<b><font color='#090909'>Welcome to the All Districts 2023</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Conference and Session. Yes, and more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the unconventional fundraiser. We will</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>get started shortly. Please feel free to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>utilize the chat box to respond to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>prompts and put your questions in to the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>presenter into the Q&A that will be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>answered if time allows at the end of the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session. Please join me in welcoming our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>presenter, James.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Let's get this show on the road, huh? We</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have short for time. So hey, welcome</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone. My name is James Wasilewski,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm at Virginia Commonwealth University</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>as Executive Director of Leadership</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Annual Giving and I also do improv on</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this side. But I also, I've been doing it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for 20 years, but I also do apply to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>improv. So a lot of the things that I do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>either as unconventional fundraiser</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>separately as I apply improv concepts to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the work that we do, the soft people</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>skills or human development. So it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>making a lot of fun, humorous and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hopefully educational as well, but I kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of get to it. If I'm speaking fast, I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>apologize. There's a lot of content I try</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to appropriately pronunciate and it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>also virtual. So this is a different</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>space than it would have been in person.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Always happy to have that conversation</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>offline to make it in person potentially.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>But then we can also let's explore what</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we can explore today and I'll make sure I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hit the meat of the content. All right.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And if there's any technical snafu's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I apologize in advance, so please forgive</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>me and some grace. But welcome today,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>so just a quick check in with everyone</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and I want to let everyone know. I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hoping that everyone has a little bit of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>fun today, and also that you learn at</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>least one thing by choosing this test</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session and attending today as well. But</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's a quick check in just as a word, so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it is currently a Tuesday. What's a word</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that currently describes your Tuesday?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Sharing the chat at this time if you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>could. Anybody.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>OK, Taco, you know what? I have a sign</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about tacos in my room right now. It's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rainy. It's commencement. I'm sorry,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Zoom, it's summer. Oh, there are a lot</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of Taco Tuesdays. You know, I probably</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have an hamburgers. Later meetings,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>tires. Sunny. First back. First day back.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Leftovers of remote Tuesday. No AC. Oh,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Matthew, I'm so sorry to hear that, but I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>appreciate everyone checking in. Letting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>go of short week. That is true. You know,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>they call a Tuesday that starts the week</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>instead of a Monday. The moose days. It's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>a thing. So let's go ahead and keep</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>checking in here so. We're going to do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>an introduction overall. I already kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of told you a little bit about me. We're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to talk some information in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session today. We're going to do some</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>exercises. They're going to breakout</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rooms. They're going to happen. I think</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>one of the best ways that people have the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>opportunity to learn is an application</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and practice as well. And then we'll have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>a conversation after the fact and a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>debrief in a big group setting. Either</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>come off mute and have that conversation</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or chair some learned moments that you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>experienced in the chat as well. It's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>greater opportunity to explore and have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>those and they'll do a final recap. Out</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for duction at the end of the session.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So I told you who, what I am or where I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>am and what I do, the promises that I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>make before any session that I speak</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about is that you'll one, discover</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>something about yourself, your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>organization, someone else during the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session today that I want you to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>basically participate. If you have the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>opportunity. We'll talk about that more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in a brief second. And most of you, a lot</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of you already have, and thank you so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>much for doing that in the chat. And then</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>finally, I want you to have fun. There's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>actually scientific proof back in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>research that says that. If you associate</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>experience with a positive experience,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you're more likely to recall it. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's the kind of experience I'd like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you to have today. So let's have fun,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>let's let loose, and let's learn.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Some of the goals for today's session,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we're going to understand the concept of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes and from the world of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>improvisation, explore it through a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>little bit of practice and application</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and we're going to touch on accepting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>building and collaboration as well.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And then there's a very important element</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that goes into all of it of active</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>listening. But some ground rules just to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>kind of over top, if you can be present,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's cool on the screen, that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>awesome. Especially for that breakout</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rooms, so everyone feels fully present</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and in the moment that would be great.