Episode 41

full
Published on:

12th Dec 2023

Caitlin Drago | Embracing "Yes, And" - How Improv Transforms Communication and Team Dynamics

Welcome back to The Last 10% podcast! In this episode, host Dallas Burnett is joined by the multi-talented Caitlin Drago, a leadership coach, consultant, and improv artist. They delve into Caitlin's fascinating journey from acting and improv in Los Angeles to her current focus on using improv principles for professional development, team building, and communication. Caitlin shares inspiring stories and insightful tips on fostering trust, creativity, and empathy within teams, drawing on her experiences to highlight the power of the "yes, and" principle in communication. They also touch on the importance of creating inclusive work environments where individuals can bring their unique skills and passions to the table. Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation packed with valuable lessons for leaders, team members, and anyone interested in the transformative power of improv.

For more information on Caitlin's work and services:

https://www.inspireimprov.com/

To purchase Caitlin's book "Approaching Improv: Communication and Connection in Business and Beyond"

Transcript
Dallas Burnett:

Hey everybody.

Dallas Burnett:

We're talking to Caitlin Drago today.

Dallas Burnett:

What an amazing woman.

Dallas Burnett:

She is a leadership coach, consultant, and an improv artist.

Dallas Burnett:

She has some incredible stories and secrets from her acting

Dallas Burnett:

career that can help leaders.

Dallas Burnett:

She's a great new friend of mine.

Dallas Burnett:

You don't want to miss.

Dallas Burnett:

This incredible conversation.

Dallas Burnett:

Welcome.

Dallas Burnett:

Welcome.

Dallas Burnett:

Welcome.

Dallas Burnett:

I am Dallas Burnett sitting in my 1905 Koch brothers barber chair in

Dallas Burnett:

thrive studios, but more importantly, we have a great guest today.

Dallas Burnett:

She has been in improv.

Dallas Burnett:

She's been part of a stunt show and now she helps leaders build trust.

Dallas Burnett:

Welcome to the show, Caitlin.

Caitlin Drago:

Thanks for having me, Dallas.

Dallas Burnett:

we are, we've just been so excited.

Dallas Burnett:

I've been very excited to have this, this conversation because I feel like

Dallas Burnett:

that, that your background is so unique and yet I love how you use it to help

Dallas Burnett:

people be better and higher performers.

Dallas Burnett:

So let's.

Dallas Burnett:

First of all, I think we just got to get this out of the way for the listeners.

Dallas Burnett:

Cause I just dropped a just total shocker there.

Dallas Burnett:

You were a part of a stunt show experience.

Dallas Burnett:

Like what in the world?

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah, so if you imagine medieval times, but on a pirate ship with

Caitlin Drago:

a moat surrounding the ship, that was it.

Caitlin Drago:

It was called the Pirate Dinner Adventure in California.

Caitlin Drago:

And the character that I was an understudy for was, oh gosh, I'm forgetting her name,

Caitlin Drago:

but she was the captain's wife who was in charge of the ship while the captain is

Caitlin Drago:

away, which he is for most of the show.

Caitlin Drago:

So, you know, I got to, yeah.

Caitlin Drago:

and what was fun about it was that there were some stunts where you needed some

Caitlin Drago:

muscle memory, where it needed to be something that you did often to really.

Caitlin Drago:

Get it?

Caitlin Drago:

Like there was one part where I'm supposed to start on like a, a large log, if

Caitlin Drago:

you will, swing out on a rope over the audience and then swing back and sing.

Caitlin Drago:

and I never could really stick that landing because I was just an understudy.

Caitlin Drago:

So at a certain point, I just had to say to the other performers

Caitlin Drago:

that I knew would be in that area.

Caitlin Drago:

Hey, I'm going to swing out and I just need you to catch me.

Caitlin Drago:

And put me back up and they're like, all right, cool.

Caitlin Drago:

So,

Dallas Burnett:

that

Dallas Burnett:

is awesome.

Dallas Burnett:

Here I come, y'all take care of me.

Caitlin Drago:

here I come.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Caitlin Drago:

they did, they always

Dallas Burnett:

They did.

Dallas Burnett:

I have been to, I actually have been to a stunt pirate show.

Dallas Burnett:

I've actually been to the one that is owned by, I guess it's on the East Coast.

Dallas Burnett:

I, I think apparently Dolly pardon owns it, it's pirate, ooh.

Dallas Burnett:

I can't even remember it now.

Dallas Burnett:

But it's a pirate adventure and it's the same thing.

Dallas Burnett:

It's not, it doesn't have a moat.

Dallas Burnett:

It doesn't have water, but it doesn't have a moat.

Dallas Burnett:

And so, it is fun and it looks like they are having so much fun.

Dallas Burnett:

And honestly, some of the tricks to do, I'm like.

Dallas Burnett:

I need that in my backyard.

Dallas Burnett:

So did you enjoy the experience that

Caitlin Drago:

was really fun.

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah.

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah.

Caitlin Drago:

It was really fun to get to do every so often and in a lot of times,

Caitlin Drago:

very last minute, so it was always very exciting on, on every front.

Dallas Burnett:

well, yeah, I've kind of asked, did anybody ever get hurt?

Dallas Burnett:

I mean, or did everybody just

Dallas Burnett:

kind of,

Caitlin Drago:

I mean,

Dallas Burnett:

somebody got spilled and it was like,

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Caitlin Drago:

So the interesting thing about stunts is that it's, because

Caitlin Drago:

you're doing things and you're putting yourself in, you're doing things that

Caitlin Drago:

are not safe, there are so many safety precautions that are put into place.

Caitlin Drago:

And safety is, like the highest priority so that people don't

Caitlin Drago:

get while they're doing that.

Dallas Burnett:

That's really good.

Dallas Burnett:

It's really good to hear because then I feel better because I don't

Dallas Burnett:

feel like they're putting themselves,

Dallas Burnett:

you know, they're at peril just for over my dinner.

Caitlin Drago:

exactly, no.

Caitlin Drago:

So like when I say I swing, you know, I would swing out over a rope,

Caitlin Drago:

I'm not just holding onto the rope.

Caitlin Drago:

There's also a loop that my hand goes in that I have then have to pull down and

Caitlin Drago:

has a safety so that even if I slipped, I'm, I might be hanging my by wrist,

Caitlin Drago:

but I haven't fallen on the ground.

Dallas Burnett:

That's awesome.

Dallas Burnett:

Okay, good.

Dallas Burnett:

then I feel much better than all right.

Dallas Burnett:

And so I can watch it and enjoy it over a, dinner and know that

Dallas Burnett:

they're having fun and it's all safe.

Dallas Burnett:

So that's good.

Dallas Burnett:

all right.

Dallas Burnett:

So you've, you've been in this career as an understudy on a stunt performance,

Dallas Burnett:

then you get into, you've had some.

Dallas Burnett:

So how do you go, and this is just a question I'll let you tell the

Dallas Burnett:

listeners, your background, how did you go from stunt to improv and

Dallas Burnett:

theater into leadership coaching?

