Listen
Improvisers succeed only by hearing what is actually said, not what they expect to hear. Your clients want that same attention. Listening to understand, rather than to reply, is where trust starts.
Turn your team into confident communicators.
Improv-based workshops that train professionals to listen actively, think on their feet, and connect with clients and colleagues.
Teams we’ve trained
- Accountants & advisors
- Software engineers
- Real estate professionals
- Sales teams
- Small business owners
- Corporate executives
- Nonprofits
- Educators
Why improv, of all things?
Because improv is not about being funny. It is a discipline built on listening, agreement, and quick thinking: the exact muscles behind every great client conversation. Software can automate your busywork. It cannot replace the human skills your clients actually buy.
Improv’s golden rule is called “Yes, and.” It breaks down into three habits your team can practice:
Accept
“Yes” means receiving new information without judgment. Teams that accept ideas before critiquing them stay open, adapt faster, and make the people around them feel heard.
Build
“And” means adding something of your own. Great scenes and great client relationships grow the same way: each contribution makes the next one stronger.
What your team walks away with
Sharper listening
Focus and patience that make clients feel genuinely heard.
Confidence under pressure
Quick, clear thinking when the conversation goes off script.
Deeper team trust
Colleagues who support each other’s ideas instead of guarding their own.
Creative problem solving
Permission to offer ideas early, before they are perfect.
An adaptive mindset
Saying yes to change instead of bracing against it.
A lighter workplace
A sense of humor. Seriously, but not too seriously.
Workshops built for working professionals
Every session is hands-on, low-stakes, and tailored to your group and goals. Each one is taught personally by Jennifer Dymond, CPA, and workshops have qualified for CPE credit at national accounting conferences.
Listen Up! Building Trust Through Active Listening
Effective communication starts with truly hearing people. By learning to listen actively, your team strengthens its human relationships and builds deeper, more authentic connections with the clients it serves.
- Staying present
- Sharpening focus
- Accepting new information
- Listening to understand
- Responding with brevity
Building Confidence Takes Practice
Your clients need your judgment and creativity more than ever. All you need is confidence, and all it takes is practice. Group exercises that build confidence in your own thinking, plus tools for the days when reserves run low.
- Quick decisions
- Nurturing new ideas
- Value in vulnerability
- Bouncing back
- Staying positive
Failing Upward: Learning From Your Mistakes
A truly creative person makes several beautiful mistakes before crafting their masterpiece. The secret to mastery is persistence through failure. Your team leaves with more confidence to design creative solutions for clients.
- Confident decisions
- Creating new ideas
- Optimism
- Persistence
- Embracing uncertainty
The Power of Why
The best way to learn about a client and their goals is to ask why. Through role-play and dialogue exercises, your team practices opening conversations, making smooth transitions, and addressing the concerns customers actually have.
- Opening conversations
- Asking better questions
- Reading your audience
- Role-play dialogue
Have a different challenge in mind?
We customize curriculum for every group: presentation skills, team building, onboarding cohorts, conference sessions, and offsites.
What to expect
No theater background. No memorizing. No one performs alone in front of the room. Here is how an engagement works.
We talk goals
A short call about your team, your customers, and what better communication would unlock for your business.
We tailor the session
Curriculum is built around your goals, group size, and comfort level. No two groups get the same workshop.
Your team plays
Simple, low-stakes group exercises led by Jennifer. Everyone participates together, and nobody is singled out.
We connect it to work
After each exercise we debrief: what happened, why it matters, and exactly how to use it in your next client conversation.
“Lots of give and take, lots of practical tips, and a great use of humor to get people engaged.”
Course evaluation, business advisor
“It helped me feel more comfortable, and I got to know my coworkers better.”
Workshop participant
“I was very motivated to make the four-hour round trip for a session this creative.”
Seminar attendee
Taught by a CPA who swears by improv
Outspoken was founded by Jennifer Dymond, a Portland CPA who began studying improvisational theater in 2012 and watched it transform her consulting practice.
She built Outspoken to share that magic with other professionals: workshops that use the tools of improv to build confidence, improve communication skills, and strengthen relationships. Jennifer has taught corporate workshops for accountants, real estate professionals, software engineers, and sales teams. She speaks fluent spreadsheet and fluent stage, and she knows exactly how it feels to be the analytical person in the room being asked to play.
- Certified Public Accountant and founder of Spire Consulting Services
- Performing and studying improv since 2012
- Instructor at national conferences, including Scaling New Heights
Common questions
Straight answers for skeptical professionals. Have a different question? Ask us directly.
What exactly happens in these workshops?
Depending on group size, participants play simple exercises and games built around creativity and spontaneity. Jennifer then connects the dots: how careful listening and building on each other’s ideas creates a more adaptive, effective team.
Wait, what is improv, exactly?
Simply put, improvisation is thinking spontaneously. Jennifer has an extensive background in comedic improv, which means creating scenes on the spot with little to no preparation. You already improvise every day; we help you get better at it.
Improv? Really? For business?
Really! We take it as seriously as you take your work. Every exercise maps to a concrete workplace skill, and every session ends with a direct conversation about applying those skills on the job.
My team would be mortified. How do I get them on board?
Completely understandable, and the number one concern we hear. These workshops are meant to be fun, not terrifying. All exercises are low-key, no-stakes, and require no experience, and nobody is forced to be put on the spot.
The most common feedback we get: “That was easier than I expected!”
What makes Outspoken different from other improv training?
We take our job as seriously as we take the comedy. No corny games, no dancing: just honest enthusiasm and a direct conversation about applying these skills at work. And we customize every workshop. Past teams include engineers, teachers, sales teams, small business owners, accountants, executives, and nonprofit groups.
Can sessions qualify for CPE credit?
Our workshops have been delivered for CPE credit at national accounting conferences. If continuing education credit matters to your group, mention it when you book and we will help you structure the session.
Where do you run workshops?
We are based in Portland, Oregon, and travel for corporate engagements and conferences. On-site at your office, at your offsite, or on your conference stage.
Book a workshop
Tell us a little about your team and what you would like to improve. We will get back to you shortly.
hello@outspokenimprov.com
Portland, Oregon · travel available
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