Inspire Improv & Coaching

10/17/2025

10/02/2025

Are you someone who prefers to listen to your books?
✨ Well buckle up! ✨

I'm excited to share a preview of the audiobook version of ✨ Approaching Improv - Communication and Connection in Business and Beyond, ✨ which will be available on 🎉 10/15, 🎉 just in time for the Rochester Chapter Association for Talent Development conference!

Link to the full preview in the comments.

I had so much fun creating this with Scott Fitzgerald at ROC Vox Recording & Production, and I hope that you have fun listening!

11/25/2024

Full circle moment here.
A few months ago Monks reached out, letting me know that she and her partner, Templer would be speaking at the upcoming Conference in Anaheim, CA (that took place last week) and that they’d be referencing resources from my book, Approaching Improv.

I was thrilled! Part of the reason for writing a book was to be able to share the application of improvisation to a wider audience, in a way that didn't require my physical presence (although I love that too 😀).

This was especially meaningful because 24-year-old me, paying rent by working as a brand ambassador at events like the one in the second photo, at the very same convention center, while continuing to study improv and pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, would be really proud of where our journey took us.

There is a lot more I could say here about how this particular job equipped me with skills that are integral to what I do now, but it was getting really long. I think I’ll make a blog about it 😀.

Yes, my uniform for that day was a dress made entirely of recycled plastic bags and bottles and…very big hair. Recycle!



Image description: The top of the image features a LinkedIn post that says, "My colleague Stephanie Monks and I will be leading an interactive workshop that explores how we bring the principles of improvisational theatre into our coaching practices and the startling neuroscience insights that speak to how improv can help reduce anxiety, quiet the inner critic, increase focus and build foundational inter- and intra- personal skills. The day is just beginning here in California. So. Excited. Below is a banner that says, "Annual International Conference on ADHD2024 Connect Learn Thrive." Below that we see two white women in their 20s in front of an "EcoStation" wearing white dresses and handing a plastic bottle from one to the other. They are at a convention center. *

11/14/2024

It has officially been a full year since my book came out.

My continued hope is that this text gives folks the tools to:
🌱 Listen to one another from a place of curiosity and empathy instead of fear and judgement.
🌱 Look for what can work, instead of what can’t work.
🌱 Be more present with others.
🌱 Build psychologically safe spaces, where people can collaborate together, bringing all of who they are to the table.
🌱 Constantly be on the lookout for the gifts and talents that others bring to the table, and ways to allow folks to put those talents to use.
🌱 Make tough conversations a little easier, possibly improving relationships along the way.
🌱 Love through listening.

I’m sharing a slew of quotes that I hope can give you some inspiration to do just this today.
🍁 Which resonates with you the most? 🍁

To celebrate, I’d like to send you a free preview, simply comment …“preview.”

The full text of Approaching Improv – Communication & Connection in Business and Beyond, can be purchased on Amazon as well, link in the comments.

08/16/2024

"Conversations with People Who Hate Me," has been my favorite summer read.

It’s by Dylan Marron, a writer and content creator who hosts a podcast where he has conversations with folks who have left negative comments on his posts. The book covers his journey of the creation of the podcast and all that he learned through these conversations. He writes with humility, wisdom and curiosity.

Below are two short excerpts, that I’ve shared with teams just in the past week, while focusing on having tough conversations. We’ve always discussed the idea of moving from trying to “win” the conversation, to identifying a mutual goal, coming from a place of empathy instead of assumptions and looking for the humanity in the other person. He captures it so beautifully, I had to share it with them and want to share it with you as well! 🙂

“Unlike debate, conversation is not something that can be won. To pursue such an outcome would be like trying to dominate at compromise, demolish at understanding, or absolutely crush at empathizing…

If the fundamental building blocks of debate are statements and rebuttals, then conversations are composed of questions and responses.”

“Empathy is more than just a consequence of conversation; it’s the necessary fuel that conversation needs to keep going. It is the signal of safety that allows two people to continue opening up to each other.”