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Make sure hopefully you're listening</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>actively and attentively. I know we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like, hey, we're in front of a screen,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>let's answer emails or let's watch</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>another webinar while this is happening</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>because being recorded anyway, you know a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>lot of other things. I think focusing on</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it I think is great. Just to kind of be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in the moment and listen actively, be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>respectful for yourself and others. In</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>practice and also in critique that you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have, please don't put anybody down. All</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>ideas are completely valid in this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>scenario and situation, and let's be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>completely open and accepting to all of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>those as well. If there is any criticism,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>let's make sure it's constructive and is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>accepted gracefully. No one's attacking</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>anyone at all. It's just saying, hey,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here's what I heard and here's what I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>thought. Here's some observations And</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>they were avoiding those put downs. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hopefully we want to create that safe</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>space. And make sure you have that.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>You're critiquing ideas, not</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>people. So we want to make sure that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone has the ability to persuade</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>their own perspective, But also, it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about the perspective, not the person.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>All right. And then I don't need to do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that part because everybody can hear me.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Virtually everybody can hear me. You just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do a thumbs up. Yeah, that's good. I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>normally, like, raise a hand. Thank you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for the thumbs. I appreciate it. There's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>more participation. Or I have like a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>chime or like a cowbell that I do in my</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session so I don't lose my voice. All</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>right, so. You attended this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session out of the other sessions that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>are happening at All Case District</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Conference. Why are you here? I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>curious. Share in the chat why you are</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here or come off of you. It's always nice</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to hear somebody's voice.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>What do you intend to take away from this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session called? Yes, and.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Ohh, another improviser.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Jenna, Gina.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yes, Jenna, you got it. Perfect. Yeah.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm Wazowski, so I know how that feels.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Thank you for telling me. Awesome fun.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>New way of approaching ideas. New ideas,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>concepts, move things forward.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Awesome. Oh yeah. Moving</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>opportunity forward, a reframe.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Absolutely. Have some other sessions that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>kind of address that. We're gonna talk</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>more about that, Yes, and concept for a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>team and moving forward. Very cool.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Thank you so much. Keep sharing those if</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you want to keep sharing them just at the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>interest of time, I'm going to keep</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rolling here. So I am</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>curious and I'm going to ask everybody to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>share this in the chat if you can</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or unmute. So we're planning an event,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>OK, as a group as this group of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>260 plus people, what a what an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>amazing think tank that is. So we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to plan an event together for a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>donor recognition event, start</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>putting in the chat or come off mute.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Tell me what are some of the ideas?Give</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>me something, anybody.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>We're going to have student speakers,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes. And what else?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yes, and exploring what's meaningful to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the donor. Yes, and there's a VIP</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>reception. And yes, there are donor</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>testimonials and there's food.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And yes, there's a printed program.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Is Yes. There's impact reporting and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>storytelling, linking research to the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>cause, engagement leadership, adult</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>beverages, pending licensures.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yes. Awesome. Good food.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So awesome. So that's great. And just as</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>a quick example, I didn't deny any of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>those at all. That was a very quick</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>example of what we're going exploring</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>more today. Imagine you're in a meeting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or a group session or you're having a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation and no one says no.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Everything is, everything is yes and and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we'll talk more about what that is, but</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that was a very accepting, very open</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>minded kind of experience to just keep</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>building and building and building and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>then reflect back on what has been said</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>instead of denying it from the very get</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>go. What we do in our donor</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversations, that our leadership team</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>meetings and our team meetings and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>anywhere else with campus partners or</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>anyone else that might have, just imagine</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>if you carry the conversation forward</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>instead. So improvising means to manage</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in a makeshift way and do with whatever</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>is at hand. So some of us are familiar,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>potentially with improvisation. Whose</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>line is it anyway? Upright Citizens</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Brigade, Second City and so forth.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Just some performers. You know, there's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>some people. Ohh, who's that? Just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>kidding. Same shameless</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>promotion. There I am. There I am. But</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's about improvisation. We need</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to adopt it improv mindset and most of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>our workplaces I believe because it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>really help us thrive and really do more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and be more creative and it would have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>become part of our culture versus just an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>activity that we do. So it comes more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>naturally and it becomes inclination</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>instead of and it's a very intentional</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and so we start practicing it more and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>more and more. So in the world of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>improvisation, we want to stay present</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and then we think about it later, at</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>least in the moment. You also are very</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>open and stay and remain</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>present. You are here and you're active</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and you're being there for your partners</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or your team. You need to listen in order</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to receive. Listen in silent, have the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>exact same letters. There's a reason for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>them. You need to hear everything that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>out there and being put into the world</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>because everything is put out there is a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>gift to be explored. I know it's that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hokey. The president is called the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>president. For his everything's a gift.