Uh oh! You’ve been selected to give a presentation at work. You have managed to dodge the bullet dozens of time, but this time your luck has officially run out.

Speaking in front of a group of people is not your forte, and it terrifies you to have to give a presentation when you know your boss will be in the room.

What happens if you freeze up? Or what if you loose your train of thought? The stress is enough to make you feel nauseous.

But having to address a crowd is not uncommon regardless of your profession. No one gets out of having to make a speech or give a presentation at least once in their life.

Yet did you know people rank public speaking as one of the top five most stressful things to do? It causes a lot of anxiety for people no matter what their position within the company might be.

As someone who has spent most of her life performing, I can say I never feared having to address a room full of people I didn’t know.

And I unknowingly prepared myself by training for it, and you can too!

How? It’s simple and it doesn’t require you to enroll in a four year acting conservatory. All you have to do is take a few improv classes.

Improvisation is the act of learning how to listen and respond on the fly and off the cuff. There are no scripts, no rehearsals and it’s simply you, your improv partner, and an idea.

You have to learn how to listen to what your partner is giving you and judge how you will respond. Great improv actors have built quite a career off their skills, one of the most famous being Jim Carrey.

It’s all about listening and reacting while keeping your mind quick and on it’s feet. But the great thing about having improv skills is you don’t have to be an actor or comedian to benefit from it.

Improv teaches you how to be comfortable performing in front of people you don’t know without any materials worked out prior.

So that presentation you have to give at work, improv can help you learn how to calm your nerves and focus on presenting the materials without having a script memorized or rehearsed bit.

You learn how to confidently address the room, assess what your objective is, and do what you need to in order to meet it. Everything an actor learns in an improv class can easily be translated and put to use in the corporate world.

Whether you are a kid or an adult, everyone can benefit from taking improv classes.

Having to read your report in front of the class, no matter if it’s in third grade or in college, can be daunting.

Again, improv is an amazing tool for kids and young adults because it teaches them early on how to have confidence in themselves and the choices they are making.

You learn how to speak clearly, carry yourself well, and articulate what it is you need to say.

See, you don’t have to be a budding actor to benefit from improv classes. Now check out what your city offers and get to a class! You won’t regret it.