Yes, And | Workshop

Join us for a day of improving communication, leadership, and collaboration through fun, laughter, and a few well-designed games. Yes, And for Business leaders is an interactive workshop that introduces improvisation and storytelling as practical tools for modern leadership. This session uses structured creativity exercises to help participants build presence, adaptability, and trust.

This experience is built specifically for professionals, especially HR leaders, who want practical takeaways, not performance pressure. Every activity is guided, purposeful, and immediately applicable back in the workplace. And you'll probably have a few laughs too!

Part 1: Warming Up to Presence:

We begin with light, engaging games like Pass the Clap and a One-Word Group Story. These exercises gently bring participants into the room mentally and physically while building: real-time listening, awareness of others, letting go of overthinking, and co-creation without control. Participants quickly experience an important leadership truth: being present matters more than being clever.

Part 2: The Power of "Yes, And"

At the heart of improv is a simple concept: Yes, And. This isn't about blind agreement. It's about acknowledging a contribution and building on it. Through small-team storytelling and partner-based fun and games, participants practice: supporting ideas instead of correcting them, moving conversations forward, shared ownership, nonverbal communication, and trust and adaptability. HR professionals often see firsthand how quickly ideas die in meetings. This section gives them language and exercises they can bring back to teams to improve brainstorming, feedback conversations, and cross-functional collaboration.

Part 3: Storytelling Under Pressure

Clear communication is a leadership superpower. Participants learn a simple framework of Who/ What/ Where to anchor conversations, presentations, and high-stakes discussions. Through "heightened storytelling" and scene-based exercises, they practice: structuring ideas quickly, staying grounded while adapting, listening under pressure and responding instead of rehearsing

By adding creative constraints (changing pace, tone, or physicality), participants break rigid thinking patterns for fast-moving organizational environments.

You will leave with strengthened:

This workshop doesn't end in the room. You walk away with:

Where leaders are constantly responding to change, the ability to listen, build, and adapt in real time is a competitive advantage. And it turns out, you can build it through play.

Pricing:

About our Presenter:

Erica Mesirov is the Founder and President of Joy At The Top, where she partners with organizations to prevent burnout, strengthen team connection, and build resilient, high-performing cultures. As a corporate wellness consultant and strategist, Erica works with leaders and teams in high-pressure environments to implement sustainable stress management practices that improve focus, engagement, and performance.

With a master's degree in Holistic Nutrition and advanced certifications in meditation, sound healing, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and hypnosis, Erica brings both scientific grounding and behavioral insight to her work. She equips teams with practical, accessible tools to regulate stress, increase presence, and restore energy. Her workshops and programs blend neuroscience, mindset training, and experiential learning to create measurable outcomes: reduced turnover, fewer sick days, improved productivity, and stronger team cohesion.

Erica's approach is also shaped by her unique creative background. A former professional actress, she completed a two-year intensive program in performance and improvisation at the New Actors Workshop, studying under legendary director Mike Nichols, director of The Graduate, and improv pioneer Paul Sills, founder of The Second City. This training deeply informs her work today, where she integrates storytelling and improvisational techniques to help leaders communicate more effectively, adapt quickly, and build authentic connection within their teams.

Her belief in workplace wellbeing is also personal. Erica met her husband while on a six-month theater tour across the United States and Europe. Today, he works in Human Resources and led the leadership and employee development program at Los Angeles International Airport during the COVID-19 crisis. This gave Erica a close-up view of the pressures HR leaders and organizations face during times of disruption and change.

Erica believes joy at work isn't a luxury, but a company advantage. Through keynotes, workshops, and long-term wellness strategies, she helps organizations create environments where people stay sharp, resilient, and fully engaged in even the busiest seasons

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth 4.5
Professional Development points. 

Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

ATD Capability Model

This program aligns with the following Domains and Capabilities: 

Building Personal Capability

Developing Professional Capability

Impacting Organizational Capability

Talent development professionals should be able to implement a multilevel, systematic method for gathering, analyzing, and reporting on information about the effectiveness and effort of learning programs.

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

Accessibility

ATD-OC events are accessible to all participants. If you have questions or require special accommodations or auxiliary aid related to a disability for you to participate in the event, please notify us at least three weeks in advance by message to ocoffice@atdoc.org, with subject line "ADA Accommodations," outlining your needs and request for accommodation.

We will make every effort to work with you to accommodate your need.

PHOTOGRAPHY RELEASE

As part of your registration, you will be required to indicate your acceptance or rejection of the statement below:

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will be seated outside of the field of video.