Can improv team building work for groups of 20+ people
Whenever a client reaches out with the idea that they would like a professional development, or team building improv workshop, one of the biggest questions is how many people the workshop is for. In my opinion, it works best if you cap it at 16 people per instructor, but it is hard to hold that line for a few different reasons. Especially when the question I often hear is “Can improv team building work for groups of 20+ people?”
So I wanted to go through the advantages and disadvantages of holding a hard cap to the number of people participating in an improv workshop. And I want to look at some of the most common solutions The Radical Agreement Project (RA) offers clients with large groups and compare /contrast them. My hope is to provide an honest, sober overview that potential clients can use to help them decide what is right for their event.
WHY CAP A WORKSHOP AT 16?
A lot of the value of an improv team building workshop, especially the ones RA provides, is the instructor interacting with the participants. The reason this is particularly true with RA is the high quality of instructors we provide for our events; professional artists with over a decade’s worth of experience bringing improv into corporate environments.
Now I suppose just about “anyone” can “lead” an improv workshop, and if just “anyone” is leading yours, then I suppose a cap matters a lot less. The better your instructor is at getting everyone laughing freely, connecting exercises to clear takeaways, answering difficult questions about application, coaxing the more timid participants into exercises without them feeling forced, and navigating the psyches of grumpier participants so that even they have a great time, the more important the cap becomes. Because with too many people a lot of that just isn’t going to happen, so why pay for an expert then?
If you can keep a workshop to 16 people or less, all of it can and will happen in an RA workshop, to your delight.
WHY IS IT HARD TO HOLD THE CAP AT 16?
Honestly, I don't anymore. Ten years ago I did. But these days it feels wrong to charge a client for a second instructor because they've got 17 people instead of 16.
So now my real cap is 20, and even that's soft. No matter where I draw the line, it feels arbitrary to tack on another $1,500 for one or two extra bodies in the room, especially since some no-shows are guaranteed.
Plan for 18 and you'll probably get 16. Plan for 20 and you might get 17. So even at 21 or 22 people, I'll usually still recommend just one instructor.
Yes, the experience gets a little thinner. But it's not a cliff, it's a slope.
23 is where I normally hold the line. Past that point, you should know you're not getting a standard RA workshop anymore, you're getting a workshop that should be positioned in a large-group format, but isn’t. Not bad, but less than ideal.
WHY DO YOU CONSIDER A WORKSHOP WITH 16 PARTICIPANTS NORMAL INSTEAD OF SOME OTHER NUMBER?
To answer that question lets look at why improv workshops happen in corporate workshops at all. The way it normally starts in any given city is that a professional decides they would like to take a comedy class, as a hobby, you know? So they sign up for a level 1 improv comedy class at their local theater.
And they love it! Not just the fun games and all the laughing, but they come to appreciate the art forms reliance on collaboration, listening, confidence, staying present and clear communication. Eventually they think to themselves, “My goodness, if only my colleagues at work treated each other the way this class treats each other.”
So they suggest HR brings in a workshop.
And the class that inspires that suggestion starts with 16 people in it. That’s the experience the professional wants their colleagues to have. And that’s also the experience that leads to positive reviews and referrals and the whole phenomenon of bring improv workshops into the workplace.
So that’s why I consider a student teacher ratio of 16 to 1, normal.
WHAT IF I HAVE A SMALLER NUMBER?
The impacts of a smaller group are mostly good. The smaller the class, then more interaction between the instructor and the participants, the greater the class’s impact.
That’s true until you get down to less than 6. If you have 5 or fewer, the class might still be fun, but it also might start to get exhausting. I’d recommend waiting to bring improv into your office until you have a slightly larger number.
DO PEOPLE EVERY IGNORE YOUR ADVICE ON CLASS SIZE?
Yes, all the time. And it isn’t the end of the world. RA has delivered excellent, single instructor workshops for 30 to 40 participants, or for groups as small as 4 professionals.
WHAT IS DIFFERENT WHEN YOU HAVE 20+ PEOPLE IN ONE WORKSHOP?
I think you can boil the differences down to three main things:
In a larger workshop, you will have less direct interaction with your instructor. This means they will notice less about how you have done in the exercises and therefore not be able to offer feedback that is as meaningful.
