RTV #46 - The shared experience of absurdity

A Year of Raising the Village. Week # 46:The shared experience of absurdity.

12 minutes.

In 12 minutes Charlie Todd shares the hilarious antics of ImproveEverywhere - his organization that brings laughter into the everyday.

Charlie Todd: The shared experience of absurdity | Video on TED.com

In the first story, the group secretly films a subway passenger's reaction when 6 guys enter the subway - all at different stops, not interacting with each other - with NO PANTS.  Not only hilarious, it is also a wonderful reflection on humanity and the power of connections.  He says at one point that "as soon as something becomes a share experience, it becomes less weird or scary and more fun."


Lets look at how ImproveEverywhere is a great example of village raising.

1.  Absurdity, play, laughter and extraordinary behaviour help to shake up our thinking and take our participation up a notch.  It reminds us of our experience in a flash mob dance . It felt refreshing to be a part of something different for the sake of joy and playfulness!

2. On a similar vein as Charlie's comment on shared experience, complex community issues become less overwhelming when they become a shared endeavor. Together we can share the load and create more meaning along the way.


Doing crazy stuff together...sounds like fun!  It is well worth the 12 minutes!

Check out these other blogs that speak to play & humour.
Re-energize- 7 easy ways to bring humour at work
Remember to play
Locate your playing field
How attached is your community? (speaks about play in community)
Tips for Group Toys

RTV # 45 Tips for group toys

A Year of Raising the Village. Week # 45: Tips for Group Toys.

Toys, they are not just for children's play. Toys can increase participation in community or organizational meetings.

This list, from Meeting Excellence by Parker and Hoffman, contains several key toys whose use and interpretation are flexible:

• soft squeeze rubber ball


• Koosh ball, nerf ball


• slinky


• Rubik's cube


• yoyo


• wooden cup with ball on string


• train whistle


• clapper

In our bag of tricks we also tend to include toy animals, mirrors, Disney characters (big symbolism usually!) and blocks. We've used a ball to signal when it is someone else's turn to share/talk on an agenda (keeps people awake on on their toes too)! We've heard of people who use noisemakers to liven up the space and acknowledge each contributer with positive (and loud) feedback. "That was easy" buttons have been popular when decisions are made. We've placed play dough and pipe cleaners on the table to recharge mental energy and for a guaranteed splash of fun.

One of the most effective use of toys came in one of our recent workshops on Collaboration and Authentic Engagement, we asked participants to create group definitions using bags of toys/props as metaphors. The activity was challenging enough to stretch people's thinking yet fun enough to generate much laughter and creativity. One particularly intense group stuffed a slinky full of other toys in an elaborately explained process. The description unleashed a great dialogue that uncovered many of the key components of working together that people were wrestling with.

Toys, fun AND a massive adult engagement tool!

Raising Village Question:

What's one of your fav meeting "toys?"  How do you use it?

RTV #39 - Re-energize: 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour to Your Work

A Year of Raising the Village - Week #39: Re-energize - 7 Easy Ways to Bring Humour to Your Work!

When’s the last time you bust a seam while at the water cooler? Let off some steam as a team? Did the co-worker stomach clutch while tears trickled down your face?

It's been awhile, you may say, there’s complex issues, big deadlines, budget constraints and unmet client challenges...where’s the humour in that?
Perhaps that’s all the more reason to find where your group chuckle lies. According to this list – there are more than 101 ways to create humor at work! This list holds MORE than clown costumes and fun. In fact, it highlights ways to create better leaders, build engaged relationships and increase productivity (all of which are prime Village Raising components)!

Here we highlight 7 at work re-energizers that caught our eye (do adapt these to any group, team, or organization you work with):

1. Post it: post on a bulletin board in the common area; take turns with coworkers posting different topics on the board (add some light and "getting to know you" topics)
2. Get Cartoony: start a cartoon board and post fav. Illustrations
3. Showcase your kids – start a mural of “look at what my kid made” – team members will be sure to delight
4. Tell the future: Build a paper fortune teller using work lingo
5. Mix it up: Create work appropriate (and self selected) nicknames for people on your team using anagrams (or make pirate names, or name your department or…)
6. Improv.: Play improv. games as a team
7. Pin ups: Make a themed calendar full of pictures of your group

For the full list go to: http://www.humorthatworks.com/how-to/101-ways-to-create-humor-at-work

Village Raising Question:
How do you bring humour to work? What’s the benefit to you and for others?