"... application of theatre to organizational development is very useful. It renewed my faith in the power of performing arts to touch the heart, and true change only happens when we touch the heart."

-- Sally Fox, Director, Graduate Management Program,

Antioch University, Seattle

"There is considerable healing and movement occurring... as a result of the work you did with us. Your particular methods utilizing story, music and rhythm enabled our system to move beyond the familiar stuck places into an entirely new way of being with each other."

--Brenda J. Kerr, President, LIOS, Leadership Institute of Seattle

Group Coherence & The Physical Mode

Excellent collaboration and communication skills are now recognized as core competencies for every complex organizational endeavor -- especially team projects. Using physical learning tools to augment the development of good cognitive communication and collaboration skills accelerates the pace and enhances the breadth of gaining mastery in these critical areas.

If the group's energy level in a meeting is not consciously nurtured, it will predictably lose focus, creativity and coherence after an hour or two of cognitive work.

These following physical learning techniques and exercises are not "breaks," but purposeful techniques for continuously building group coherence by alternating the modes of group interaction between cognitive, emotional, and physical. In this way, the group's learning attention is contually refreshed and enriched, instead of being strained and fatigued.

Of course this out-of-the-box style of physical learning involves a risk. At the same time, everyone knows you can't hope to achieve a different result by practicing the same old methods over and over again.

And, because a risk is being taken, the stakes are raised -- and so is the level of engagement among your people.

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Physical Learning Techniques

Group Drumming

(5 minutes) Drumming together generates group coherence & alignment rapidly through entrainment of the collective brain wave activity of the group through the repetitive, physical activity of drumming together. This knowledge has long been understood and applied by military and sports organizations (e.g., drilling, marching, etc.,) for whom rapid creation of alignment and coherence is a critical success factor.

The result of the drumming exercise is an immediate upsurge of unified energy and connectedness in the group which prepares everyone to focus deeply and coherently on the issues -- from the outset. It is also a step out of the box from ordinary meeting design, and signals to people that this is NOT business as usual -- something different and intriguing is happening.

Ch'i Kung Breath

(5 seconds) This martial arts breathing exercise instantly releases physical and mental tension, overrides stuck mindsets, and restores fluidity and energetic vitality to the group process.

3-Part Harmony Singing

(7 minutes) By having people join together in a disciplined exercise that connects voice and breath, hearts and minds are unified and uplifted. This is another technique for quickly rejuvenating the emotional energy in a group that has been working hard on difficult issues.

Physical Communication and Trust Exercises

(15 minutes) A series of short exercises, drawn from improv theatre, broaden the bandwidth of group communications. These exercises rejuvenate people's attention by getting them out of their chairs and tapping into the energetic value of shared laughter, risk-taking, and physical play.

This kind of physical/emotional learning builds trust between people much more quickly than cognitive interaction alone can do.