In larger workshops exercises are often run in unison instead of people taking turns. This means your colleagues will see less of your work, tamping down on the team building impact of the activity. Since your teammates will see less of each other’s contributions they will celebrate each other less, learn about each other less, and laugh at the same thing with each other less.
Some exercises can’t be done at all with groups over 20. Games like Badada and One Word Story, that are played in turns, become laboriously long, and it can even become hard to hear each other’s contributions when working with 30+ people. So you end up missing out on some great games!
WHAT OTHER SOLUTIONS ARE THERE?
If money Is not an object, and your team has access to multiple rooms, (rooms that are suitable for an improv workshop), then my solution is to plan concurrent workshops in breakout rooms. Because that provides the best experience for all participants while keeping your scheduled agenda intact. It’s the Cadillac experience of corporate improv workshops.
But we live in the real world, where money is an object. So if you go this route, know that you will end up spending another $1,500 for every additional workshop.
Quick note on the rooms thing for concurrent workshops.
RA will always provide suitable workshop space for your event at no additional charge. They aren't fancy, normally rooms found in a community center, or dance/yoga studio, but they are serviceable. Fancier spaces are always available too, if you are willing to pay an additional rental fee.
But even with this offer, sometimes people want to keep everyone in the same room or in the same facility. It makes sense for team building, or at multiple day retreats when traveling even a little bit eats up an awful lot of time.
HOW DO CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS WORK?
Typically everyone starts in the same room. The lead instructor welcomes everyone, does a brief intro that explains why improv is being used in a corporate setting, and then leads everyone in a quick warm up exercise. Lately I have been using Yes And Conversations as the intro exercise and it works really well there.
Maybe this whole beginning intro takes 10-15 minutes.
Then everyone breaks up into their break out groups. If there are 80 people you will normally have 4 groups of 20. 147 will lead to 8 groups of 18-19 people each.
Sometimes, because of economics, you might have groups of 21 or 22. This is doable and still better than one group of 66 trying to do a workshop with one instructor.
People then work in their breakout rooms for 90 to 100 minutes with their breakout instructor. These breakout sessions are typically identical, following the same curriculum. Finally everyone returns to the original room where the lead instructor leads the group in a final, often scenic exercise.
This structure provides everyone with a true improv workshop while also providing the group with a strong sense of shared experience. All told the whole event will typically last 2 hours, though it can be tailored to be as short as 1hour or as long as 3 hours.
IS THERE ANY LIMIT TO HOW MANY INSTRUCTORS YOU CAN PROVIDE FOR CONCURRENT IMPROV WORKSHOPS?
No.
The most I have ever done is 12. But I would be excited to try 20. I just don’t think someone is going to ask me for 30, but if they did that might be a challenge.
Still If they did, I would try and I bet I would succeed.
WHAT IF I ONLY HAVE ONE SPACE, NO EXTRA FUNDING OR WANT TO KEEP EVERYONE IN THE SAME ROOM THE ENTIRE TIME?
In those instances we change the format to what I call an Interactive Lecture.
This means there is a lead instructor who delivers an address that introduces listeners to improv philosophies, strategies, and exercises and also invites everyone to try the exercises. In this format the instructor normally has a microphone, and/or stage, and/or podium. Depending on the lecture’s focus, they may also use a projector, or dry erase board.
This structure is normally shorter than a workshop, because attendee's attention can drift, I recommend 90 minutes.
While it is certainly true that participants experience less improv and way less feedback in an Interactive Lecture, they still do an awful lot of improv. This format also allows participants who are scared of improv to opt out of exercises while still learning about improv’s applications in the workplace.
This option is also noticeably more affordable than concurrent workshops as it is available for only my regular one workshop fee. Though you may choose to enhance the experience by adding additional instructors.
A PDF THAT BREAKS THIS ALL DOWN
This was made by a client who I explained this all to. They then created this amazing chart to help them make their decision.
SO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR YOUR GROUP?
If you've got 6-16 people, you don't need to think about any of this, book a standard workshop and enjoy the ride. If you've got 40, or 140, there's still a version of this that works. We should speak first and I’ll get you a tailored proposal.
The honest truth is I'd rather talk you through the tradeoffs for your specific headcount than have you guess. Reach out and tell me your number and I'll tell you exactly what I'd recommend and why.
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