✨ Questions from a place of empathy not only help us to fill in the blanks with our own (typically not-so-positive) assumptions about the other person.

✨ Questions from a place of empathy help us to shift from attack to curiosity, where we are mining for the truth and for opportunities, rather than something or someone to blame.

✨ Questions from a place of empathy provide the clarity that to avoid unnecessary miscommunication and allow the other person to feel heard and understood, all of which allow them to feel safe to share their full truth.

✨ Empathy is also a luxury. Some folks might not feel safe entering into conversations with those who hold differing (and/or harmful) beliefs and that is something, to be sensitive to, especially as leaders or people who hold real or perceived positions of power and influence. There's a whole section on this.

What has been your favorite summer read?

My other top recommendations are:

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

The Women by Kristin Hannah

02/22/2024

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be acting as emcee, supporting over 30 female founders, investors and community organizers speaking at the Elevate Women’s Business Summit 2024!

Over 25+ local and national partners committed to sharing their knowledge and resources during this electric full day's worth of wisdom. Hosted at Arbor Midtown, the epitome of elegance in Rochester, NY, for a day that’s not just an event but a MOVEMENT!

📆When? Thursday, April 18th, 2024
📍Where? Arbor Midtown, Rochester NY
⏰ What time? 8am-6pm
😃Who? Women startups, small businesses and supporters

Join the movement by following Elevate Women's Summit and learn more here: https://www.elevatewomenssummit.com/

02/01/2024

Have you ever had to come up with a title or term for something and thought it was “new-ish" for you, when in actuality, it’s terminology that you started using years ago?

This first photo popped up in my Facebook memories from 2018 this week with M. Goin's team .
Six years later, "The Improv Approach," ended up being the term I gave to the methodology in my book, along with the reversal of it for the title. Ha!

01/25/2024

"There are so many notes, your brain can't pick one out, that's why it shuts down."
I went on a "Sound Journey" with Christopher Pedrone at my local library this week and this thought stuck with me.
I am curious to know more about the science behind this, but in the meantime, here's my guess. 🤔

Perhaps, when hearing a gong, our brain is takes in a wide spectrum of notes and (as our brain does), works to simplify or make sense of what it is hearing.

At a certain point, it stops trying so darn hard and just takes in the whole, multi-note tone, without judgment or expectation.

Is there a metaphor here? Maybe, let's see.

Is there a person who you might be putting an effort into making make sense to you, or to "simplify," when no such simplification or sense-making is needed?

Perhaps there is, instead, an opportunity to simply be with and take in the complex, beautiful, multifaceted person as they are.

Do you perceive a different metaphor here? I'd love to hear it!
Either way, if you have an opportunity to experience a Sound Journey with Chris and his sacred gongs, I'd highly recommend it.
https://soundriverarts.com/

He's currently looking to connect with event organizers at libraries, as well as those who work in healthcare, to provide spaces like this for rest, relaxation, and peace.

*I looked around for a scientific article to pair with this post but was unable to find exactly what I was looking for. I'm going on another "journey" in a few weeks, I'll ask then :)

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01/05/2024

Do ethics, teamwork and improv go together? Sure!

When Mike Palanski, PhD reached out with this question, neither of us were 100% certain this was the answer, but we were open to exploring the possibilities!

Through a lot of “yes, and-ing,” both bringing our own expertise, we wove an experience together that could serve Saunders College of Business students in a way that neither of us had considered before.

With ethical dilemmas, many times comes a need for creative problem-solving within a team.

Using the Improv Approach as a tool for having these conversations and exploring possible solutions (yes, even the terrible ones), the students came up with ideas that they may have not considered if limiting themselves to the obvious answers and stopping there.

In improv we call this the “first choice,” the thing that comes to mind … first. It’s typically the safe and obvious option. It is the second, third, and fourth ideas that get us away from the obvious and into the innovative.

We all had a bit of fun along the way as well!

PS. Thanks for being the first college-level class to include my book in your curriculum!