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>It's true, because everything you hear,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everything you observe, you could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>potentially use in a very positive way.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And then you want to build on it. Don't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just accept it. Let's build on this.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Let's progress. Let's move forward. Let's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>connect. And then make your partner look</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>good. But that's their job too. If</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody's making each other look good,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we all look great together. And then</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>finally, it's about serving the scene.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>It's about serving the project, the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>organization, whatever we're moving</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>forward to. Because it's not just about</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you, it's about what you're creating</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>together. So adopting that improv mindset</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and really going to focus on that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>listening and that building the yes and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the ending part of it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>When you have an improv mindset, there</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>are certain types of characteristics that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you can embrace beyond that of what I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just showed you in that mindset. So you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have the ability to embrace uncertainty.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>That dark cave? Cool. Let's walk in it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>There's that kind of mentality where you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have that spontaneity. I'm a tea on a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Myers Briggs complete tea. Spontaneity on</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the complete opposite side. It's a really</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>weird Myers Briggs analysis. However,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's because I can adapt and I can adopt</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to change very quickly, and that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>because of the practice that I've had</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with the skills that I exercise. And the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>same for all of you. You're fearless in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>nature because you are more willing to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>accept and you're more creativity and you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>take risk. There's more acceptance and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>affirmation in a group setting, your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>presence. You want to collaborate because</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you serve the scene, You collaborate, you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>work together as a team and you actively</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>listen. You brainstorm with more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>freedom and also including</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody as part of that conversation.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Not all of us have the same personality.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Not all of us can contribute in the exact</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>same way, manner or form, so sometimes</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>some people speak up in meetings, others</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>don't. How can we get them to contribute</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and feel like contributors and part of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the process as well?You have freedom</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>within that structure. You're positive.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>You're more compassionate about what you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do and positive, and it's really about</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that accepting part and knowing that you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>are accepted and your ideals are accepted</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and then they're being built on versus</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>being torn down as soon as they're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>presented. Or you're hesitant to even</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>present your idea because you know you're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to receive a different kind of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>greeting versus a yes And and it's not</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to be exactly the accepted in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>situation that you might be in. This is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>also a great opportunity to build</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with any prospects, donors,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>partners, anyone who's a partner of your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>organization or institution, to also have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that kind of accepting and building</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>process during part of the initial part</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of the conversation.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>It really opens U and removes all lot of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>barriers from any of that conversation</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>whatsoever. We're going to go ahead and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>skip some of these activities because</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>there are a lot of people here that makes</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it very challenging, but there will still</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>be activities, I promise you. So what is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the SN culture?I'm going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>read something to you all very quickly</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and I'll make it brief, but it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about creating a yes and culture. Saying</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>no is so often a knee jerk reaction for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>us. We say no because we don't have time,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we don't like others ideas, or we have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>our own agendas. We often have to make a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conscious decision to say yes. Sometimes</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's very difficult and challenging, but</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>if you try saying yes in a situation you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>might ordinarily have said no, you allow</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yourself to be receptive to possibility.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Any possibility you allow yourself to be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>surprised by that moment and you will</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>find that people are more likely to say</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes back to you. Look for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>situations your personal work lives where</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you can turn your quick now into a moment</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of possibility.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So in a yes and culture, it means that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>people must acknowledge what those around</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>them have already contributed to the idea</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of project task and then they add their</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>own ideas with an and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>use this creativity and you unlock it in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this space when everybody is part of that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>project or opportunity or conversation.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yes, is the acceptance of the idea</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>saying I hear you, it's an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>acknowledgement. The and is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about enhancement building</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>progression. Sometimes we don't even get</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to the end part. Sometimes we don't even</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>get to the yes part.