UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During their two-week orientation to the program, members of the Penn State Smeal MBA Class of 2016 called upon improvisation comedy techniques to improve their communication and networking skills in a session with CSz Business.
The MBA Improv Communications session is a new initiative this year, says Emily Giacomini, associate director of MBA Career Services. CSz Business player Andrew Tarvin led the two-hour MBA session at Smeal. He coached the group of about 80 students—as well as Penn State Smeal MBA Program staff—through a number of exercises meant to improve listening skills, brainstorming techniques, and teamwork.
“At first glance, someone might ask, ‘Well, what does improv comedy have to do with business?’” said Giacomini. “But Andrew really applied the lessons to business communications and networking, and he did so in a fun and memorable way."
One exercise, meant to show the difficulty of multitasking, required participants to hold a conversation while attempting to solve a math problem in their heads. Another asked participants to explain a concept that seems commonplace to us today—for instance, a microwave—as if they were speaking to someone who lived centuries ago.
Group discussions after each exercise gave participants an opportunity to talk about the parts that came naturally and the parts that were most challenging. Tarvin used these discussions to compare the skills necessary for each exercise to the skills they might use in a business meeting or at a networking opportunity.