ABOUT
JOHN SWEENEY SPEAKING AND TRAINING
After teaching corporate clients for more than ten years how to use improvisational theatre skills and behaviors to improve their work teams and environments, John Sweeney wrote a book -- Innovation at the Speed of Laughter: 8 Secrets to World Class Idea Generation. In doing so, John, the owner of the Brave New Workshop (BNW) Comedy Theatre, refined the theatre's corporate services offerings and launched the Speed of Laughter speaking and training programs. Using tools of improvisational theatre, the programs are founded on 8 Key Secrets:
1) Accept all ideas
2) Defer judgment
3) Share focus and accept all styles
4) Declare your point of view
5) Create a statusless environment
6) Reward innovation and creative risk taking
7) Always respond Yes First
8) Perceive change as Fuel
KEYNOTE
SPEAKING
John offers a
highly entertaining and thought-provoking keynote speech on the
topic of “Innovation at the Speed of
Laughter.” John will have your audience doubled over with
laughter while absorbing key learning points about
building innovative culture. John frequently brings one or two
Brave New Workshop trainer/actors to supplement his speech with
segments of live improvisational comedy in order to demonstrate
the specific behaviors he addresses. We recommend this service
for higher-profile events with over 100 people in attendance.
CUSTOMIZED
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
John facilitates
a ½ or full day customized
training workshop, focusing on how the 8 Secrets of the Brave New
Workshop can help build innovative corporate cultures. The Brave
New Workshop takes a consultative approach to all training workshops,
and John and his colleagues will request that our client complete
a detailed questionnaire and participate in several interviews
prior to the actual training event so that each workshop can address
the goals and needs of the specific group.
PROGRAM
TOPICS
Originally
applied to innovation,
creativity and idea generation,
the 8 Secrets rapidly gained popularity with our
clients.
Working
with John, these clients have helped us to expand
the Speed
of Laughter programs to include teamwork,
leadership, change
management, customer service, and sales. In
fact, John is currently working on his third book, specifically
focusing
the 8 Secrets
on overcoming challenges
associated with sales. We expect the book to be
available
in 2008.
In addition, John's speaking and training programs are often customized
based on client needs. If you have a specific audience or event in mind
or would
like additional
information
you were unable
to find on this site, please contact us at discovery@speedoflaughter.com.
JOHN'S
METHOD
Okay, despite the photo on the right, we no longer allow Sweeney to
do this. Instead, John uses a combination of lecture, interactive
and experiential exercises and
facilitated
group
discussion to keep participants
actively
engaged and learning.
Training workshops generally consist of the following structural components:
• Introduction to the Brave New Workshop’s 8 Secrets. John cites business case studies drawn from his own experience training and presenting to 150+ groups per year. He also establishes a common language and a set of behavioral norms for the training workshop. As only John can do, he humorously sets the tone for enthusiastic collaboration and attendee participation.
• Interactive group exercises led by John and Brave New Workshop trainers, reinforce relevant messages and actively engage the group in the process of learning. John facilitates participant discussion to apply the interactive exercises to the broader business issues at hand.
• Interludes of improvisation and/or scripted material, performed by Brave New Workshop actor/trainers throughout the training workshop, to actively demonstrate the specific behaviors and messages of the 8 Secrets and to keep the training atmosphere light-hearted and energized.
• High-octane brainstorming session. If desired, John can also introduce the group to the Brave New Workshop Funnel Process and lead a brainstorming session to address specific business challenges. A Brave New Workshop representative will take notes, displaying them on the screen to help spark additional ideas. We find that our clients appreciate having these lists for their practical use during and after the training session. The idea lists also serve as a proud reminder of how prolifically innovative the group can be.
EXAMPLES
OF RECENT WORKSHOPS
• Developing improvisational leadership skills to increase personal and team innovation
• Creating an improvisational approach to customer service
• Embracing change as fuel to increase effectiveness in turbulent times
• Using improvisation and the BNW model to develop sales character and point of view
• Utilizing the Brave New Workshop’s 8 Secrets for highly productive ideation sessions
• Applying the art of improvisation when giving effective feedback
While
improvisation is certainly an excellent tool for creating
entertainment, we have found that the core elements of improvisation
can dramatically impact leaders, employees, and entire companies.
The
best examples of this can be viewed by looking through our case
studies and quotes.