Dallas Burnett:

That seems like, you know, a very interesting

Dallas Burnett:

path.

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah, so the stunts were a little bit of an

Caitlin Drago:

offshoot of the theater and improv.

Caitlin Drago:

that wasn't the starting point.

Caitlin Drago:

That would be a very interesting starting point.

Caitlin Drago:

And it is a starting point for some.

Caitlin Drago:

I went to college for acting.

Caitlin Drago:

And then after I graduated, I did some, children's theater in the Midwest.

Caitlin Drago:

I did a couple of contracts out there.

Caitlin Drago:

And then I really wanted to go somewhere and just put down some roots.

Caitlin Drago:

And it was New York or LA and I had visited LA and really liked it.

Caitlin Drago:

And so.

Caitlin Drago:

Went out to Los Angeles, and it was there that, I continued taking classes

Caitlin Drago:

and working and studying, and that's where I got really into improv.

Caitlin Drago:

I took classes at Upright Citizens Brigade, which is the school that,

Caitlin Drago:

Amy Poehler and Matt Besser and Matt Walsh and Horatio Sanz, you know,

Caitlin Drago:

that all of those folks founded.

Caitlin Drago:

And so it was there that I really got into the nitty gritty of

Caitlin Drago:

improv and fell in love with it.

Caitlin Drago:

And when I was approaching my late 20s and really just wasn't where I

Caitlin Drago:

was hoping to be at that point, I decided, maybe it's time to move on.

Caitlin Drago:

And so my partner and I moved back to the East Coast, where we're both from.

Caitlin Drago:

And I knew at the time that there were companies in New York and Chicago and L.

Caitlin Drago:

A.

Caitlin Drago:

that used improv for professional development and

Caitlin Drago:

team building and communication.

Caitlin Drago:

And there didn't seem to be anyone in my area of Rochester,

Caitlin Drago:

New York, who was doing that.

Caitlin Drago:

And so I started by volunteering my time and facilitating workshops,

Caitlin Drago:

mostly in the not for profit space.

Caitlin Drago:

It was there that I realized, Oh, this is what I really want to do.

Caitlin Drago:

And so I was working at a consulting firm at the same time and had offered

Caitlin Drago:

this to them as, it's a skill I have, I know it has this use I'm here.

Caitlin Drago:

If you want to give, you want to give it a go.

Caitlin Drago:

And so they'd pull me in every so often informally.

Caitlin Drago:

And then eventually, the organization went through some changes, I got my

Caitlin Drago:

coaching certification, and it became a little bit more of a formal part of my

Caitlin Drago:

job, where I now had this scaffolding of those coaching skills as well, which just

Caitlin Drago:

make you a better facilitator overall.

Caitlin Drago:

And then I had my son, and the whole world changed.

Caitlin Drago:

And I knew that I wanted to be doing this full time and just be

Caitlin Drago:

doing facilitating and coaching.

Caitlin Drago:

And so, with a lot of support, I left the consulting firm and I've

Caitlin Drago:

been working for myself ever since.

Caitlin Drago:

Some of what I do is still that straight leadership coaching.

Caitlin Drago:

The majority of my work, though, is around culture change, really

Caitlin Drago:

starting with how people communicate and connect with one another.

Caitlin Drago:

And that's through workshops and programs where we are focusing on communication

Caitlin Drago:

and collaboration and teamwork, using improv and the principles that go along

Caitlin Drago:

with it as that platform for interactive learning and that interpersonal change.

Dallas Burnett:

Wow.

Dallas Burnett:

That is awesome.

Dallas Burnett:

I love how you've chased.

Dallas Burnett:

What you enjoyed, and then you had some really cool discoveries on the way.

Dallas Burnett:

Like it, you shot for, you said, I'm going to do this cause I enjoy it.

Dallas Burnett:

And then you did that and you go, Oh, it hasn't done what I thought it would.

Dallas Burnett:

So I'm going to try this.

Dallas Burnett:

And then all of a sudden you found out that, Oh, no, actually this is right.

Dallas Burnett:

Here's what I want to do.

Dallas Burnett:

And, how cool is it that you get to put it all together?

Dallas Burnett:

You're using it all your experience.

Dallas Burnett:

And because of your background in improv, I love a good laugh and,

Dallas Burnett:

uh, and someone who's good at improv, man, that is just so much fun.

Dallas Burnett:

But you've got a book coming out called approaching improv.

Dallas Burnett:

So tell us a little bit about your book and give us some of some, maybe

Dallas Burnett:

some, strategies or a sneak peek at some of those things that you've

Caitlin Drago:

Oh, absolutely.

Caitlin Drago:

Happy to.

Caitlin Drago:

I called it Approaching Improv because I have found in the last several years

Caitlin Drago:

that I've been doing this, that when I walk into a room of non actors,

Caitlin Drago:

it's people they're on their yearly retreat, or they're doing a team

Caitlin Drago:

building thing, or Whatever that might be, or we're doing a whole program.

Caitlin Drago:

It's their first time with me.

Caitlin Drago:

And I say, Hey, we're going to be doing improv together.

Caitlin Drago:

Usually the reaction is not, Oh, great.

Caitlin Drago:

I'm so excited to do this.

Caitlin Drago:

and so what I have wanted to do and have learned to do throughout these

Caitlin Drago:

past several years is how to make improv something that anyone can

Caitlin Drago:

do, something that anyone can learn from something that is approachable.

Dallas Burnett:

So let me, all right.

Dallas Burnett:

So I totally hear you on that, but now I've got them on a

Dallas Burnett:

tell on you a little bit.

Dallas Burnett:

Right.

Dallas Burnett:

So before the show, we were talking and we were talking about improv

Dallas Burnett:

and I said, I've got much respect for you because you've done improv.

Dallas Burnett:

I wish I could.

Dallas Burnett:

I'm not a specialist improv.

Dallas Burnett:

And you said, you called me out.

Dallas Burnett:

You said, yes, you are.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's because you're a, because you're a podcast host and this is all on the fly.

Dallas Burnett:

We don't have scripted things.

Dallas Burnett:

And so.

Dallas Burnett:

I was like, Oh, okay.

Dallas Burnett:

That's amazing.

Dallas Burnett:

So would you start with the basics?

Dallas Burnett:

How would you define improv?

Dallas Burnett:

Cause some people see comedy sketches.

Dallas Burnett:

Other people see acting.

Dallas Burnett:

you just included a podcast host.

Dallas Burnett:

So how would you describe when you say the word improv?

Dallas Burnett:

What

Dallas Burnett:

does that mean?

Dallas Burnett:

Hmm.

Caitlin Drago:

Nothing is planned ahead of time and we don't have a script.

Caitlin Drago:

And as you said that I said, everybody is improvising all day, every

Caitlin Drago:

day, nobody woke up with a script.

Caitlin Drago:

And so when we look at some of the principles that allow those.

Caitlin Drago:

Performers that you see to be really successful within those shows and on those

Caitlin Drago:

teams when we take those principles and apply them to the way that we communicate

Caitlin Drago:

with and connect with one another.

Caitlin Drago:

It just makes us better.

