The recent move of Merlin Works Improv to the ZACH Theatre isn’t the only big change happening at Austin’s premiere improv school. We also have two exciting announcements about our corporate training programs.
The first big news is that Merlin Works has added a new Training and Events Coordinator! Our very own improv teacher Aden Kirschner, is excited to be taking the reigns on the corporate training side of Merlin Works.
In addition to being one of our beloved faculty members, Aden is an accomplished trainer and facilitator with an extensive background in education, three years of experience in the software industry and performance credits that include Esther’s Follies and B. Iden Payne Award winning, Girls Girls Girls Improvised Musicals. She has been sought out and hired by companies including Fort Lewis College and HP to teach applied improv to employees.
Our other big announcement is that starting in February, Merlin Works is excited to welcome The Art of Change to its corporate training program by launching Persuasion Works– an interactive workshop on communication, conflict resolution, and negotiation.
In December 2012, Merlin Works was approached by Dell to build on our experience of creating, fun, interactive business seminars by adding a course on conflict resolution and negotiation. So as our new Training and Events coordinator, Aden started getting to work, researching different communication methodologies. But all the big name books she was reading weren’t fitting. She realized that there was a methodology that I really believed in and knew backwards and forwards–her Dad’s!
That’s when Aden spoke to her father Dr. Rick Kirschner, author of multiple best selling titles, including Dealing With People You Can’t Stand and How to Click with People. As a professional speaker and communication skills trainer, Dr. Kirschner delivers artful programs on Business, Relationships and Life that are ideal for your event. In venues ranging from conference halls to boardrooms to grand theaters, with groups as large as 6000 attendees or as small as 4 executives in an off the beaten track locale, he helps his audience find the personal motivation and learn the needed skills to do the important work today for creating a better tomorrow.
Dr. Kirschner, who has been traveling the country presenting to Fortune 1000 companies for years, felt Merlin Works could take some of the most popular segments from his work and combine it with the fresh and engaging improv style they have honed for the last decade in our Team Works and Comedy Works programs.
So this Spring Merlin Works is launching Persuasion Works, a hands-on workshop where people get to learn how to be present, listen fully, blend with others, break through communication blocks, and use the Seven Signals of Persuasion to get their point across in an authentic way. “When Shana was reading An Insider’s Guide to the Art of Persuasion, She kept coming across all these fundamental improv lessons. So we’ve paired up playful activities with solid, research based strategies for a entertaining and effective program.
If you think Persuasion Works might be perfect for your company, get a free quote now! Submit your request through our online form, or just contact Aden Kirschner, our Corporate Training and Events Coordinator directly at aden@merlin-works.com!
