for fun. And to be mindful about the energy I’m showing up with and giving to others.”
This was the first hybrid workshop the Improv Embassy has done in a while. The goal is to bridge that gap between in-person and online to allow for connection and communication.
For hybrid workshops, some takeaways I have are:
- Have a separate smaller space for both a physical and virtual breakout room. That way, you can pair different online and in-person people more easily.
- Type in the online chat some of the keywords or phrases said in person.
- It would be great if the sound was perfect, but there will be lags or moments when the online or in-person sound will cut out for the others.
- Include notes about communicating across mediums in exercise debriefs. The impact can extend beyond the workshop when people need to work virtually again.
Want to smooth a transition for your team?
We’d love to bring smiles and laughter to your workplace too. Click HERE to inquire about our workshops.
Best in comedy,
Krystal Merrells
Corporate Team Lead at the Improv Embassy