060: Improv & UX?! Yes, and… with Mike Gorgone

User Defenders podcast
Creativity
060: Improv & UX?! Yes, and... with Mike Gorgone
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Mike Gorgone unleashes his impromptu playbook to rescue us from our most unwelcome critic…ourselves. He teaches us how marrying the two seemingly disparate concepts of improv & UX, can help us break free from the crippling self-doubt that keeps us from our best collaborations. Yes, and he shows us how fun kills fear. He also reveals how even the “bad ideas” can lead us to great ones while building a fantastic UX punchline worthy of a standing ovation.

Mike Gorgone is someone who loves being part of a creative, supportive and collaborative design team that builds engaging experiences for digital products at a company that fosters a culture that values design thinking and makes it a priority in how the company runs and solves problems. He currently gets to do all of the above in the Experience Design (XD) Group at EY. He discovered Improv when he lived in Chicago and started taking classes at Second City and iO (formerly improvOlympic). Improv taught him how to be present and more aware of the moment as well as how to listen and absorb information instead of just listening to respond. I also learned (and frequently witnessed) that a group can create more amazing and incredible work when collaborating together in a non-judgmental and supportive manner than any of those individuals could have created working alone.

  • What Got You into Improv? (3:47)
  • What Was the Aha Moment That Inspired You to Combine Improv with UX? (7:43)
  • Are You Also Presenting at These Workshops? (9:44)
  • Are You Writing a Book on This Topic? (10:09)
  • Workshop Topics (11:09)
  • Where Does Improv Fit in the Design Process? (18:01)
  • How Does the Yes And Exercise Work? (20:57)
  • Coaching Through the Fears of Doing Improv (26:47)
  • Feeling Safe About Ideas in the Workplace (32:36)
  • What Can Help to Make You Better at Improv? (38:56)
  • How Can We Use This in the Field? (42:09)
  • Final Thoughts (51:50)

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