Caitlin Drago:

Improvisers and better communicators and so the 1st, big principle

Caitlin Drago:

is that we always say yes.

Caitlin Drago:

And and that's this idea that whatever is thrown out there.

Caitlin Drago:

We listen to it, we accept that as the idea of the moment, and

Caitlin Drago:

then we add on to that idea.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh, I like that.

Dallas Burnett:

Yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And okay.

Dallas Burnett:

so in improv, if that would be like, if we're putting a scene together, you

Dallas Burnett:

don't argue with the scene selection.

Dallas Burnett:

You're just like, yes, this is the scene.

Dallas Burnett:

This is what I've got.

Dallas Burnett:

And this is what I'm going to do with it.

Caitlin Drago:

exactly, exactly, yeah.

Caitlin Drago:

So, if I said, oh, hey Dallas, we're gonna go, we're gonna go on a picnic, you would

Caitlin Drago:

say, yeah, we're gonna go on a picnic, and we're gonna have some sandwiches.

Caitlin Drago:

You know, and that, flies in the face of, you know, our natural tendency,

Caitlin Drago:

which if I were to suggest something that is not feasible or is outside

Caitlin Drago:

of the box or a little uncomfortable, our natural reaction is to say no.

Caitlin Drago:

And these are all the reasons why that's not good.

Caitlin Drago:

We can't go on a picnic.

Caitlin Drago:

It's snowing outside.

Caitlin Drago:

I don't have a blanket.

Caitlin Drago:

Where are we going to get our lunch?

Caitlin Drago:

You know, and so what improv does is, or that yes and principle, or I

Caitlin Drago:

like to call it a mindset, because we can't say yes and to everything.

Dallas Burnett:

right,

Caitlin Drago:

What it does is it puts our focus on what can

Caitlin Drago:

work versus what can't work.

Caitlin Drago:

And it forces us to listen to the other person because you can't add

Caitlin Drago:

on to something that you didn't hear

Dallas Burnett:

yeah, that's, yes,

Dallas Burnett:

absolutely,

Caitlin Drago:

right, and there's so many other waves that just that principle makes

Caitlin Drago:

when you know when you can model that.

Caitlin Drago:

When someone comes to you, you're actually going to listen to them and look for what

Caitlin Drago:

can work and what they're bringing to you.

Caitlin Drago:

You're going to be building trust.

Caitlin Drago:

You're going to be building your connection with that person.

Caitlin Drago:

They're going to continue to feel like they can come to you with their

Caitlin Drago:

best ideas and their worst ideas.

Caitlin Drago:

And it sometimes takes some of the pressure that we might put on ourselves

Caitlin Drago:

to have everything figured out.

Caitlin Drago:

And release that a little bit and know that it can be more

Caitlin Drago:

of a collaborative process.

Dallas Burnett:

I think it does.

Dallas Burnett:

I think that's such an interesting way.

Dallas Burnett:

The yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's such an interesting way of framing that because

Dallas Burnett:

it is a mindset, right?

Dallas Burnett:

And, but I love how you've boiled it down.

Dallas Burnett:

Cause you've taken a mindset and you've pulled it down into two words.

Dallas Burnett:

Yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And, and that's such a great reminder.

Dallas Burnett:

And I think that if we can approach things with that, yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And mentality, it's just, it opens you up.

Dallas Burnett:

To not only the ideas, but it also forces you to do exactly what

Dallas Burnett:

you said, which is you got to pay attention to what's coming at you

Dallas Burnett:

so that you know what you're saying.

Dallas Burnett:

Yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And too, so you have to listen.

Dallas Burnett:

So I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

I think that's a great, I think that's a great principle.

Dallas Burnett:

How do you see that playing out in, in, as it relates to businesses and

Dallas Burnett:

teams, if you're leading a team or an organization, how do you see that

Dallas Burnett:

playing out in sort of that environment?

Caitlin Drago:

Mm hmm.

Caitlin Drago:

Well, it requires people to slow down a little bit and, like you

Caitlin Drago:

said, pay attention to other people.

Caitlin Drago:

You know, we talk a lot about, switching, getting rid of the word, but, and what

Caitlin Drago:

people notice first is how often they say, but, and so people that can then,

Caitlin Drago:

start to kind of play with that and say like, Hey, you said the B word.

Caitlin Drago:

we're not going to do that here and people start to.

Caitlin Drago:

put forth these, this new set of rules or this new norm that we're

Caitlin Drago:

going to listen to each other.

Caitlin Drago:

We're going to try to look for what can work.

Caitlin Drago:

We're going to try to say yes and instead of yes but.

Caitlin Drago:

And what it does is it does it builds that trust within teams.

Caitlin Drago:

It allows people to open their minds a little bit more.

Caitlin Drago:

It forces them to pay attention.

Caitlin Drago:

And you go from A bunch of people who are maybe all saying the same thing

Caitlin Drago:

but seem to be in conflict with one another, but because they're really

Caitlin Drago:

focusing in on what the other person is saying, maybe even reflecting it

Caitlin Drago:

back for understanding, they move

Dallas Burnett:

times you're, yeah, you sit at a table and you're hearing

Dallas Burnett:

two people talk at each other and you're like, you're sitting there

Dallas Burnett:

watching this go down and you're like, you're saying the same thing.

Dallas Burnett:

How are you not totally, you should be smiling at each other right now.

Dallas Burnett:

You're about to kill each other and you're saying the same thing.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's just like what you're saying is using is the difference between

Dallas Burnett:

using and, or, but, I was thinking about that as you were talking.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's very interesting because if you had an idea, let's say you're in

Dallas Burnett:

a brainstorming session and you say, we need to do this new service, or

Dallas Burnett:

we need to offer this new product and the person across from you says, yes,

Dallas Burnett:

and all we need to do is get the.

Dallas Burnett:

This, supplier to deliver it three days faster, that's an and statement,

Dallas Burnett:

but it's still something we've got to figure out with the supplier.

Dallas Burnett:

But if I say, but the supplier would have to deliver it three days faster,

Dallas Burnett:

you just feel it's a different approach and it feels so much different.

Dallas Burnett:

Just changing those words.

Dallas Burnett:

Yes, I'm agreeing with you.

Dallas Burnett:

And this is all we'd have to do to make that work.

Dallas Burnett:

and even if I still see there's some work to do, just using

Dallas Burnett:

and in front of it makes it.

Dallas Burnett:

It just shifts the whole mindset, just shifts the whole attitude, energy.

Dallas Burnett:

I love

Dallas Burnett:

that.

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah, you're not promising anything, you're not making

Caitlin Drago:

any promises that you can't keep.

Caitlin Drago:

at the same time, both of you will leave that conversation

Caitlin Drago:

feeling so much different.

Caitlin Drago:

You'll feel like you're in, you're on the same team, you're collaborating,

Caitlin Drago:

the other person is going to leave, feeling as if they know that they have

Caitlin Drago:

been heard, which most people just want to know that they have been heard.

