Amanda Austin
An improv comedian living in a business-minded brain. Masters: I/O Psychology.
Dallas, Texas, United States
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Amanda has worked in training and leadership development for the past 15 years. She believes the vulnerability required to improvise and create something together on stage as a team can be translated to a professional group of any size. She uses the philosophy of improvisation and the power of "Yes, And" as a catalyst for positive change within an organization. Her active listening approach to coaching focuses on teaching individuals and teams the difference between listening to respond and listening to understand. With over 100 clients to date, Amanda has extensive experience speaking to groups as small as10 and as large as 10,000. Some of her previous clients include Hilton, Accenture, Capital One, Deloitte, PWC, Hitachi Consulting, Infor, Paraveda, SalesForce, McDonald's, US Army, and Southwest Airlines.
Amanda was the Founder/CEO of Dallas Comedy House (2009-2020), where she oversaw day to day operations of DCH. She was the founder and Executive Producer of the Dallas Comedy Festival (2009-2019). She's the Co-founder of ComedyHouse, a professional training and coaching service, and the co-author of the REALway® leadership training program.
Amanda received her Bachelor of Science in Journalism and a Minor in Business Administration from Texas A&M University. She earned her Graduate Certificate in Organizational Behavior from Harvard University and a Certificate in Building a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace from Cornell. She completed her Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Harvard University in May 2024. Amanda served as an Adjunct Professor as the Designer in Residence for the SMU Masters of Design and Innovation Program for the Fall 2021 Semester. She's a graduate of the 2018 Leadership Dallas Cohort with the Dallas Regional Chamber, where she continued her commitment as the Leadership Consultant for 2019-2020.
Amanda is a 2020 Tory Burch Foundation Fellow. She's the recipient of the 2020 Arts and Culture Award from the Asian Chamber of Texas and was previously awarded the Dallas Business Journal's Women in Business Award and Best Theater Director by the Dallas Observer. Amanda served as the Marketing Chair of the Executive Committee for the AT&T Performing Arts Center Auxiliary Board, a Board Member of the Deep Ellum Foundation as well as an inaugural Board Member for Fearless Dallas.
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No Script Required: Improv Comedy Techniques for Building High Performance Teams
Have you ever wanted to take all the great things in improv comedy and apply them to your team so you can be both productive AND fun but are A) have no idea where to start, B) intimidated as heck, or C) all of the above? Well, then this is the session for you!
In this improv-centered workshop, you will hands-on participate in several fundamental improv exercises that you can take back to your teams to help foster trust, communication, and collaboration, ultimately creating a team and environment worth applauding!
Region 9 Education Leadership Conference
Pattison Annual Sales and Operations Conference
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