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And it's a one person idea or show</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or opportunity. And you really</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>don't feel like you're part of the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>culture. Saying yes and to ideas</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>establishes an environment where those</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>around us aren't afraid of failure or</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>contribution. It's welcomed and you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>really start creating a sense of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>community as well. Because you feel like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you belong and you can add to it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So I always need to legitimize some of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the things I'm saying.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So hopefully a lot of you know who Tina</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Fey is. Very popular, celebrity</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>brilliant writer. And</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>so she wrote a book called Bossypants.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And it's a wonderful book. It's a great</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>read if you ever need that kind of book</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to read and you're not going to fall</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>asleep to it. So that's not the book to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>read before bed. But there's a lot of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this where the first rule of improv is to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>agree you always, you always agree and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>say yes, and then you build on it from</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the yes, and and then you keep adding</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>something of your own. Every unique</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>twist in addition to the Yes and.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Makes the idea that much more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>flavorful, that much better, that much</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>more unique, and it makes it more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>creative and fun to review after the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>fact of the initial conversation.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And an improv. There are no mistakes. And</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we celebrate failure, which is another</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation to have for another day. But</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we lean into failure sometimes, or our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>mistakes, so we can learn from them and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>build on those experiences.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So now we're going to try our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>best to do some activities and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>debriefs. So forgive me, I'm going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>share some information in the chat as</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>well that's going to give some directions</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>because I know the chat carries through</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with you to the breakout rooms. So you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have that still in front of you. But</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>before you go into those breakout rooms,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'll tell you what we're doing. The first</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>activity we're going to do is something</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>called Planet. That</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>planet, Planet.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So you are planning?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Let's say a Let's say you're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>planning a prospect</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>engagement event. OK,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you're planning an engagement event for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>your institution. So we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to break out into our rooms in just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>a moment and here's what I want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>happen. I'm going to share in the chat</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>now this round. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>there are the directions. The first</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>person will basically start.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>With saying we'll start with opening line</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of dialogue, we are planning an event or</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we are planning a donor recognition extra</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>event and engagement event every</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>following person. Who will</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>say something?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>We'll start with no. And</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>establish your order prior to this. You</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>know who's one through 10. And then you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>know who's starting every time in all</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>three rounds. But the first line is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>neutral. Every line after that starts</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with an O. I hope that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>makes sense. Let's break out. We'll come</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>back in about two or three minutes.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>As we kind of trickled right back into</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the lobby for the main show,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>so we did that first round of plan. It's.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>With saying no quite a bit we're going</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to, we're going to go ahead and. We had</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>another 20 or 30 seconds for everybody</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>getting here. I just can't do a hard stop</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for everyone.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So everyone has about 15 seconds.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Check that e-mail.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>All right. So hopefully everyone is back</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>after playing that round of plan it by</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>saying a neutral line and then saying no</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>after every statement just in the chat</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>real quick or if you want to come off</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>mute, tell me how that, how progressive</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and how well that round went</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and then or go ahead and put it in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>chat. I'm being</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>facetious, but yeah, we're not having an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>event. You can get</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>anywhere. Yeah. Leslie, I totally hear</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you on that entirely. Yeah, but you're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>right. No, there is no event happening. A</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>lot of discord, Katrina.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>There was immediately this sense of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like, defensiveness and, like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>automatically, like this sense of like.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>On cooperation, like not getting along</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>right away, like, and I don't even know</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>any of the people in my group. They all</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>seem like very lovely people. But I could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>tell, like what this experiment is right</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>away like this defensiveness of like.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>A bad culture feelings. Ohh yeah, I seen</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here over the chat too. Like it was very</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>easy to say no. Yeah it is easy but it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hard to come back from or it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we couldn't decide anything. It was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>awkward and uncomfortable.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Sania one to make sure I'm saying your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>name appropriately. So I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I could tell that there's a lot of lovely</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>people with lots of energy, but everybody</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was more hesitant because it was like a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>no situation. And obviously it couldn't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>be expansive because everything was going</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to get disagreed with. Yeah, it was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hectic. Gina, I see your hand up too.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yeah, even though, you know, you could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>see that this was going to be like what</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this was from the start, it's still</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>brought down the room like everyone was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like, oh, this kind of sucks to be here.