Caitlin Drago:

If you think about when someone is in, like a conflict scenario or high stress,

Caitlin Drago:

what it takes for them to Come back down to a place where they can actually hear

Caitlin Drago:

you is first for them to know that they have been heard, and for their thoughts

Caitlin Drago:

and feelings to first be validated.

Caitlin Drago:

And then you have a thought partner who can actually hear

Caitlin Drago:

what you have to say as well.

Dallas Burnett:

Exactly.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

Okay.

Dallas Burnett:

All right.

Dallas Burnett:

So yes.

Dallas Burnett:

And that's fantastic.

Dallas Burnett:

And that is in, that's an approaching improv.

Dallas Burnett:

Is that one of the

Dallas Burnett:

principles

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah.

Caitlin Drago:

Yep.

Caitlin Drago:

That's one of, one of the principles.

Caitlin Drago:

So I've, the book covers what I'm referring to as the improv approach,

Caitlin Drago:

approaching improv approach.

Caitlin Drago:

And,

Dallas Burnett:

I like that.

Caitlin Drago:

so what the improv approach is basically this principle of

Caitlin Drago:

yes and let me say too, before we move on from that, that saying yes does not

Caitlin Drago:

have to mean, yes, I agree with you.

Caitlin Drago:

It can mean yes, I'm here with you.

Caitlin Drago:

Yes, I am listening.

Caitlin Drago:

Yes, I am present what it's adding to as well So we have the yes and mindset and

Caitlin Drago:

then let's add on to it this concept of making each other look good so when you

Caitlin Drago:

said You know you like watching whose line does it anyway when you watch that

Caitlin Drago:

who do you see like describe to me?

Caitlin Drago:

the person who Is doing like the best job, like who would you look at and say,

Caitlin Drago:

Oh, they're the best one on the stage.

Dallas Burnett:

I mean, I don't even, maybe it's really just

Dallas Burnett:

whoever's actually in action.

Dallas Burnett:

You feel like it just builds or something.

Dallas Burnett:

And, and, and I don't know, that's a really tough question.

Dallas Burnett:

I mean,

Caitlin Drago:

that means that it was a good team.

Caitlin Drago:

If you can't point to, the 1 person, so I always say that.

Caitlin Drago:

When you, when you watch an improv show and you see the person

Caitlin Drago:

who's getting all of the laughs.

Caitlin Drago:

They're a good improviser, the person who's setting them up.

Caitlin Drago:

Is the really skilled and really great improviser.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Dallas Burnett:

wow.

Caitlin Drago:

So when we go out on stage, it's not what's the funny

Caitlin Drago:

thing I'm going to say, it's how can I set my teammate up for success?

Caitlin Drago:

How can I set them up for a laugh?

Caitlin Drago:

Because we know that if we,

Dallas Burnett:

This is taught, this is like a part of the,

Dallas Burnett:

this is an improv school.

Dallas Burnett:

This is what they're

Dallas Burnett:

teaching is to

Caitlin Drago:

this is what we are,

Dallas Burnett:

up.

Dallas Burnett:

That's incredible.

Caitlin Drago:

Because we know that if we all agree to do that, we're all going

Caitlin Drago:

to end up looking a lot better and you don't have to go on stage thinking like,

Caitlin Drago:

oh, it's all on me to say something funny to say something brilliant.

Caitlin Drago:

It's not.

Caitlin Drago:

I can go out there.

Caitlin Drago:

I can, it frees us up to make mistakes too.

Caitlin Drago:

I know that I can go out and say something weird.

Caitlin Drago:

That popped in my head and somebody else is going to help

Caitlin Drago:

me to make that make sense.

Caitlin Drago:

It doesn't have to be all on me, so I can take some risks.

Caitlin Drago:

I can do some, I can feel free to, possibly fall on my face because

Caitlin Drago:

there's going to be somebody who I know is going to help pick me up and

Caitlin Drago:

make me look good in that situation.

Caitlin Drago:

And I am committed to doing the same for them.

Caitlin Drago:

It's the only way that you can go out on stage without a script.

Caitlin Drago:

And put on a cohesive performance that people enjoy watching.

Caitlin Drago:

It's the only way, if we agree to say yes and to each other, and we agree that

Caitlin Drago:

we're going to make each other look good.

Dallas Burnett:

I've never heard that before.

Dallas Burnett:

I've never heard that about improv and how you're supporting each other.

Dallas Burnett:

That, but that's a fascinating.

Dallas Burnett:

It's a fascinating point and man, talk about the alignment

Dallas Burnett:

with that and leading teams.

Dallas Burnett:

Woof, man, there is some serious overlap on that and how much people

Dallas Burnett:

would follow you as a leader.

Dallas Burnett:

If they felt like you had been to improv school and they had the freedom to make

Dallas Burnett:

a mistake while being creative, because they knew that you were going to be

Dallas Burnett:

there to support them or vice versa.

Dallas Burnett:

And on a team, man, talking about that's huge on trust and so many things there,

Dallas Burnett:

there's a significant amount of trust.

Dallas Burnett:

And I guess in that environment, as an improv, especially on a

Dallas Burnett:

team in front of people, you're exposed, you're so vulnerable.

Dallas Burnett:

Did you feel that?

Dallas Burnett:

Do you feel when you go out, when you went out on stage and improv,

Dallas Burnett:

did you feel just an, it would seem to me like you would feel extremely

Dallas Burnett:

vulnerable

Caitlin Drago:

It would

Dallas Burnett:

but maybe not.

Caitlin Drago:

yeah, it would depend on who I was playing with.

Caitlin Drago:

Completely depend on who I'm playing with.

Caitlin Drago:

And if they're following those rules too.

Dallas Burnett:

So you could feel it if they weren't that,

Dallas Burnett:

made the, that made the, all the

Caitlin Drago:

Oh yeah.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Caitlin Drago:

There's nothing worse than being on stage in front

Caitlin Drago:

of a whole bunch of people throwing something out and having somebody

Caitlin Drago:

say no to it in some way or another.

Dallas Burnett:

vulnerable

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah.

Dallas Burnett:

oh, let's back up now.

Dallas Burnett:

All right.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Dallas Burnett:

that's

Caitlin Drago:

But if you bring that, if you bring that to a team, like you said,

Caitlin Drago:

it improves, it improves that trust.

Caitlin Drago:

People feel free to fail.

Caitlin Drago:

They know that they're supported.

Caitlin Drago:

It also.

Caitlin Drago:

means that we have to understand other people as a whole person.

Caitlin Drago:

What are their strengths?

Caitlin Drago:

What are they passionate about?

Caitlin Drago:

Where are there opportunities for us to let them use that

Caitlin Drago:

strength or that passion?

Caitlin Drago:

there's a story that I share in the book where there was a team.

Caitlin Drago:

Who I was working with, and they were putting together a video about what

Caitlin Drago:

their team did within the organization, because it was a little unclear to

Caitlin Drago:

some of the rest of the organization.

Caitlin Drago:

And so they put together this beautiful, computer animated

Caitlin Drago:

video that showed what they did.

Caitlin Drago:

And.

Caitlin Drago:

Then they, slapped some stock music over it and said, ta da.

