One of the major issues in today’s corporate work environment is the “lack of trust and team work”. Businesses have to be ever so focused on the “Bottom Line” because of the competitive pressures facing them from the global community; including: corporate downsizing, restructuring and downward price pressures on products and services. As a result of these new business drivers, we have lost our sense of trust in our employers and fellow employees. These observations were made evident to me in the many companies that I have consulted with over the years. Most workers want to trust, build and be part of a team, but feel there is a huge chasm with management in this area. When people go to work and don’t trust colleagues and senior management, the work atmosphere is filled with a negative vibe, much of which is unspoken. Some of the detrimental issues that a work environment devoid of Trust and Teamwork can exhibit are:
Uncertainty Negativity Fear of losing one’s job Lack of cooperation and collaboration Reluctance Zero creativity This is where Improvisational Comedy can help. I needed a break from the “Corporate Rat Race”, so I enrolled at The Players Workshop of The Second City to learn Improvisational Comedy. While attending the classes, I gained some valuable insights into human behavior that could improve and enhance Trust and Teamwork in the workplace by utilizing Improv Games and Exercises. One of my favorites, which I still use today, is Gibberish.
Gibberish is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as: gib‧ber‧ish /ˈ-/ Pronunciation Key [jib-er-ish, gib-] –noun
1) Meaningless or unintelligible talk or writing.
2) Talk or writing containing many obscure, pretentious, or technical words.
—Synonyms 1. nonsense, foolishness, babble, gabble, drivel, gobbledegook.
Gibberish Improv Exercises
Gibberish Commands
How it Works Players start in pairs. Have each play issue a command to her partner, in Gibberish. Players can’t move on until the command is understood and executed. Simple things will do, like ‘pass me the salt, please’ . The idea is not to mime the command, but to try and make it obvious for the way the command is issued, and the environment that has been set.
Translate Gibberish
How it Works This is best played with an odd number of players. Everyone in a circle. The first player gives a gibberish word to her right neighbor, who translates the word. The next player provides the next gibberish word, and so on.
Variations The receiver can provide both the translation, and a new gibberish word. You may want to add the origin of the language along with the translation.
Notes Any gibberish word might be translated as ‘banana’ of course, but that is not the idea of the exercise. For your translation, use the first thing that comes to mind. You may be inspired by the whole sound of the word (it might sound like something ‘known’), or parts of the word (only the vowels, or only the consonants), or by the intonation of the ‘giver’, or even by her expression or body language.
Gibberish Expert
How it Works One player is an expert on a subject, often provided by the audience. Furthermore, he’s from a foreign country (perhaps also supplied by the audience). The expert gives a lecture in Gibberish and a second player translates.
Variations Have the expert tell a story, instead of giving a lecture.
Just Gibberish
How it Works Play a scene, completely in gibberish, no translations provided. The scene should be perfectly clear to the audience – we should be perfectly able to translate every gibberish sentence, and the story should make sense.
Notes
This will only work if the stories are extremely simple, and if the platform is made clear right from the start. Some players tend to do this as a scene without words, but that is not the idea of the exercise.
Improvisation Strengthens Trust in the Workplace
When you hear the word “improvisation”, many people think about the funny antics of comedy improv that they have seen on a television show like “Whose Line is it Anyway” or at a nightclub. Most people are unaware of the power of improvisation and its ability to bring positive results to even the most negative of people. The guiding principles of improvisation are all based in Trust and Cooperation. By trying these gibberish exercises in the work environment, you can have fun and increase the level of Trust and Teamwork.
(Improv Games Compiled from Improv Eneyclopedia)
By: Doug Dvorak
About the Author:
Doug Dvorak Doug Dvorak is the CEO of DMG Inc., a worldwide organization that assists clients with productivity training, corporate humor and workshops, as well as other aspects of sales and marketing management. Mr. Dvorak’s clients are characterized as Fortune 1000 companies, small to medium businesses, civic organizations and service businesses. Mr. Dvorak has earned an international reputation for his powerful educational methods and motivational techniques, as well as his experience in all levels of business, corporate education and success training. His background in sales, leadership, management and customer loyalty has allowed him to become one of world
Vince Offer – Televisions Latest Great Pitchman
16
Dec
In the tradition of Ron Popeil (Ronco products) and Billy Mays (“Hi, Billy Mays here for…”) there is a recent addition to television pitchmen. This recent addition is Vince Offer.
Vince got his start as a pitchman, just like Popeil and Mays, selling products from a booth before live audiences. What he brought though, is a new savvy that lets the viewer know they are in on what he is doing and it seems to work well. This is true, probably, because it then disarms people from dismissing the product out of hand.
Vince Offer has hit products in the ShamWow and the Slap Chop. The ShamWow spurred the success of the Slap Chop in a number of ways. First, the ShamWow introduced the audience Offer’s style of a television commercial. That is to say with a wink he offers a slight ridiculousness to his pitch. Secondly, after the ShamWow’s success, like so many other celebrity endorsers, he is an established personality and able to pitch new products. Finally, he had the financial means to fully own and fund a second product.
This last part is what makes Vince Offer such an interesting business personality. While on screen all one would see is a pitchman, underlying is a business cunning. Sometime back Vince made a movie called The Underground Comedy Movie. It was a failure but Vince was able to turn it in a form of financial success as he sold the DVD via infomercial. These funds were able to fund the ShamWow venture.
But even the ShamWow is interesting because these shammy, synthetic towels have been around awhile. Billy Mays even had his version. But what Vince did was not only offer it with his style of marketing but also gave it his own brand. He did this also with the Slap Chop (marketing and branding) which is the Chop-O-Matic that Ron Popeil was pitching on television back in the 1950′s.
