Piotr

Gasik

Agnieszka

matan

Improv(e) your testing

Piotr Gasik and Agnieszka Matan are comedians from Warsaw, who teach you how to improvise. They would love to tell you about how this art form changed the way they communicate - everywhere: not only on stage but also in their work and in their private life.

They will focus on:

  • listening to understand vs listening to give an answer,
  • empathy and releasing control,
  • embracing the unexpected with joy,
  • working as a team, not as a random group of individuals,
  • having fun/finding joy.

They will use some improv tricks to interact with the audience, e.g. in listening to give an answer there will be a little game, in which participants will be challenged to raise their hands if they could finish a sentence (revealing one word at a time) "Mary had a little velociraptor" - to prove that we are lazy with our listening, because patterns in our brain serve the answer for us. Later Agnieszka and Piotr will work in pairs together with the audience. They will also perform on stage - to present certain situations in the work environment.


Why them? Agnieszka and Piotr teach and improvise, but also have a broad experience in applied improv. Both of them moved their improv skills from stage to the workplace. They love to share the ideas they firmly believe in and use every day.

Piotr started as a software developer and have been in the IT industry for over 13 years. He worked for both Polish (Play, Netia) and international (T-mobile, Payback, Optiva) companies in many positions (from developer up to Technical Product Manager). Now, as a full-time improviser and trainer, one of his main goals is to revolutionise the everyday behaviour of the IT sector using the improvisational theatre.

Agnieszka gained professional experience in NGOs and in Warsaw City Council. She repeatedly experienced a variety of communicational challenges in the workplace. It was difficult for her to handle situations, in which everyone has to go for their opinion, but nobody listens at the same time. When she is able to change this behaviour with improv skills, the teams work in an efficient way of appreciation and respect.