NEW COURSE ALERT: Design Engaging Sessions with 
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Greetings from Barcelona☀️
🙌Many thanks for reading The Quest.
If you are joining for the first time, welcome to our deep dive into facilitation, learning, and how to live a creative life.
In this week’s edition:
🎵How to be more improvisational, pointers from jazz musicians, and a bonus playlist made for you.
Let’s jump right in!
😳It was a moment of sheer panic.
I was about to co-lead my first facilitation training. I had spent days writing out pages of meticulous color-coded notes. I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
Everyone was ready to start.
I reached under my chair to grab my notes. They weren’t there. My pulse started to race. I quickly scanned the room. And then I saw it. The yellow clip holds the pages together. Under a chair all the way on the other side of the room. There was nothing I could do.
I had to wing it.
Fortunately for me and the group, my co-facilitator Charlie was a seasoned pro. He didn’t have notes. Unlike me, he wasn’t winging it. Nooooo. He was following a plan and improvising when needed. He was completely tuned into the group.
It was a masterclass in improvisation.
Charlie was also a musician. He was well-versed in exploring the unknown. He wasn’t afraid of losing control or making mistakes. And he made it look effortless.
It was a game-changer.
Full transparency here. As a recovering perfectionist, I still like having my notes. But learning to be more improvisational has transformed the way I lead groups.
You can learn to be more improvisational.
When you do you feel more at ease. It helps you to think on your feet. You create better quality experiences for your groups. And it can spark a whole lot of creativity and fun.
🤔How can you be more improvisational?
That’s our Quest for this week. 🔎
👉This is your brain on improvisation – and why your creativity depends on it
👉How facilitators are like jazz musicians
Plus
🔀A jazz improv playlist made especially for you
🧠This is your brain on improvisation – and why your creativity depends on it
A fascinating 20 min episode of Fast Company’s podcast Creative Conversation podcast on what happens to your brain when you improvise and how you’re better than you think.
Podcast host KC Ifeanyi interviews surgeon, neuroscientist, and musician Dr. Charles Limb. Dr. Limb studies what happens inside the improvising brain and how we can apply that kind of creativity in our everyday lives.
Here’s what Dr. Limb has found:
👉When Jazz musicians improvise, the area of the brain responsible for self-monitoring shuts off, and the area for self-expression lights up.
👉This is a completely different response from a “complex memorized task” like reading sheet music where the brain is constantly checking to see if it’s getting it “right”.
In other words, jazz musicians are able to let go of their inhibition.
New York-based Jazz PianistLawrence Fieldsexplains how with some pointers:
👉Learn new things. Get used to the feeling of starting something new because it helps you face your fears.
👉Hang out in the “grey space” of uncertainty. Don’t give up on something because you can’t completely control it. Find out what you can control to make yourself feel comfortable.
👉Practice your moves. Rehearse in a way that you’ll be able to duplicate a movement when you improvise.
Dr. Limb comes back in at the end to remind us that we improvise every day. And we get better at it by doing it more.
Listen to the full podcast 👉 here.
What’s one thing you can do today to train your improvisation muscles?
🎹How facilitators are like Jazz Musicians
It is becoming clearer to me that exceptional facilitators are a lot like jazz musicians👇
What have I missed?
 Gwyn Wansbrough 🚢 |
🎵Bonus Jazz Playlist
My jazz piano teacher once told me that one of the keys to learning to improvise was to study the solos of jazz greats. That sounded like fun.
Then he pulled out a binder of manuscript paper where he had transcribed every single one of Miles Davis’ solos. 🤯
I got as far as putting together a playlist of some of the jazz solos that have inspired me.😅 I hope it will inspire you too.
Check out the playlist 👉 here.
What solos would you add?
💌Thanks for reading The Quest
I always love hearing your feedback and suggestions. Just hit reply to share your thoughts and ideas.
🙌Special shout-outs to Barry and Michaele in Bracebridge, Connie in Toronto, and to Romy for the shout-out on Linkedin😀.
Visit my website for ways we can work together 👉 here.
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Creatively yours,
