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Rating: 
Summary: A bit deceiving...
Review: I purchased this book and hungrily read it cover to cover. I had looked at the reviews and was expecting a book that would transfer the skills of improvisation to a corporate environment. The book is well written, but does not deliver on its promise. It spends way to much time rambling on about sizes of groups and spiritual references. Of the 263 pages, about 10 are relevant to corporate trainers, and improvisation techniques that are appropriate in business. Disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: More than just GAMES!
Review: I read this book from cover to back, constantly discovering wonderful new things that as an exeperienced improv performer, never quite knew or understood. Mr. Lowe does a splendid job at presenting "easy-to-read" metaphors on how the art of improv can benefit the small to the very large corporation. I would highly recommend this book to not just the savvy CEO but to the SAVVY improv performer who wishes to break out of the stage arena and right into the corporate training world. Hold on to your seat, Lowe doesn't just present old Spolin games, he defines their use in our technological highly-communication-based era.
Rating:
Summary: More than just GAMES!
Review: I read this book from cover to back, constantly discovering wonderful new things that as an exeperienced improv performer, never quite knew or understood. Mr. Lowe does a splendid job at presenting "easy-to-read" metaphors on how the art of improv can benefit the small to the very large corporation. I would highly recommend this book to not just the savvy CEO but to the SAVVY improv performer who wishes to break out of the stage arena and right into the corporate training world. Hold on to your seat, Lowe doesn't just present old Spolin games, he defines their use in our technological highly-communication-based era.
Rating:
Summary: A bit deceiving...
Review: Robert Lowe has written a wonder of a book! He has expertly and creatively transferred his wellspring of Improv knowledge to the written page in a smart and cohesive manner. Not only is this unique and timely book a must for professionals such as actors, public speakers, educators and managers, it is also a book for the layman who seeks to improve their communication skills. This is a book for everyone! Read it and see what I mean! Linda Himes Guyan
Rating: 
Summary: A Solid Effort!
Review: Robert Lowe provides a hands-on guide to using the techniques of improvisational theater to increase spontaneity and creativity in the workplace. He shows how to use these "improv" techniques to improve communication, break down bureaucracy and help people in your organization express their talents. He includes many examples, including guided visualizations, fill-in questions and exercises, along with personal stories and accounts from his workshops. While some of the tips on creativity and visualization will sound familiar to those who know self-help literature, Lowe's background in theater and improv makes his approach fresh. We [...] recommend this book as a useful guide for top managers and for anyone leading or working with a group or team. Here's why the show must go on.
Rating: 
Summary: Become More Brilliant in Business with Improvisation, Inc!
Review: This book deserves more than five stars! Robert Lowe is America's leading improvisation teacher for executives and managers. He captures the best of his years of experience in this fascinating book filled with exciting exercises to help you better tap into your inner resources. Most people associate improvisation with comedy clubs and speech tournaments in school. What has this got to do with business, you ask? Improvisation is a remarkable way to communicate because it creates more authentic messages and delivery of those messages. It is as though the person is speaking from the innermost soul. Compare that to reciting a prepared speech or script that you don't really believe in or understand. Those who have studied communication know that body movements and tone of voice have more impact on the hearer than the words that are spoken. With improvisation, those movements and tones are much more powerful and authentic. In a sense, your subconscious ends up speaking directly to the other person's subconscious. In improvisation, your subconscious loosens up to emerge with ways to act on subtle clues about your audience that you are not even consciously aware of. Comics often use improvisation to develop the basis of routines that they polish into slick, prepared comedy. In doing so, they are using the creativity-enhancing aspects of improvisation The most confident humorists rely only on improvisation for their comedy. Experience with improvisation can also help you and your team to have better ideas supported with both more confidence and more flexibility when you are communicating in an important situation. Robert Lowe's book here is especially valuable because it also helps you assist your colleagues to improve their improvisational skills as well. The wide variety of exercises in the book is very valuable because some of them are bound to feel very comfortable for anyone. But be sure to try the ones that initially feel uncomfortable. Often, those are the ones that work best once you let go of your conscious mind. Those are also the ones that make you stronger and more capable in less time. Another benefit of improvisation is that we all learn best when we are playing. And improvisation is wonderful fun! Why do I say that? Because I have used improvisation training myself, and found it helpful to me in many business situations. At the end of every exercise I have ever done, I was having a ball. Further, I found that I am more comfortable with myself after have worked on these important skills. I first developed an interest in this subject when I observed that many of the most talented members of our consulting firm's staff had acting training. These capable people noticed more about those they were communicating with, and had more ways to be effective in getting their points across. So for years, learning these skills has been part of our staff improvement process. From those experiences, I found that improvisation training was the best method to use. A major strength of this book is that Robert Lowe genuinely likes people and enjoys working with them. You will find a warm supportive style behind everything here that will encourage you and others to make rapid progress. But don't just read this superb book. Also, try out all of his recommendations so you can feel the power of this wonderful creativity-enhancing communications method! Overcome your stalled thinking that only traditional ways to learn can make you and your organization more effective!
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