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So, yeah, thank you for that. Yeah,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>absolutely. Thank you for that. And</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Lindsey, I'll take, I'll take you for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this last one. I was going to say</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for it felt like in our breakup room</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>thought it was actually hard to say no.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Like nobody wanted to just be like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>absolutely not to your idea.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So we just didn't want to say</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>no. Yeah, just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Carla, I see your hand up. If you give</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you real quick, I'll take your last one</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here and then I'll move on. Sure. So I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was in Katrina's group and yeah, there</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was just this hesitancy to say no.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I think that thankfully the whole</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>group was filled with yes,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>people of we'll make it work. So it was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>very unnatural to say no.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yeah. Thank you. All those for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>participating in the chat and also first</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>coming off of mute. Yeah that, that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>round whatever I just hear it. I can feel</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the icky. That's what I'm going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>describe it just because we're all, we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>all kind of working this space of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>service, right. And it just feels and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's on top of whatever it is. So just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>saying no but you're you're straight up</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and we call that in the world of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>improvisation is denial. You're just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>straight up denying every suggestion</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's made and think about</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do we have any team meetings like this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>ever?Gosh,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I can't recall. So sometimes that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's part of what happens in our own</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>workspaces professionally or other spaces</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>as well or there's just no, it's also</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>called bulldozing because I have my own</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>idea which we'll talk about in just a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>second as well. But that's kind of a one</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that we can see too much and know is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>now pending consent in those situations.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I want to make sure that no is not a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>wrong word to say in the space of what</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we're discussing right now bro idea.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Generation and collaboration, that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>really what I'm hinting at and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>referencing and make sure that I caught</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>note of me saying that out loud and while</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>being recorded. So the next one going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do, we're going to do the exact same</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>breakout rooms except this time we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to start, we're going to do initial</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>opening line. We are planning a donor</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>recognition event or a donor cult, our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>engagement event except everything is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to start with after that initial</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>setup line of yes, but.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>OK, so I'm going to give everybody a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>couple of minutes to do it. You'll see the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>60 seconds pop up after a minute, feel</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>free to finish out and then everyone will</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>come back to this room. I'll do another</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>quick debrief. OK. So sounds great. I'll</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>see everybody very soon.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>See, everyone kind of trickles right back</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>out into the into the hotel lobby there,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the main show. We'll let everybody kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of come in. Everyone should be back here</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in about 10 seconds unless they decided</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>they have better things to do. And then</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we will talk about this very briefly as</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>well.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Great. So everybody should be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>back. That was in our breakout room, so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>they disappeared into cyberspace. So we</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>went ahead and we did this second round</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>instead of saying no, which was kind of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that nothing really got accomplished.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And that last one instead, it was, you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>know, Eva. That was, it was still</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>awkward. If you want to come off Mike or</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>chair in the chat, what was, what was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about? Yes, but that was still like, kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of like awkward. Sonya, I see your hand</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>raised, OK?Sorry, sorry.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'll just go first. So I felt like there</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was a lot more momentum this time, but it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>stopped in places and people were like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>still defensive, still not expansive</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>enough. Right,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Eva. It just felt like everything was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like caveat, like, OK, well, I kind of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like accept that idea, but I don't think</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's 100% . great</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I see Ashley</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here, hands raised as well. Yeah, I think</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for me it's just it's it's a good</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>reminder that there's always a reason</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that you could object to anything and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>then that stymies the process of moving</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>forward. Yeah, absolutely. Ashley and I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>also see in here is like I felt we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going in circles, contradictory messages</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that are out there. It negates everything</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that was said previously. If Victoria,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>who felt like gaslighting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and then despair, discouraging still kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of all reasons that it can't. Work,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Samantha. I see your hand raised and then</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'll kind of get to my point in a minute.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>But like creating extra work, like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>every suggestion, every objection</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was an entire another project that would</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have to be overcome before getting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone on board. Yeah, absolutely.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And and the world of yes, but like, no,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>no. It's just a straight out denial.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Like, no. My idea,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes, but is sorry if you can hear my dog.