What Theater Can Teach Us About Work featuring J. Noble and Nora Wheaton

I recently welcomed J. Noble and Nora Wheaton from American Conservatory Theater (ACT) onto the Snafu podcast for a conversation about theater, storytelling, leadership, and what the performing arts can teach us about how we communicate and work together. We talked about the tension between adapting to the person or situation in front of you while still bringing your own personality, perspective, and strengths into the conversation. We also explored storytelling and the role it plays in everything from sales and leadership to building relationships and communicating ideas. J and Nora made the case that many workplace conversations could benefit from the same intentionality actors bring to a performance: listening carefully, understanding what you're trying to accomplish, paying attention to how you're affecting the people around you, and being willing to rehearse before the stakes are high. This was a fun conversation about something I think we could all use more of at work: the willingness to practice, experiment, listen, and be a little more human. If you're interested in storytelling, communication, leadership, authenticity, theater, or simply finding better ways to work with other people, I think you'll enjoy this one.