This just goes to show that the latest pitchman on the scene is not only an enjoyable personality like Mays, but also a savvy businessman like Popeil.
By: Darryl Noble
About the Author:
One can read about the use for a ShamWow by visiting the link. But if one is skeptical, there is information available. Visit to find the answer to the question do ShamWows work?
Free Movie Scripts
15
Dec
To understand what goes into writing a movie script, one must look through scripts of movies and even television shows. This exercise will throw light on how ideas can be translated effectively into a powerful script. Nowadays, it is very easy for one to gain access to the scripts of many movies, both old and new. Many libraries have an extensive database of old as well as new movie scripts available to those who are interested in looking through them. These are usually available free of charge. One can also join cinema clubs, which are quite common in many cities, where one can get access to the club’s collection of scripts. These can give a fairly good idea on how a movie script is written, to those keen on pursuing scriptwriting as a career. This exercise will enable the prospective scriptwriters to study the technical aspects of script writing. Very importantly, it will help the scriptwriter learn the difference between what makes a script a success or not.
A good script undoubtedly has a very important role to play in a film’s success. The advantage of having access to scripts is that it becomes easier for a person to understand the technicalities when he/she has a script in front of him rather than just learning them from a textbook or a tutorial. However, these days, with the increasing dependence on the Internet, one can get access to all movie scripts, both old and new, on the Internet, free of cost.
By: Kevin Stith
About the Author:
Movie Scripts [http://www.i-MovieScripts.com] provides detailed information on Movie Scripts, How To Write A Movie Script, Free Movie Scripts, Movie Scripts Online and more. Movie Scripts is affiliated with Free Movie Trailer Downloads.
Movie Script Format – The Basics
06
Oct
Movie script format is very important if you are a new screenwriter. As it usually goes, you are likely excited to see some of the ideas that have been spinning around in your head be put down on paper. However, while you feel the creative juices flowing with characters and plots, you also may be unsure of how to put it all down in an understandable way. There is a correct format for movie scripts and if you don’t know it, your scripts will be passed over by directors for that reason alone. They can’t make a movie if they can’t understand what the author intended.
It’s All in the Details
In order for your movie script to be understood by both the actors and directors, every aspect of the script needs to be separated and formatted. This includes everything from scene numbers and directions, to characters and dialogue, all the way to the action portions of the story. If this isn’t done properly, it will affect your marketability, no matter how good your plot line. Even as an amateur or beginner, you should always begin the process correctly, especially if you plan to move up in this career. While you can start with software that does much of this for you, it’s also important to understand and recognize errors which may harm your movie script format efforts.
Margins Are Important
One of the main techniques that makes movie scripts readable is the difference in the margins. For example, action and stage directions are usually placed towards the left hand margin, while characters and their dialogue and action sit towards the center of the page.
Capitalize and Punctuate Correctly
Certain things in your movie script should always be placed in capital letters. These most certainly include the names of all of the characters involved in your script. However, you should also capitalize action words. For example, if you want the scene to include a sentence indicating that a mirror will break, you would capitalize the action word. In this case, that would be “BREAK”. This lets the actors and directors easily pick out what is actually supposed to be happening in a scene. Also, dialogue does not need to be placed in quotation marks in a movie script. It is already distinguishable with proper movie script formatting. You should, however, punctuate the dialogue sentences correctly.
Page Breaks
Whenever you’re writing a movie script, you are limited to the space on each page. Throughout the script, it’s inevitable that you will end up moving to another page in the middle of dialogue or action. If this happens, you should let the reader know that the event isn’t finished. When flow is interrupted by a page break, this should be indicated by (more). On the beginning of the following page, include (cont’d).
Obviously, there is much more to think about to be sure that you are getting it all right. However, the more you practice and study scripts, the more familiar you will be with the process. If you have any questions or are uncertain of what the most correct format is, you should always err on the side of caution and look up examples of the proper movie script format.
By: Joshua Cohen
About the Author:
For more information on writing as well as hundreds of thousands of real world examples of movie scripts that have already made it to the big screen, go ahead and visit our website below.
Movie Scripts Online
14
Aug
There are numerous websites that offer free movie scripts from all over the world and from all time periods. One can get access to scripts of classics such as Gone with the wind and Casablanca as well as of relatively recent films such as Stepmom and Legally Blonde. There are many websites that have a huge list of movie scripts, ranging from old movies to the latest blockbusters. There are even websites that have scripts of certain rare and even unreleased movies.
Many sites also include information from qualified professionals who will analyze your scripts and provide relevant advice. For those who are interested, there are many clubs that one can join and learn more about scriptwriting from others interested in the same. Interacting with others of the same interests will help one to broaden their horizons and increase one’s knowledge about scriptwriting in general. You can get inputs from others on how to improve your script and what you can do, to make it more effective.
An important piece of advice when sharing your script online is that you need to ensure that you protect your script and copyright it, so as to prevent any sort of plagiarism. This can be done with a small payment, depending on the time period for which you want to protect your work.
A script is an essential aspect of a movie and it is important for scriptwriters to develop their skills by going through the scripts of movies and television shows. Only when one understands the technical aspects of writing a script can one write an effective script. Scriptwriting is fun, exciting, and a great big challenge to those who pursues it relentlessly. The greatest test lies at the early stage of weaving a tale that will hold the attention of the audience.
By: Kevin Stith
About the Author:
Movie Scripts [http://www.i-MovieScripts.com] provides detailed information on Movie Scripts, How To Write A Movie Script, Free Movie Scripts, Movie Scripts Online and more. Movie Scripts is affiliated with Free Movie Trailer Downloads.