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>He's walking through the door. It's like,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes. But my idea is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>better. Like, yes, I'm acknowledging that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you spoke. That's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>cool. Moving on, let me tell you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>exactly what my idea is going to be, and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this is what we're going to do. Like it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's just another way of denying. It's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just another way of denying. It's a kind</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>way of saying no is really what it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>is and it really didn't get anywhere. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you it's it's more of also a front to an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>extent because you know, you're actually</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just saying, yeah, I hear you, but it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>doesn't really matter. Like you don't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>matter, your thoughts don't matter and we</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>can't contribute to this. You can't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>contribute this conversation. So we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to do our last round here. Yeah.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Thank you. Please read the chat. There's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>some awesome stuff in there. I appreciate</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody sharing. Thank you, Elsie</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Scott. So go ahead and let's take a look</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to our last round here. OK. You know,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's coming. It's predictable. It is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>because we're built into it. We're going</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to start with the yes and part. OK.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So in this round, I want</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody to use</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>yes and do the same thing, same</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>setup, identical setup line in your room.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>But now. Every statement following starts</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with yes and. OK. So let's do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>our breakout rooms and then we'll come</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>back in about 2 minutes.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>About 14 seconds for everyone to get back</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to our lobby. Or we continue our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation here.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Alright, let me advance my slide.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>OK, everybody should be back. That was in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>a breakout room here. So we</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>did this next round, this third round</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>with yes and. Talk</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to the group about this. Chat</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>off mute however you'd like your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>preference. Yes, Lisa.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>One thing I noticed, not only was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it more energetic, but we actually</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>got through the whole room, which the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>previous two times we didn't and so our</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation was quicker and more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>productive. That's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>awesome. Thank you so much for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>contributing. That is probably about more</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>positive too. And people are willing to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>contribute.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So I got some other thoughts here that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>much more comfortable and productive,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that creativity is flowing. They built</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>quickly. It's so much easier to be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>positive, more productive, excited</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to contribute, exciting. It would seem</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like we actually planned an event.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Yeah, I agree. I agree. And it was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>quicker because there's something</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>stalling or like like did I just get shot</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>down? There wasn't like hurt feelings</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>during the entire process. So we can't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>remove the emotional burden ourselves</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just because it's the professional</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>workspace. I got through the room a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>couple of times. That's awesome. So let's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>talk about. So yes, and space is so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>much different. So I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>got a question here from Victoria. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>what if the original ideas and practical</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or otherwise not doable, how do you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>arrive at that this? So what I would say</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>is. Like, it's not practical. Like, let's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>say you're dreamless. Like, here's a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>quick example. If it's like, let's have a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>dream budget, like a limitless budget,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>right? Because that's a space where</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody has limitations, what would it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>look like within a yes and world? What</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>would this look like? Now we had</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that round of that session the next day</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>or a couple hours later, let's have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>another conversation. Now let's put some</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>limitation on it and have a conversation</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>about what this opened up versus limiting</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the conversation from the go.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So it's not doable. It's just doable in a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>different way. Perspective, and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone's had an opportunity to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>contribute to that conversation and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>sometimes the best idea. I'll say this in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>any brainstorming session that I lead.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Sometimes the best idea is the 15th one,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and a lot of times we stop at the 1st and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>2nd. So it's kind of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that mind mapping activity, you know,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like the bubbles when you get to that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>last one, sometimes that was the best</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>idea to go with and you never would have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>gotten there if you didn't, yes, hand it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So continuing that yes and kind of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation, it invites open</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>communication by responding directly and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>striving to build upon the other person's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>ideas. When you yes but or you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>know straight up that the that the Nile</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you devalue undermines you do a redirect,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you negate everything that came before.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Exactly what was said earlier in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>chat. You don't want yes and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just to be an activity. You won't want it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to just be an ice breaker that you do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>before a team meeting. You want this to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>become part of your culture. Where it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>very intentional. Anyone who's newly</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hired, new, current staff. This is just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the culture of how we practice what we</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do. To safe space, it's an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>open space, it's collaborative, it's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>creative, it's risk taking.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>It's welcomes it because sometimes</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's the like I said, the next idea</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>might be the best idea and you want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>get to it, but you also want everyone to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>feel valued and like they're part of the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>conversation and they're heard. So you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>want to create that culture of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>acceptance. You expand, you want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>expand your awareness. You ask what can I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>notice here?When you say yes to what is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>offered, you say what can I accept here?