Emerge Improv, Justin Howard

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Announcements

Tom Novak announced that the Avenue of Flags ended 2022 with 3600 flags being delivered for Veterans Day, raising a net $121,000.00 for the year.

Social Events

Annual Holiday Party, Tuesday December 13, 2022, 6p-9p, at Moraine Country Club, $44 person. You can register and pay here. There will not be a lunch that day at Yankee Trace.

CNO 2.0 Venue and Details

The venue for tonight’s CNO 2.0 meeting was Carver’s Steaks and Chops.

Dav Bremmer won the 50/50 drawing. As always, the other half of the 50/50 is donated to the Optimist International Fund.

There were 46 people at the meeting (12 guests, 33 members and 1 speaker).

Greg Fay’s Introduction for tonight’s meeting.

Greg Fay, chair of CNO 2.0, said he is excited about tonight’s speaker and venue and the great turnout. What a great way to end 2022!

Emerge Improv, Justin Howard

Greg Fay introduced Justin Howard, the founder and lead facilitator of Emerge Improv. Their tag line is “Creating Experiences, Generating Results.” Emerge Improv focuses on corporate clients instead of entertainment for the public like his first company Black Box Improv Theater.

Justin said he appreciates what CNO does. His sister went through cancer treatment from ages 3-8 at Dayton’s Children’s Hospital.

Justin said he has passion for Improv! He started the Black Box Improv Theater in 2012. The government shutdown of entertainment venues because of COVID forced him to dispose of the theater in 2021.

Harvard MBA students have received training from Justin. This has enabled him to get some large corporate clients like GE, Synchrony Bank, Lbrands, Kettering Health Network and Premier Health.

The reason he gets to work with these companies is because he does something that no one else does. He teaches the “How?” for improving communication skills. It is easy for your boss to say you need to be a better communicator, but your boss doesn’t show you how to do this, however Justin’s workshops will.

Justin grew up in Tipp City. All the way through high school his family was poor which he said made it hard for him to connect with students that had more money. He didn’t communicate well, and he wasn’t happy.

After high school Justin attended Wittenberg University. He was RA for his dorm at Wittenberg which allowed him to register for classes ahead of most students. He asked what classes fill up first and was told astronomy and improvisation. Astronomy, it turns out, was difficult and maybe not the best choice. However, he found a passion for improvisation. College improvisation changed his life. He was happy and a much better communicator.

Listening is the Difficult Part of Effective Communication

Numerous studies at multiple colleges since the 1950’s show that humans only retain 20-25% of what they hear.

Justin said that PowerPoint presentations are not the answer to learning effective listening. Effective listening is difficult and takes practice.

Justin had us do an exercise. We paired up with the person across from us. The task was to repeat back a statement the other made up and in the exact way they said it. Then we reversed rolls. A statement example would be that my favorite part of Thanksgiving is the dessert, not the turkey.” We had various issues doing the task accurately. Justin said it was because we are trying to figure out what to say next when it was our turn. He told us that you just need to concentrate on what is being said. He has found that when it comes time to talk people don’t have an issue. It is the listening they have issues with.

Justin wonders why there are no classes in effective listening especially since effective listening is the biggest problem the world has.

Justin’s improv workshops push your brain to work differently. Our brains don’t stop forming until about age 27. While it is easier to learn before 27, we are still capable of learning new things throughout life.

As additional proof that listening is the problem and not speaking, he reminded us that we almost all know when someone is not listening to us. Relationships with our partners are perfect examples.

To be a good manager, you don’t have to be great with the product or process you are managing. What you need to be good at is listening carefully to what your peers and subordinates have to say. They will know if you don’t and will appreciate you if you do.

Training for Every Organization

From the Emerge Improv Website:

With roots in improvisation, Emerge Improv uses experience-based training to transform the way individuals, teams and whole organizations communicate.  Keynote addresses and customized group workshops have been utilized by our wide range of customers to address the difficult to teach areas of effective communication.  Our extensive digital training allows our clients to connect in-person keynotes and workshops with widespread follow-up training to cement concepts and create lasting changes.

Creating Experiences. Generating Results.

Emerge Improv offers: We don’t offer training that can just check off boxes for companies and individuals. We want to truly transform the way people communicate and work within groups. The human mind is a complex system – so we offer a variety of ways to approach training to ensure that everyone gets the same transformational experience. Within each approach, we provide a structure that guarantees results while also customizing training to the uniqueness of the group.

Workshops Offered

Get details from this webpage.

  • Adaptability in Communication
  • Innovation Starters
  • Effective Storytelling
  • Leading from the State

Thank You Justin Howard

Thank you, Justin Howard, for speaking at tonight’s CNO 2.0 meeting and telling your story and the story of Emerge Improv.

About CNO 2.0

CNO 2.0 is a club within a club of the Centerville Noon Optimist Club. CNO (and CNO 2.0) is a world class service organization. Being a member of either club allows their members all the same opportunities to participate in fundraising and club activities. CNO 2.0 was created about 5 years ago and is very much a part of the 54-year-old Centerville Noon Optimist Club. CNO has given away over $2 million during its history. CNO is a group of like-minded members that are passionate about helping youth and having fun in the process.

The speaker at each 2.0 meeting is someone with a local business success story.

Annual Fundraisers

  • Christmas Tree Lot
  • Avenue of Flags
  • Golf Outing

Major Activities for the youth in our community

  • Build-a-Bear at Children’s Hospital, 3 times a year
  • Fishing Derby in June
  • Kid’s Day in the Park in August
  • Easter Egg Hunt
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