Have you ever been in a business meeting or situation and found yourself thinking about what you were going to say next, instead of actively listening? Do those conversations end up building trust between you and the others? These scenarios cease to be a problem when you are trained in Business Improvisation®.
Bob Kulhan has been helping businesspeople understand and react more successfully for over 20 years, using his skills in improv.
He was a member of Chicago’s famed Second City acting group and has performed in the iO and Annoyance Theaters, as well as the PIT in New York City. He is also a founding member of the legendary musical improv troupe Baby Wants Candy.
Kulhan became fascinated with improvisation while he was in high school. He and a couple of friends would entertain other students with their off-the-wall skits designed to draw a laugh, or two. After earning his college degree in business, he was working his way up the corporate ladder and even earned an award from Bank of America for Creative Marketing for Small Business.
He was sought after by advertising agencies and PR firms but chose to leave a secure job to pursue his first love, improvisation. Bob told us,
“In 1994, I went to Chicago. That’s where you had to go to learn this stuff. Learning more about improvisation was important to me.”
He purchased a condominium near Wrigley Field on Chicago’s North Side and set about contacting businesses to explain the importance of using improvisation to improve sales, stimulate business and improve communication. Prospective clients liked his approach, but their normal response was,
“This is fun, but we can’t use any of it.”
Kulhan became disillusioned. He was broke, with no viable prospects on the horizon and in danger of losing his Chicago condominium when a business professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business contacted him. He was exploring innovative experiential learning methods for business, and asked Bob if he would like to help write the curriculum and get the program started. Kulhan jumped at the chance, he knew business and he understood the nuances of improvisation.
“I knew business and loved improvisation. I was excited to put the two together and demonstrate how they work hand in hand.”
Thus, began his collaboration with university professors, behavioral psychologists, and behavioral economists to dig deeper into the why of decision making. From those conclusions he created high-energy learning programs that produced successful results when dealing with difficult business decisions and situations.
From this first effort at Duke in 1999, he has made more inroads in the academic community and today is also an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School and has associations with UCLA Anderson and Wharton Schools of Business. Over the years, his programs have been used in some capacity with 13 of the top 26 business schools in the country.
Bob has led programs for hundreds of blue-chip companies, and he has even taught 30 of the top leaders in the United States Department of Defense. They use Bob’s methods to improve interagency joint collaboration and focus on three core competencies, reacting, adapting and communications.
“When you are focused on reacting, adapting and communicating, it’s not, ‘What group needs this?’ It becomes, ‘How do we do this better?’”
Bob explains the technique of, “Yes, And…” in his book, “Getting To YES And-The Art of Business Improv.” The phrase, Yes, and… is the cornerstone of improvisation. For example, in a sales conversation, rather than being satisfied with a No answer, or an objection to your presentation, simply respond with, “Yes, And — what can we do to make our product work for you?” Always keep the client engaged and let them tell you what they need and then explain how you can fill that need.
The book draws on principles learned from cognitive and social psychology, behavioral economics, and communication. In it Kulhan teaches readers to think on their feet and approach the most typical business challenges with fresh eyes and openness. He shows how improv techniques, such as the “Yes, and…” approach, divergent and convergent thinking, plus the ability to stay focused in meetings, translates into swifter decisions, stronger collaboration and positive conflict resolution.
The book provides exercises to help the reader improve their personal skills, plus it is useful as a training tool for large, or small groups.
Bob shared, “We all have our own pace and rhythm. It’s what makes us unique. These tools and techniques are applicable to everyone and help to bring out the best in every individual. Whether you are more reserved and slow to speak, or someone much more outgoing – even the most introverted still need to communicate.”
Business Improv® techniques celebrate diversity among the group. It’s about trying to understand what people are saying on his or her own terms and allowing their authentic voice to be heard and understood.
“These improv methods create a psychologically safe space for people to share their voices and build stronger relationships, to find real nuggets of gold.”
Bob has found in these pandemic times that his teaching works seamlessly using virtual programs. Microsoft Teams, Skype, Facetime, WebEx, and Zoom. From these online sessions people are building virtual teams to continue working together.
Although Kulhan and his team had set up virtual training several years before this pandemic, he sees the digital world as the standard of communication for the future.
“Everything we do in business involves people. Even though we are interacting with them on a computer screen, we still need to be able to relate to them and understand what motivates them and how to hit the right trigger to make the communication successful.”
Learning improv is still an activity that involves movement and focus. Even though he is using virtual online screening, Bob gets his audience up and moving. He and his team have created a virtual Open Enrollment training program that will be available later this summer. He is also continuing to book live speaking and training engagements for the fall.
In his spare time, Bob unwinds by spending time with his family playing baseball, even his three-year-old daughter gets involved, giggling and running around. He also loves cooking, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and enjoys sharing his respect for food and the earth with the family. And, of course, he’s teaching the kids improv!
Bob Kulhan learned a long time ago that listening to and reacting to what someone is saying and actually engaging with them would lead to more successful business negotiations. Through a love of improvisational acting, he has helped thousands of businesses grow and prosper.
To learn more about Bob visit his website: http://businessimprov.com/ . Find his book on Amazon, or contact him at: http://businessimprov.com/contact/