Caitlin Drago:

And one of the members of the team came up to the manager

Caitlin Drago:

and said, Hey, you know what?

Caitlin Drago:

I actually went to school for music composition.

Caitlin Drago:

Would you mind if I composed something for this?

Caitlin Drago:

And they composed this beautiful piece of music to go along with this video.

Caitlin Drago:

And if you've ever seen a movie or even like a TV commercial with really good

Caitlin Drago:

music, it makes all of the difference.

Caitlin Drago:

And it, it made such a difference.

Caitlin Drago:

And it, that person wouldn't have, it was that leader who created a

Caitlin Drago:

culture where that person felt that they could step forward and say, Hey,

Caitlin Drago:

I'd like to try this because this is something that I have an interest in.

Caitlin Drago:

Could you give me a shot here that allowed them to really take what

Caitlin Drago:

would have been like an okay video to something that was really.

Caitlin Drago:

Beautiful piece of art, really.

Caitlin Drago:

And so it requires, managers and leaders to find out sometimes what are

Caitlin Drago:

people good at, what do they want to try, where are there places where I

Caitlin Drago:

can take a step back and put them in the spotlight so that they can shine

Caitlin Drago:

and I can be that supportive role.

Dallas Burnett:

I think that we miss the value that people

Dallas Burnett:

bring to the organization.

Dallas Burnett:

If we limit it to someone's roles and responsibilities that we predetermined

Dallas Burnett:

before we even knew who they were, when we were hiring for that position,

Dallas Burnett:

because we are greater than that.

Dallas Burnett:

And we have a lot of unique potentials.

Dallas Burnett:

We all carry that.

Dallas Burnett:

And so having that environment for people to bring their whole self, To the team,

Dallas Burnett:

to that environment and a safe place where they can say, Oh, by the way,

Dallas Burnett:

you know, a moonlight on the weekends as a, music, composer or whatever.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's

Caitlin Drago:

huh.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh, really?

Dallas Burnett:

that was not in that person's job description, but they

Dallas Burnett:

brought that to the team.

Dallas Burnett:

Now the team's better now that video is better.

Dallas Burnett:

Now the whole organization knows that what that team does.

Dallas Burnett:

And it was more impactful just because that one person stepped

Dallas Burnett:

up was wanting to be creative.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's just simply because of that, culture, that team, that

Dallas Burnett:

they were able to create that.

Dallas Burnett:

So I, man, that's a

Dallas Burnett:

great story.

Dallas Burnett:

Yeah.

Dallas Burnett:

And I

Caitlin Drago:

it, and it shows too, it illustrates that person, that people

Caitlin Drago:

can come and be their whole selves.

Caitlin Drago:

It doesn't have to be, this is who I am at work, this is who I am outside

Caitlin Drago:

of work, and never the two shall meet.

Caitlin Drago:

It's, I can bring my whole self, and I can feel as if I belong here.

Caitlin Drago:

It

Dallas Burnett:

Don't get to see the impact of what people could bring.

Dallas Burnett:

You don't ever know how high you could have risen or how much you, how your

Dallas Burnett:

team performance could have improved if you never get people to bring their all

Dallas Burnett:

to what they're doing their entire self.

Dallas Burnett:

And, I had somebody tell me one time, they were like, look, And they, I don't

Dallas Burnett:

know why they were telling me this.

Dallas Burnett:

They just came up, it wasn't one of our clients.

Dallas Burnett:

It was just, I won't go into who it was, but they were just like, look,

Dallas Burnett:

I got these people that show up and I don't care what you do on the weekends.

Dallas Burnett:

I don't care what you do at night.

Dallas Burnett:

I don't care.

Dallas Burnett:

I need you to show up at this time.

Dallas Burnett:

I need you to do this.

Dallas Burnett:

Don't bring me your problems.

Dallas Burnett:

Just do your job.

Dallas Burnett:

Literally this man was telling me this and I was just shaking my head.

Dallas Burnett:

It was, I was not in a position where I could say.

Dallas Burnett:

Let me tell you about how you could get a little bit

Dallas Burnett:

more, you know, but,

Caitlin Drago:

wasn't, it wasn't

Dallas Burnett:

a lot

Caitlin Drago:

moment.

Dallas Burnett:

it was not a teachable moment.

Dallas Burnett:

he was going off and preaching about something and I'll just let him go,

Dallas Burnett:

but at the end of the day, I felt bad.

Dallas Burnett:

You walk away from a conversation like that and you're just like.

Dallas Burnett:

Man, I'm glad I'm not on his team.

Dallas Burnett:

I'm just glad because what a miserable, what a miserable show up

Dallas Burnett:

and clock in clock out existence.

Dallas Burnett:

And I just think that we have so much more potential and purpose in our

Dallas Burnett:

life that we're created to bring.

Dallas Burnett:

And so when people are able to unlock that lid, just open that up.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh my goodness, then you get this amazingly, creative, custom piece

Dallas Burnett:

of music that you can share with your company that cost you nothing.

Dallas Burnett:

it costs that person nothing.

Dallas Burnett:

I mean, and they volunteered to do it.

Dallas Burnett:

what?

Dallas Burnett:

And so, yeah, if you're listening and you're leading a team, your

Dallas Burnett:

organization, if you're not getting to know your people at an individual

Dallas Burnett:

level and know what makes them tick.

Dallas Burnett:

And no, and care about what they bring when we talk about what they bring

Dallas Burnett:

their whole self, what they enjoy, what they do outside of work, what they do

Dallas Burnett:

inside of work with some hidden talents that, that maybe you're not, that

Dallas Burnett:

maybe not use it in there every day.

Dallas Burnett:

If you're not interested in that, Oh, you're missing so much.

Dallas Burnett:

So I think, thank you for sharing that.

Dallas Burnett:

Cause that's really powerful advice.

Dallas Burnett:

It's really good.

Dallas Burnett:

okay.

Dallas Burnett:

So we're in problem right now.

Dallas Burnett:

All right, we're going off script.

Dallas Burnett:

Not that we have a script or how to script, but, I want to, I want you to

Dallas Burnett:

talk about improv because I would love to give our listeners something this episode.

Dallas Burnett:

Should release sometime around the, in the holiday season.

Dallas Burnett:

And we have lots of people that is, that are going to holiday parties

Dallas Burnett:

and some of them may have a crazy uncle or aunt that, just, makes

Dallas Burnett:

things a little more tense, right?

Dallas Burnett:

Last year.

Dallas Burnett:

so what we want to do is we love to give people tools.

Dallas Burnett:

Is there just a fun improv exercise or something that you

Dallas Burnett:

could give the listeners that they could take to a Christmas party?

Dallas Burnett:

That would make their little small company Christmas party or

Dallas Burnett:

family gathering just hilarious

Caitlin Drago:

easy peasy, the one that I like to do, cause it's so simple and it

Caitlin Drago:

could be done with, the four year old up into, the 94 year old is one word story.

Caitlin Drago:

So

Dallas Burnett:

a one word story

Caitlin Drago:

Yep.

Caitlin Drago:

Going around in a circle or in a room, building a story together,

Caitlin Drago:

using one word at a time.

