Translated Rant
One person rants for 60 seconds. The second person translates their rant into what they care about and value.
Erica Marx
Leadership Coach | Build relationships and expand your team's collaborative capacity
Ithaca, New York, United States
I lead a team that helps multi-stakeholder groups tackle high-stakes, complex work with clarity and connection. We design and guide strategic planning sessions, workshops, retreats, and conferences where people think well together, make sound decisions, and take coordinated action. Our team is trained in improvisational theater, and as active members of the International Applied Improvisation Network, we bring adaptable, creative methods that build trust, surface essential perspectives, and keep momentum strong. We also share what we know, offering facilitator training that blends inclusive process design with the flexibility and presence of improv.
I lead a team that helps multi-stakeholder groups tackle high-stakes, complex work with clarity and connection. We design and guide strategic planning sessions, workshops, retreats, and conferences where people think well together, make sound decisions, and take coordinated action. Our team is trained in improvisational theater, and as active members of the International Applied Improvisation Network, we bring adaptable, creative methods that build trust, surface essential perspectives, and keep momentum strong. We also share what we know, offering facilitator training that blends inclusive process design with the flexibility and presence of improv.
Contact authorMethods in the SessionLab library
Your Amazing Future (Because of that...)
With a series of prompts a surprising and amazing future is created.
Alien, Tiger, Cow
fun warm-up game played in pairs or large group game
Fortunate Me (variation of Fortunately/Unfortunately)
One person shares a goal, other players offer obstacles. Main player delightfully overcomes those obstacles.
Sit - Stand - Disappear
As a virtual game in Zoom, have people narrow their screen so they only see 3 people in a row. Each person will simultaneously try to have one person sitting, one standing , and one out of the frame in their row.
Forced Analogy
People compare something (e.g. themselves, their company, their team) to an object.
I'll take that fear
People share a fear, it is received by another, and then they are asked to share the advice that a trusted mentor or friend would give them.
Zip Zap Zop
quick energizer game to unite a group
500 year gap
In pairs, one person describes a modern appliance to someone from 500 years ago
Yes, and Picnic
4 conversations about how to listen, acknowledge, and build
This activity helps participants notice the impact of different listening and response styles, especially how we unconsciously block or build on each other’s ideas. Use this when you want to shift communication habits, build awareness of default patterns, and/or teach communication skills.
Weather check in
Each person describes how they are feeling as they are weather