Some dangers aren’t really dangerous–not to life and limb, anyhow. Take improvisation, which you actually do every day. Your boss is late to a crucial meeting that you know nothing about and asks you to facilitate. Your computer freezes while you’re under deadline. A hiring manager for your dream job asks you an outrageous question on an interview. (more…)

Source: Carl Kissin, used with permission

I’m passionate about improv. It’s one of the most valuable skills I’ve ever learned. Improv has helped me enormously in networking, teaching, public speaking, coaching – really all aspects of my career. Summing it up in two words: Life changing, especially for me as an introvert. (more…)

Recently, after I gave a presentation, a few audience members came up to me and insisted that I couldn’t possibly be an introvert (could, too!). Why? They said I was “on fire”—fully engaged with my audience. I was giving a workshop on public speaking, and had a ball helping make such a universally feared activity accessible, and even fun. (more…)

In part one of this story, you got my first five tips on transforming the often-maligned business meeting into a productive and enjoyable exchange. Now I hope you determine that each meeting you hold is necessary, specify goals to focus the meetings, establish ground rules to make them run smoothly, set the stage for a collaborative, inclusive environment, and reign in the ramblers. (more…)

Beth Buelow and I share a passion for improv—and we’re both introverts, those creatures who roam the quiet, dark corners of the earth and are not known for speaking on the spot—if at all. Yet, we’re changing that. Buelow, a coach and blogger who runs The Introvert Entrepreneur, is also the author of Insight: Reflections on the Gifts of Being an Introvert. (more…)

Many of my clients fantasize about striking out on their own—saying toodles to the boss, the office politics, and the confines of company life. Of course, along with that comes kissing their coveted paychecks good-bye. For introverts, who are more detail oriented, think before taking action, and would rather spend more time listening than talking up their strengths, setting up shop for themselves can be daunting in its own ways. Yet it also comes with some advantages. Over the past couple of years I’ve had the pleasure of crossing paths with Beth Buelow, the coach, author, and popular blogger who runs The Introvert Entrepreneur. Buelow joins us today to share insights for introverts thinking of starting a business as well as those who have already gone down that path. (more…)