Being Shy is Being Selfish | Ellen Schnur & Jim Mecir | TEDxIIT

If you are on a baseball team or a work team, it’s your responsibility to bring out your best self, especially when the going gets tough, or the burden falls on everyone else. The voice of fear or negativity in our head too often prevents us from doing that, and we let the team down.

After years in business and training, Ellen studied improv at Second City and discovered the real world applications improv offered. Things like:
How to make stronger connections with clients.
How taking risks helps you to get past your inner critic.
How saying “Yes, And” can change everything!
Ellen believes that applying and practicing improv tools and principles, along with business communication tools and research, creates better speakers, team members, and leaders. And it’s is SO MUCH FUN!

Ellen Schnur has led Applied Improvisation workshops for businesses and organizations including Dow Corning, Diners Club, American Association for Manufacturing Excellence, NAWBO, TEDxIIT, Zebra Technologies, VanDerCook College, Smith Bucklin, Toastmasters, and more.


Jim Mecir is a former 10-year Major League Baseball player. He pitched for five teams including 1996 World Series Champion New York Yankees and the 2002 Oakland Athletics who were the inspiration behind the book and movie “Moneyball”. Jim is known for his ability to overcome a birth defect to persevere in the Major leagues. In 2003 he won the Tony Conigliaro award given to the player who overcomes an obstacle through the spirit of courage and determination. Jim transitioned from the mound to the stage where he speaks about overcoming adversity and performs teamwork workshops for ImprovTalk.


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx