His enthusiasm for improv and teaching come across on every page, and it’s easy to imagine yourself greatly enjoying and benefitting from his classes.

As readers we can immerse ourselves in his thorough discussions of the work, beginning with the well-chosen example of ‘Kitty Wants A Corner’. He describes why he selects that activity, explains how to run it, and – most welcome of all - how he uses it to illustrate specific points, in this case about ‘risk’ and ‘judgement’. That’s helpful, as it points us towards much stronger debriefs than, say, the topics of ‘fear’ or ‘mistakes’ that are often the misguided starting points for less thoughtful and novice AI practitioners.

Greg treats us to pithy, clear vocabulary and witty remarks. ‘No one wants to watch a needy performer,’ he states, and describes Einstein as ‘a scientist you may have heard of’.

He dismantles the ‘thinking outside the box’ cliche, though remains zonally comfortable with ‘comfort zone’. Refreshingly forthright, with worthwhile comments on originality, physicality and embodiment, and perfectionism, sometimes he strays over the line into the manifestly untrue: ‘You have to lose to improve’, for example, is an adage that dismisses all sorts of improvement strategies, such as solo mental and physical preparation and collaborative non-competitive practice.

The book offers a decent range and selection of real-world examples (though very few cases from actual businesses), interesting quotations, proper footnotes, a reading list and index: these are all surprisingly rare in Applied Improvisation tomes – so bravo!

Greg is unashamedly writing from a business school perspective and a theatre background on which he leans a little too heavily (for my taste). That heritage dominates especially in the ‘Exercises’: The very word reeks of theatre. More talk of ‘activities’ - even ‘games’ if you must – would be apposite for an AI event or project, with less about ‘scenes’ and ‘audiences’.

Still, that’s where many of us are coming from, and it’s understandably taking us a while as a community of practice to re-configure the thinking and vocabulary for the contemporary needs and opportunities for Applied Improvisation in organizations.

At one point, Greg makes the over-optimistic claim that ’we’re crossing from theatrical improv to applied improv without even trying’. Sadly not. To the contrary, there’s more – and interesting - work for us to do here, and I’d encourage bright, knowledgeable and articulate leaders such as Greg Hohn to be in the forefront of those developments.

Meanwhile, astute readers will readily glean a nourishing selection of well-presented activities and coach-like discussions, making this a valuable addition to any AI bookshelf.

About the Author: Paul Z Jackson

He is editorial advisor and editor of the Applied Improvisation Magazine and author of books about improvisation, including Impro Learning, 58½ Ways To Improvise In Training and Easy: Your LIFEPASS to Creativity and Confidence. He is a co-founder and a former board member of the AIN. Paul lives in Oxford, UK.

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(Last Updated: Tuesday, January 13th, 2026)