About this item
"[Think on Your Feet] is a helpful maven's guide ideal for anyone who views a podium with fear and trembling." -- Publishers WeeklyGet out of your own way!Our professional lives are full of situations outside of our control. A job interviewer asks a question out of left field. A coworker puts you on the spot in front of the boss. Your PowerPoint presentation crashes at a critical moment. Most people react to the unexpected with anxiety and unease. We get rattled, stumble over our words, and overthink the situation. Others, though, handle it with self-assurance and aplomb. They gain a sense of empowerment and energy when the pressure is on. Like great improv actors, they're able to think on their feet.The great thing is, improv isn't about winging it or flying by the seat of your pants; improv at its core is about listening and responding. It's based on rules and techniques, and it taps directly into your soft communication skills. By incorporating it into your prep work for professional situations, you'll learn how to retrain your brain for the unexpected and get out of your own way in those unexpected -- and expected -- professional situations. Practicing improv isn't about being funny. Instead, it's about developing the mental agility to spin any surprise in your favor and to communicate with confidence.Filled with engaging improv activities, this interactive guide will ensure you never come away from a tough moment pondering the woulda, coulda, shoulda! again. You'll learn how to nurture your personal style for communicating in every professional situation. From effective listening in the office, giving presentations, and leading meetings to negotiating a raise, acing an interview, and more, you'll start communicating with confidence and stop letting the unexpected hold you back. Take your workplace communication -- and your career -- to the next level by mastering the art of Thinking on Your Feet.
About the Author
Jen Oleniczak Brown is the Founder of The Engaging Educator (EE) , a women-owned and operated company dedicated to helping people find their unapologetic, authentic and best voice, communication style and self through improv-based education. Since 2012, EE has served over 50,000 students, working with such companies as Viacom, Food Network, The New York Times, Saks Fifth Avenue and CBS. EE is based out of NYC, LA, SF and Winston Salem, NC. Jen's work can be found in publications like Bustle, Fast Company, Forbes and Moneyish, as well as her first self-published book Improv(e) : Using Improv to Find Your Voice, Style and Self (Balboa Press, 2018) and the upcoming Think on Your Feet: Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Impromptu Communication Skills on the Job (McGraw Hill Education, November 2019) and Care and Keeping of Museum Professionals (April 2019) . Aside from her entrepreneurial endeavors, Jen has done three TEDx talks on the power of improv, including one TEDxWomen on uplifting and elevating women. A firm believer in the idea that Yes, And can change the world - so firm it's tattooed on her arm, Jen's personal mission is to empower as many women as possible to stop playing small and know their incredible supernova powers. She currently lives in Winston Salem, NC with her husband Alex, dog Drumstick, and about two-dozen houseplants. Follow Jen at jenbrown.co or The Engaging Educator at theengagingeducator.com
