Blink
Selective Attention Test
Reading Assignment:
As you read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, annotate the text and keep HANDWRITTEN NOTES on notebook paper.
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Resources for Discussion
Chapter 3: The Warren Harding Error
"Many people who looked at Warren Harding saw how extraordinarily handsome and distinguished-looking he was and and jumped to the immediate - and entirely unwarranted - conclusion that he was a man of courage and intelligence and integrity. They didn't dig below the surface. The way he looked carried so many powerful connotations that it stopped the normal process of thinking dead in its tracks" (Gladwell 89).
Chapter 4: Paul Van Riper's Big VictorySuccessful Spontaneity
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If improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport, could anyone be a stand-up comic or performer? Or, will some people always naturally be better at thinking on their toes and more adept at unleashing spontaneity? |
Further Reading: Yes, And: Lessons from The Second City
Yes, And: How Improvisation Reverses "No, But" Thinking and Improves Creativity and Collaboration--Lessons from The Second City The Second City has launched the careers of celebrated comic performers such as Tina Fey and Stephen Colbert and produced award-winning content. But it's the actual improvisational process developed and honed over the years by The Second City that has become its legacy. Players master an ability to co-create in ensembles, using philosophies that celebrate a "Yes, And" approach. They embrace authenticity and failure, and espouse the idea of "following the follower," which allows any member of the team to assume a leadership role. For more than two decades, The Second City has taken these same principles in thousands of corporate clients, showing leaders how to apply the tools of improv to common business challenges. Here, for the first time, Second City executives Kelly Leonard and Tom Yorton describe how you can use the same skills that thrill audiences around the world to improve your emotional intelligence, increase creativity, and learn to pivot out of tight and uncomfortable situations. In this engaging, often humorous, and highly practical book, you will learn how to become a more compelling leader and a more collaborative follower by employing the seven elements of improv: |
- Yes, And, by which you give every idea a chance to be acted on;
- Ensemble, reconciling the needs of individuals with those of the broader team;
- Co-creation, which highlights the importance of dialogue in creating new products, processes, and relationships;
- Authenticity, or being unafraid to speak truth to power, challenge convention, and break the rules;
- Failure, teaching us that not only is it okay to fail, but we should always include it as part of our process;
- Follow the Follower, which gives any member of the group the chance to assume a leadership role;
- Listening, in which you learn to stay in the moment, and know the difference between listening to understand and listening merely to respond.
More people are beginning to recognize what The Second City has known for a long time: In the midst of a revolution in how we learn, communicate, and work, professional success often rests on the same pillars that form the foundation of great comedy: Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration. That's where improvisation comes in.
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South Carolina Police Officer Uproots Racism in Iraq: Blog post by Officer Dana Catoe
Dana Catoe is a Class One Police Officer with the Lexington County Sheriffs Department in Lexington, South Carolina. He rides with the Blue Irons, a policeman's motorcycle group. He frequently lectures around South Carolina about his experiences in Iraq and in the Marines.
Read the article on huffingtonpost.com >
Read the article on huffingtonpost.com >
Final Thoughts & Reflections: In our own words...
As a final response to reading and discussing Blink, I would like you to choose a reflection question as the basis for a one-page reflective essay. The way you organize the essay/discussion/reflection is up to you ("one monster paragraph" does not count as an option) as long as you are
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Related Material
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REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Choose at least one to use as the basis of your reflective essay:
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