Opening
A meeting can contain all the right information and still leave people feeling like strangers. We know what the agenda was, but not how anyone is arriving. Play changes that atmosphere. It gives people a shared experience before asking them to produce an outcome.
The idea
Brett Macdonald is a former teacher, improv expert, and workshop facilitator who helps organisations build connection through laughter and play. Her framework is not about turning colleagues into performers. It is about creating safe, truthful opportunities to be present with one another.
Brett described improv as vulnerable because there is no script and no fixed character. People have to trust that they will be supported and that they will support the others on stage. That trust can travel beyond the exercise.
A group that has laughed, taken a small emotional risk, or discovered a surprising response together has a shared reference point for the next serious conversation. Brett also made an important distinction between improv and a comedy show. Improv can be funny, but it can also be truthful, moving, or uncomfortable.
The purpose is not to force a laugh. It is to create a moment where people respond to what is actually happening. In distributed teams, Brett used breakout rooms, simple games, and prompts to create connection before content. Her phrase was concise.
“Connection before content.”
The practice is especially valuable when colleagues see only fragments of one another’s lives. A shared experience creates a core memory. Later, during a difficult meeting, remembering a colleague’s playful or generous side can make it easier to approach them as a whole person. Play is not an escape from professional seriousness.
It is one of the ways trust becomes felt.
What I took from it
I was reminded of this when Brett and I spent a Sunday making vision boards over tea and sushi. The activity itself was simple, but the shared silliness and concentration made a room full of professional contacts feel more alive.
I have moved a lot, and I know the relief of finding a place where I can be more than competent. Improv offers that permission quickly. It says we can bring our humanity before we bring our expertise.
Three things to try this week
- Begin your next meeting with a prompt that invites a real answer, such as what has given you energy this week.
- Try a low risk yes and exercise with a friend or colleague. Accept their idea, add one detail, and notice how collaboration changes.
- Design one shared experience that is not a drink or a status update. Give it enough structure to feel safe and enough play to feel memorable.
Listen and go deeper
Play the episode above, then explore the guest's work at Brett Macdonald.
Close
Connection is not a decorative extra added after the work. It shapes how people listen, challenge, and collaborate. Our research explores the conditions that allow Social Wealth to grow in professional life. Explore it, then ask what shared experience your people need next.