Caitlin Drago:

I usually start by asking people to share the title of the story, let's

Caitlin Drago:

come up with the title of the story, just so that people, folks have an, a

Caitlin Drago:

jumping off point, they're not feeling like they're starting from, scratch.

Dallas Burnett:

yeah

Caitlin Drago:

And you just, you're just asking people to contribute one word.

Caitlin Drago:

And what's fun about it is that it really does, it usually goes off

Caitlin Drago:

the rails pretty quickly, which is.

Caitlin Drago:

Great.

Caitlin Drago:

And when, and it's different when you're playing it just

Caitlin Drago:

for the sake of playing a game.

Caitlin Drago:

but my brain always goes to what is there to learn about this?

Caitlin Drago:

And what is interesting that folks usually notice through this very, very simple

Caitlin Drago:

exercise is how often, even just once the title of the story has been shared,

Caitlin Drago:

we already have the whole story written out in our mind and how we want it to go.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh,

Caitlin Drago:

and and what this does is it forces you to let go of your

Caitlin Drago:

great idea and be in that present moment paying attention to the story that

Caitlin Drago:

is coming around to you so that you can contribute in a way that, again,

Caitlin Drago:

makes that next person look good.

Caitlin Drago:

And in a way that you're saying yes to the story that's happening.

Dallas Burnett:

the one word story.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that idea.

Dallas Burnett:

So if you were listening to the last 10 percent and you were thinking

Dallas Burnett:

to yourself, Oh my gosh, this Christmas party is always a bore.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh, I just can't wait to get out of there.

Dallas Burnett:

Guess what?

Dallas Burnett:

You have the opportunity to make it, you make it a

Dallas Burnett:

success.

Dallas Burnett:

it

Caitlin Drago:

You could do, you could just be sitting at a cocktail

Caitlin Drago:

table, you know, with four people.

Dallas Burnett:

You can do it with four people.

Dallas Burnett:

That's nothing.

Dallas Burnett:

So

Dallas Burnett:

you've got something to take.

Dallas Burnett:

So homework assignment for last 10 percent listeners, Caitlin says, you have to do

Dallas Burnett:

this, you have to do the one word story.

Dallas Burnett:

At the next time you get together with a group of friends, Christmas

Dallas Burnett:

party, other holiday gathering.

Dallas Burnett:

Company party doesn't matter.

Dallas Burnett:

You could be at a cocktail party.

Dallas Burnett:

It doesn't matter.

Dallas Burnett:

You gotta do it.

Dallas Burnett:

Caitlyn says you have to.

Dallas Burnett:

So that's your

Dallas Burnett:

homework assignment.

Caitlin Drago:

And then you

Dallas Burnett:

now do you have any other principles outta the book that

Dallas Burnett:

you, that come to mind right now that you think would be good for

Dallas Burnett:

the listeners?

Caitlin Drago:

what I would encourage, and what I, the way that I've structured

Caitlin Drago:

the book is really, it, it goes over that, those foundations of improv, What is it?

Caitlin Drago:

Do we have to, say yes to everything?

Caitlin Drago:

How are we building trust through this?

Caitlin Drago:

what does it look like to make each other look good?

Caitlin Drago:

And then , I take those improv principles and that improv approach and apply

Caitlin Drago:

it to communication skills that you probably already have some kind of

Caitlin Drago:

base understanding of, whether it's having tough conversations or giving

Caitlin Drago:

and receiving feedback or communicating through change and looking at how you can

Caitlin Drago:

take that approach and infuse it to those conversations and what you already know

Caitlin Drago:

about having those types of conversations and interactions and how to make those

Caitlin Drago:

even more effective and how to foster.

Caitlin Drago:

Communication and connection throughout.

Caitlin Drago:

So I'll give an example.

Caitlin Drago:

often we'll, we'll go through difficult conversations when, once we've gotten

Caitlin Drago:

those basics of improv and what we find is when I give people like, okay, you're

Caitlin Drago:

two, you're two people and you're.

Caitlin Drago:

, you've got a manager and a direct report, direct report wants to go on

Caitlin Drago:

vacation, but we don't have enough.

Caitlin Drago:

There's, there's no vacation days left.

Caitlin Drago:

we're up against a deadline and because they are directed to.

Caitlin Drago:

Be present, say yes to the other person, maybe repeat back what

Caitlin Drago:

they're saying for understanding.

Caitlin Drago:

They completely skip over any kind of finger pointing or playing the

Caitlin Drago:

blame game of whose fault it is that there's no vacation time or, and they

Caitlin Drago:

get right to problem solving and being on that same team and coming up with

Caitlin Drago:

something collaboratively that they can do moving forward as a solution.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh, wow.

Dallas Burnett:

That's interesting.

Dallas Burnett:

You change the dynamic of their interaction and then all of a sudden

Dallas Burnett:

it's just, it just, it totally changes the way they approach it.

Dallas Burnett:

Cause it's not this, they're on the same team instead of hierarchical,

Dallas Burnett:

I'm here and he's there, she's there, he's there, whatever.

Dallas Burnett:

Very interesting.

Dallas Burnett:

I

Caitlin Drago:

no one can be an in nobody, nobody can be

Caitlin Drago:

in charge in an improv scene.

Dallas Burnett:

Yeah, that's right.

Dallas Burnett:

Oh, that's very good.

Dallas Burnett:

That's very good.

Dallas Burnett:

, I would love to continue because when you talk about that, you already

Dallas Burnett:

are changing the dynamic, of that team and you're getting, you kind

Dallas Burnett:

of reframing it in a different way to get people to work together.

Dallas Burnett:

when you talk about creating cultures Of empathy and trust and creativity.

Dallas Burnett:

What are some things, if you, is there some success stories or

Dallas Burnett:

some examples or some things that you're just passionate about when

Dallas Burnett:

you go into teams and companies?

Dallas Burnett:

I just, I like your focus on culture and building that.

Dallas Burnett:

What's been something that's worked for you?

Dallas Burnett:

, Caitlin Drago: I think about the person who when I walk in

Dallas Burnett:

the room has their arms crossed

Dallas Burnett:

Hmm.

Caitlin Drago:

and just isn't here for it and through the course of our work

Caitlin Drago:

together, you know, slowly the arms uncross They understand that they're

Caitlin Drago:

being heard, that people are going to be there to support them, that if there

Caitlin Drago:

is some animosity in between people, if you put them in a situation where

Caitlin Drago:

they have to say yes to each other and listen to one another, that's going to

Caitlin Drago:

give them that, that little glimmer of that moment of seeing what this relation

Caitlin Drago:

could, what this relationship could be.

Caitlin Drago:

And I've had people who, I just had a group who I worked with a couple of

Caitlin Drago:

weeks ago, who I had worked with maybe five years ago at a retreat, and they

Caitlin Drago:

shared, like, we still have our, you know, I give them these yes and signs,

Caitlin Drago:

we still have our yes and signs up.

Caitlin Drago:

We still, this is something that is a constant reminder for us.