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And then add to what is emerging, build</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>on what is happening, progress. How can</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you build on the ideas and perspectives</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of what was offered previously?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So I want to let everyone know, I'm very</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>aware of the time. It's almost 1245</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>already. We've had a blast together. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it's just going to be a little bit</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>shorter. So what I want to do is I want</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to do this final session in pairs and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>then I want to do my final. So you just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have to click through a few slides when</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everybody comes back. But let me get to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it. So this activity is called giving a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>gift. In giving a gift and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I will share this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in the chat as well. You're going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>pair up or be in groups of three. OK, so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone might be an observer, everyone</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>might get it. Hopefully gets a chance to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>go establish an order that you have.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>One person, one at a time, will create</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>something of value, will hold something</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of value with this magical ball of clay</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to have in front of the camera, OK Or you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>can just have a prized possession that's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>sitting on your desk. You say, here's why</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I value it, here's why it's so amazing,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>etcetera, etcetera. And now I'm giving</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it. To you.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And all I want that person to say is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>thank you so much for this blank. I now</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>can use it to blank. Does that make</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>sense? That's it. That's the entire</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>activity. So let me go ahead and put that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in the chat so everyone has it in front</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of them. Perfect. Let's do our breakout</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rooms for a few, a couple minutes. We'll</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>come back, we'll briefly talk about it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and then we'll kind of close the session</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>out. Cool. Awesome.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I think we're navigating and manipulating</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>our breakout rooms, likely.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>From 1:50.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Or I'm just going to ask a couple people,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do an example in just a second.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>OK. I'm going to do an example instead.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So here we go. Let me go ahead. Let me</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>see that improv mindset, right. So I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>only have a limited number of people on</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>my screen. I do apologize and I'm not</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>trying to exclude anybody. I literally</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>can only see 18 people including me. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm out. So if I call on you, could you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>come off mute potentially and participate</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in this activity?Yes,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm looking at I I see Christine</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Vargas and Tyler Bradley.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Can the two of you just say hi and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>introduce yourselves really quickly?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>What? Where are you?Christine</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Vargas, UC Davis and the School of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Veterinary Medicine. Tyler, I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Tyler Bradley. I'm from Bridgewater</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>College in Bridgewater, VA Yeah, I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>familiar. I attended right off Macon. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>there is small world, very small.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>So let's let's just do this activity as a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>demonstration to everyone and feel free</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to do this otherwise. OK. So what we're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to do Tyler, you have that valuable</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>object that's near you on your desk. OK</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Choose a thing. Christine. You choose a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>thing too. Tyler, you're going to go</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>first. You're going to say I use this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>item too. Blank, blank, blank, blank,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>blank. It is so valuable. I mean, I want</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to give it to you. Hand it to Christine</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and Christine. Just going to say thank</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you. I can now use this to blank. Right.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>And the Christine, you'll do the exact</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>same thing with Tyler, OK.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Do you have your object selected?I have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it. Awesome. And Justine,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I have a hat solio for you. I use</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it to take notes and all of my meetings</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and put together agendas.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Awesome. So much, Tyler. That's amazing.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm going to take it and do something</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>really great. So take some great donor</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>notes or maybe pass it forward to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>somebody else. I appreciate it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Christine, what do you have to get to?</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Tyler? Tyler, I have this little</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Snoopy ornament, which I hang because I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>love animals and dogs. I'm trying. You</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>can see, and I'd love you to have it.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>That is wonderful. Thank you for the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Snoopy ornament. I am going to use it to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>remind me of you when I need some</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>positivity around my day.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Very awesome. Big round of applause,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>either via video screen or,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you know, the camera or the chat.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Awesome. Thank you so much, Christine,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for giving that example. I'm typically</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>would have break out and everyone would</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have a chance to kind of do that. But</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>imagine if we have the opportunity to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have something of value to us and we give</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>it to someone else. But what does that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>we're accepting? We're accepting what</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>they're giving to us. We are not</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rejecting the notion of what they're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>providing to us, what they're giving to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>us, what they're what they're letting us.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Use in our own way. Nor are they</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>correcting how we use it. So it's a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>very accepting and we're allowing that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>transition. And in that space where</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone may not have the same</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>application or what they may want to do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>in a certain way, how many times do we do</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that as project managers, You're not</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>doing it the way I would do it, but</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that's OK. That's, that's, that's OK.