Caitlin Drago:

And it can be that really easy to remember North Star of, we're going to say yes and.

Caitlin Drago:

We're going to make each other look good.

Caitlin Drago:

And when we do that, like I said, it helps to build that trust because people

Caitlin Drago:

know that when I go to talk to you, even if it's a tough conversation, I know

Caitlin Drago:

that you're not going to know but me.

Caitlin Drago:

You're going to at least listen and consider what I have to say.

Caitlin Drago:

And the bonus there is that when people feel like they can come to you

Caitlin Drago:

with with their great ideas and their terrible ideas you're going to listen.

Caitlin Drago:

It also means that they can come to you sooner when there is a

Caitlin Drago:

problem because they're not worried about how you're going to react.

Caitlin Drago:

They know that even if it's tough,

Dallas Burnett:

Yeah.

Dallas Burnett:

I

Caitlin Drago:

to be present with them.

Dallas Burnett:

I really love how you started that conversation

Dallas Burnett:

when I asked you that question.

Dallas Burnett:

it, I just, the first thing you said, you could have easily, I teed you up.

Dallas Burnett:

You could have easily jumped in and said.

Dallas Burnett:

here's the three things that I always like to do when I'm going into an organization

Dallas Burnett:

to look at their culture, X, Y, Z.

Dallas Burnett:

But the first thing that you said is I like to notice the person in the back

Dallas Burnett:

of the room with their hands crossed.

Dallas Burnett:

I just.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that because number one, it shows your craftsmanship of the, the history

Dallas Burnett:

of the trade of improv and being able to notice and read a room and not just

Dallas Burnett:

think about what you're doing, but see the whole picture and see how the

Dallas Burnett:

person in the back of the room where their hands cross fits into the picture.

Dallas Burnett:

And I think as leaders, sometimes we get.

Dallas Burnett:

So much coming at us and we're there.

Dallas Burnett:

So there were so much in the middle of the improv.

Dallas Burnett:

Sometimes we overlook the person with their hands crossed

Dallas Burnett:

in the back of the room.

Dallas Burnett:

And I think that is a great.

Dallas Burnett:

A great picture of the challenge of leadership is that as we're moving

Dallas Burnett:

through these teams, we are looking for the people with the hands

Dallas Burnett:

crossed, not to necessarily, push them out, but to bring them in and

Dallas Burnett:

say, Hey, let me, what's going on?

Dallas Burnett:

What's why are you having a bad day?

Dallas Burnett:

Why is this a, let's make it a space where they feel like they can bring their best

Dallas Burnett:

and what's the reasons why you can't, and then I'll see you, like you said, you just

Dallas Burnett:

start to see those shoulders drop and then engage And all of a sudden turned out to

Dallas Burnett:

be a really big advocate and participant, in the team and the organization.

Dallas Burnett:

So I definitely think that's fantastic.

Dallas Burnett:

That's a great story.

Dallas Burnett:

Very good.

Dallas Burnett:

Very good answer to that.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

When you're when you were in La , how did you stay motivated in that environment,

Dallas Burnett:

cause you were there for, years.

Dallas Burnett:

So how

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah, I was there for most of my 20s.

Caitlin Drago:

Yeah, so yeah, there is a, there's a whole lot of rejection

Caitlin Drago:

and I think that served me well.

Caitlin Drago:

if you're a, if you're a business owner, it's something that you're going to,

Caitlin Drago:

something that you're going to experience and just being comfortable with yourself

Caitlin Drago:

and understanding that you are not going to be for everyone and that is okay.

Caitlin Drago:

It also made me realize what was important to me.

Caitlin Drago:

I got to a point where, you know, unfortunately, and I think things are

Caitlin Drago:

slow, very slowly changing for the better in the entertainment industry,

Caitlin Drago:

but a lot of when it came to getting auditions or getting jobs or, networking

Caitlin Drago:

and connecting, it was more about who you knew and what you looked

Caitlin Drago:

like than your We skill or talent.

Caitlin Drago:

And after a while, that just wasn't an industry that I wanted to be in.

Caitlin Drago:

I wanted to be able to do something where, more than that

Caitlin Drago:

was taken into consideration.

Caitlin Drago:

However, throughout all of that, everything that I have learned,

Caitlin Drago:

I have put into practice.

Caitlin Drago:

So as an actor, your job is to be present and to be only focused

Caitlin Drago:

on the person in front of you.

Caitlin Drago:

Because we say, you know, it's not acting, it's reacting.

Caitlin Drago:

So whatever you give to me, I'm letting that impact me as that character and

Caitlin Drago:

giving my response from that place.

Caitlin Drago:

And when I started coaching, it was that direct transfer of skills,

Caitlin Drago:

except I'm just not in front of an audience, but I still get to zone

Caitlin Drago:

in and focus on another person and let what they have to say,

Caitlin Drago:

impact me and set off my curiosity.

Caitlin Drago:

So that we can have that productive conversation.

Caitlin Drago:

Mm

Dallas Burnett:

Now that I know that is, that's awesome.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

And I think that's a, such a transferable skill and, you've said so many things

Dallas Burnett:

that you learned while you were.

Dallas Burnett:

in, in doing improv and the acting, that is so powerful as it relates to

Dallas Burnett:

communication with just with people one on one and listening and going

Dallas Burnett:

through that and just paying attention to the energy that they're, putting

Dallas Burnett:

back at you and translating that back.

Dallas Burnett:

And it's just the whole thing has just been very good.

Dallas Burnett:

I think that's, I think that's really great experience.

Dallas Burnett:

And I think it's interesting because although, You went through

Dallas Burnett:

and we're in that environment.

Dallas Burnett:

And obviously it's not something that you necessarily align with now, all

Dallas Burnett:

those kind of the grind that you went through while you were going to these

Dallas Burnett:

classes and doing these auditions also, all that, like you said, is completely

Dallas Burnett:

transferable into what you are aligned with, which is, I think it's your

Dallas Burnett:

impact is, is pretty high now on that.

Dallas Burnett:

So I think that's really great.

Dallas Burnett:

And so, well done.

Dallas Burnett:

So I want to give any kind of insights cause you work a lot with teams.

Dallas Burnett:

Is there any other insights that you would like based on your experience

Dallas Burnett:

or observations, , and let's say I'm on a team and I'm on an average

Dallas Burnett:

team and I know I'm average.

Dallas Burnett:

, if I'm leading that team, if I wanted to bring something to

Dallas Burnett:

increase the performance of that team, what advice would you give?

Caitlin Drago:

think that everything starts from a place of connection

Caitlin Drago:

and understanding of one another.

Caitlin Drago:

There's, there's a group that I'm working with right now.

Caitlin Drago:

We did, a whole culture survey to see what's going well,

Caitlin Drago:

what's not going so well.

Caitlin Drago:

And so often it has to do with People's understanding of others

Caitlin Drago:

and what they're up against and what they're bringing to the table.

Caitlin Drago:

And when you can just make that, it feels like a simple thing to do.

Caitlin Drago:

It can be very complicated.

Caitlin Drago:

Is there going to be a lot of barriers to communication?

Caitlin Drago:

But if you can get those people to be able to connect with one another

Caitlin Drago:

on, even on a simple human level.

Caitlin Drago:

Just so that they're.

Caitlin Drago:

When they do have future communications, they're talking to a person who they

Caitlin Drago:

have met, who they have, or some kind of connection with, who they

Caitlin Drago:

can see as a person versus just an obstacle on the other end of an email.

Caitlin Drago:

That's going to start to make that shift.

Caitlin Drago:

And if you can put them in a situation to connect where they are laughing together

Caitlin Drago:

and learning how to say yes and making each other look good, bonus, but so I'm

Caitlin Drago:

going off a little bit on a tangent here, but I will also say if you do any kind

Caitlin Drago:

of training and you have an opportunity to mix people up, let that be an opportunity

Caitlin Drago:

to kill two birds with one stone.

Caitlin Drago:

Let it be a place where people can have that connection, can learn

Caitlin Drago:

together, if there is some kind of levity there that they can laugh

Caitlin Drago:

with another, with one another.

Caitlin Drago:

We know that laughter bonds people and builds that trust

Caitlin Drago:

in that, that connection.

Caitlin Drago:

Let that be a place where it doesn't have to be, okay, all the leaders

Caitlin Drago:

are going to be in this group.

Caitlin Drago:

All of the, individual contributors are going to be in this group.

Caitlin Drago:

Let people mix.

Caitlin Drago:

Use that as an opportunity to build those connections.

Caitlin Drago:

Wherever there's an opportunity for people to connect, allow them to.

Dallas Burnett:

Yeah, I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

I love that.

Dallas Burnett:

That's fantastic advice and I hope that our listeners If you are not, if you're

Dallas Burnett:

not intentionally creating environments and spaces for people to build connection.

Dallas Burnett:

And yeah, and I think that what your point is so true, but you've

Dallas Burnett:

got to be intentional about that.

Dallas Burnett:

You, if, especially if you're not necessarily geared towards the relational

Dallas Burnett:

component, if you're a technical expert in whatever it is, whether it's engineering

Dallas Burnett:

or medicine or law, whatever it is, but you're more geared towards the.

Dallas Burnett:

Technical side of things, you've got to be even more intentional about

Dallas Burnett:

giving space for people to connect, shared experiences, laughter, and just.

Dallas Burnett:

Changing it up and mixing it up with perspective.

Dallas Burnett:

So I think your advice is spot on.

Dallas Burnett:

So I hope our listeners are taking copious notes and, and that's really good stuff.

Dallas Burnett:

so we ask, all of our guests who they would like to see.

Dallas Burnett:

On the last 10%, , and we were talking before the show, you actually have a

Dallas Burnett:

very unique, really unique, guests.

Dallas Burnett:

So who would you like

Dallas Burnett:

to see

Caitlin Drago:

So I, this one, you know, I went to like, oh, well, of course I

Caitlin Drago:

want to see like Brené Brown on the show.

Caitlin Drago:

I want to see Glennon Doyle on the show.

Caitlin Drago:

But you asked for like, who is someone who's just really interesting?

Caitlin Drago:

And I thought of, I thought that the first person that came to

Caitlin Drago:

my mind was my friend Mateo.

Caitlin Drago:

He's someone who worked in counseling at colleges for a long time and then

Caitlin Drago:

now is doing, It's called cob building.

Caitlin Drago:

So they're building like homes and structures and, like pizza ovens out

Caitlin Drago:

of Earth, basically, out of things that are already in your yard.

Caitlin Drago:

And he goes around and does these workshops and it's just this different

Caitlin Drago:

intentional way of, living and building with what you already have, with

Caitlin Drago:

this background in counseling, and just, it's just, it's a fascinating,

Caitlin Drago:

Situation and when you talk, I think, I think the idea of the lat living

Caitlin Drago:

in the last 10 percent that could be defined and a lot of different

Caitlin Drago:

ways from that, like hustle culture to the other end of hustle culture.

Caitlin Drago:

and I think that it would just, bring an interesting perspective.

Dallas Burnett:

I loved it.

Dallas Burnett:

And I checked him out and it's, I'll be honest.

Dallas Burnett:

I did not even, it's, Cobb is referred to , you know, this dirt and

Dallas Burnett:

he's building and listen, when he, when she says he's building stuff,

Dallas Burnett:

Caitlin, a lunch, he is building like.

Dallas Burnett:

it is impressive.

Dallas Burnett:

Some of the stuff that he builds, out of this mud type stuff.

Dallas Burnett:

I don't know, but it's yeah.

Dallas Burnett:

So we might have to reach out to him and, and see if we can,

Dallas Burnett:

and get your, I think it'd

Dallas Burnett:

be a fascinating show because

Caitlin Drago:

Happy to make an introduction.

Dallas Burnett:

Yeah, he seems like an interesting guy.

Dallas Burnett:

So we just, it would just be fun to talk, I think.

Dallas Burnett:

So that'd be great.

Dallas Burnett:

All right.

Dallas Burnett:

You've got a lot of stuff going on.

Dallas Burnett:

you're facilitating, you've got workshops, you got this new book out.

Dallas Burnett:

How can people get in touch with you if they want to reach out to

Dallas Burnett:

you, and buy your book and we'll put all this in the show notes, but how

Dallas Burnett:

can people reach out and find miss

Dallas Burnett:

Caitlin?

Caitlin Drago:

They can find my website.

Caitlin Drago:

It's, inspireimprov.

Caitlin Drago:

com and there they can contact me.

Caitlin Drago:

They can see information on my whole, communication and collaboration program.

Caitlin Drago:

And there's info on the book there as well.

Caitlin Drago:

Also, if you just hop on Amazon and look for Approaching Improv Communication

Caitlin Drago:

and Connection in Business and Beyond, they would find that there as well.

Dallas Burnett:

That's awesome.

Dallas Burnett:

thank you.

Dallas Burnett:

Caitlin.

Dallas Burnett:

This has just been a pleasure.

Dallas Burnett:

It has been so fun.

Dallas Burnett:

I feel like I've been enlightened on improv.

Dallas Burnett:

I feel actually, I feel pretty awesome that I'm, I can be part of

Dallas Burnett:

the improv community now because,

Caitlin Drago:

You absolutely

Dallas Burnett:

me I'm part of it.

Dallas Burnett:

So that's good.

Dallas Burnett:

And, uh, I appreciate your time and your wisdom that you shared

Dallas Burnett:

with all of this just today on the

Dallas Burnett:

show.

Caitlin Drago:

Aw, thanks for having me.

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About the Podcast

The Last 10%
Inspiring People, Coaching Teams, and Improving Cultures
Join The Last 10% for incredible conversations that help uncover the secrets of what it takes to finish well and finish strong. Our guests share their journeys, hardships, and valuable advice. We release new episodes every other Tuesday. If you are a leader, a coach, a business owner, or someone looking to level up, you are in the right place!

You can give 90% effort and make it a long way. But it’s the finding out how to unlock the last 10% that makes all the difference in your life, your relationships, and your work.

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Dallas Burnett