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>That's the end part they heard exactly</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and acknowledge that. But there's an and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>part and they're building or they're</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>changing the process to potentially</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>enhance it or elevate it to a different</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>space as well. Tyler, Christine, thank</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you so much for that example. It was</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>awesome and you are too. All right,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>everyone. I'm going to go ahead and close</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>things out here in the next minute or</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>two. Let me go and skip through some of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>my other activities that I thought I'd</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>probably have time for and I don't, so I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>do apologize. Yeah, once</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>called first letter, last letter. You can</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>might be Google it, maybe the other ones</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>called type person. Maybe you can Google</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that too or you can contact me we could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>talk about it. So this next part is</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I liked I learned or what if there's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>might be something that you learned in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this session or taking away from the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>brief session as well. If you want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>come off mute and share what you learned</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>learned like or what if or share in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>chat that would be awesome. What's</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>something that you liked or learned.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>I'm happy to jump in there around</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>something that I certainly learned. What</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>what I learned is that I have an aversion</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to know. Didn't realize that</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>by myself until now. Like man, I don't</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>really care to hear the word no in</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>thought and when you're doing</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>brainstorming and so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and through the yes and help me</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>understand how I can better again show up</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and help people to better brainstorm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>through ideas that's awesome. Thank you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>for sharing Lloyd. I only see ask Casey</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>9. I know that's an e-mail, but I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>calling on you next. Thanks. Yeah, I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Shannon. I was just going to say I really</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>like that you pointed out the 15th idea</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>could be the best one because.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Um, yeah. It feels like people feed off</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>each other's creativity and it could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>easily, could easily happen that way.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Awesome. Thank you, Julie. I see your</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>hand up. I really like how</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you talked about incorporating Yes and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>into your culture and making it an</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>accepting environment for everyone.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Outstanding. I see a lot of comments here</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>too over the chat. We'll really like to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>break out sessions and the session and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the activity that we did for yes, and we</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>build on what we received, connect with</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>someone and move it forward. How a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>negative can be a no and and and it could</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>just make work more fun. Honestly and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Amber, I see your hand up and then I'm</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>going to go and unfortunately just based</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>on time, I'm going to have to move on</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>after Amber's comment. Thanks so</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>much. This is helpful. I think that it</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>was good to kind of go through this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>exercise. I think that we're doing this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>as a team. But with the other person</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>who spoke, I definitely think that I have</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>an aversion to saying no and</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>also realizing that there's a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>challenge sometimes with drawing</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>boundaries because we do have this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>culture of kind of inclusivity and no</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>idea is a bad idea. But some ideas like</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>there's no budget, for example, is a bad</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>idea. So, you know, thinking through</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>actually. How do you say Noel, I think</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>would be a really helpful</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>next session. So, but thanks so much for</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>this has been very helpful. Absolutely.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Thank you, Amber. I'm just going to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>breeze through the last couple of slides</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>here for everybody. So</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>as yes and challenge for everyone, I</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>challenge everybody for the rest of</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>tomorrow or today. Count how many times</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you say no. Umm,</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>totally. Because we actually say it a</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>lot. You don't say yes to everything.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>What happened if we started to saying yes</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>to answer different things in the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>professional workspace or in other spaces</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>that we occupy as well and see what</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>happens, to see what possibility you can</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>create. And then I also want to share any</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>of my sources, my resources that are</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>there, My slides I believe are available</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>through the case site. So you should be</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>able to access that in case you want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have a delightful read about any of those</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>things. And then the last thing is I just</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>want to recap on all my promises about</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>discovery participation. And having fun</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and hopefully everyone had the</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>opportunity to do that in your breakout</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>rooms or in this conversation. I want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>share my LinkedIn information as well.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>It's in the chat in case you want to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>connect or have a conversation or you</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>have other questions. I'm happy to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>entertain any of those. And ultimately at</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>the end of it, I just want to say thank</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>you everyone for having me here today.</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>Thank you, James for a great presentation</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>and thank all of you for joining this</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>session. You can return to the agenda to</font></b> <b><font color='#090909'>find your next session.</font></b>

improv principles

fundraising

yes, and

collaborative environment

active listening

embrace uncertainty

virtual session