Why Hire Experiential Training Instead of Traditional Training?
Traditional training teaches concepts.
Experiential training builds skills through practice.
Participants practice:
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Communicating under pressure
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Collaborating in real time
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Responding to uncertainty
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Building trust
Benefits:
Higher engagement
Better retention
Immediate application
Structured psychological safety
How it works:
What is Improv? At its heart, improv is pure play. Through games and exercises, we help you rediscover that wonderfully spontaneous, childlike part of yourself, and turn it into something genuinely useful. The core principles of improvisation are surprisingly simple: listen well, communicate honestly, and trust the people around you. You'll move, laugh, and connect, and in doing so, you'll find yourself ready to step confidently into the unknown.
Improv Workshops for Businesses: We've been doing this for over 10 years, and we still love every session.
JBel Practice has had the pleasure of working with companies, non-profits and schools of all kinds: Shell, ATCO, TC Energy, Benevity, TELUS, SAIT, and the University of Calgary, among many others. Our workshops are energizing, effective, and genuinely fun.
The difference with improv? Instead of sitting through a presentation your team has to understand, agree with, and somehow internalize, we skip straight to the good part. We get people playing games that naturally bring out the behaviours and mindsets you're hoping to build. Your team discovers it for themselves, which means they actually own it. And yes, it's a lot of fun.
How Our Workshops Flow Every session follows a simple, proven rhythm:
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We introduce a game or exercise to the whole group
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Everyone plays
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We debrief together: you decide how deep you want to go
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Then we do it again
We're firm believers in the mind-body connection. Real learning happens when you experience something first,
in your body, in the moment, and then reflect on what just happened. That's the order that actually sticks.
What We Can Create Together: Every workshop is built around what you need. Want to develop stronger leaders? Spark more creativity? Help your team listen better or get more comfortable presenting? We'll design it with you, using games, conversation, and reflection to get there.
And no matter what we're working on, one thing stays constant: everyone feels safe and supported.
No performing required. Just real people, playing together, and learning something that lasts.
Case Studies
Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary
The Schulich School of Engineering brought us in to deliver an applied improv leadership session for their first-year students, as part of a semester-long leadership course. That was nine years ago and they've hired us every year since.
Students arrive the way most people do, a mixture of curious, nervous, anxious, and excited. Through experiential exercises exploring self-awareness, communication, presence, embracing failure, and leadership, something shifts in the room. Afterwards, students describe feeling grateful, inspired, and grounded. They talk about the value of connecting with peers, seeing how they and others show up in group settings, and discovering that a "Yes, And" mindset is a practical leadership tool; one that helps them engage, encourage, and bring out the best in the people around them.
In 2026 the workshop moved to third-year students, reflecting how well the experience fits a moment when engineering students are stepping more fully into leadership roles.
Western Canada Water — Early Career Summit
Western Canada Water hired us to open their Early Career Summit with a one-hour applied improv session, the goal being simple but important: get attendees comfortable with each other before the day began, so they'd connect freely rather than hesitate.
In just one hour, every participant had worked and laughed with at least four other people, as well as the group as a whole. By the time the session ended, the room had a different energy, people were warm, open, and ready to engage with the rest of the day without the usual awkwardness of a room full of strangers.
The organizers noticed it too. They came back in 2026, and have already said they want us back again, because when people arrive energized and connected, it makes the entire summit more successful.
The James House, Calgary
The James House is a transitional bridge housing program supporting 27 individuals who are unhoused, operating from Housing First, Trauma Informed, and Recovery Oriented models of care.
They brought in facilitator Jessica to work alongside their in-house psychologist-clinician, who runs weekly DBT skills sessions with residents. The format was a genuine collaboration: Jessica led applied improv exercises while the clinician connected what emerged directly to the DBT skill they were working on that week.
What made it work was the sequencing. The improv exercises created a low-risk, playful environment where participants could notice,
in real time, what feelings, sensations, and thoughts were coming up for them. That self-awareness, surfaced through play, gave the clinician rich material to work with. Residents could share as much or as little as they chose, and left with practical tools grounded in their own lived experience in the room.
This kind of expert collaboration is something Jessica brings to a number of settings, including similar work with Respiratory Therapy students at SAIT, where applied improv and specialist knowledge work together to create something neither could achieve alone.
The Impact of Practice
"Jessica facilitated a team building session for a group from different companies and professional backgrounds as part of a project kick-off. We were looking for ways to learn more about each other, our communication styles and how that might show up in our work. Over a 2-hour period she led us through an engaging and thought-provoking series of exercises that had us laughing, provoked really great conversations and reflections and left us feeling like a stronger team. We're excited to be moving into this phase of work knowing each other better and having a shared language. Thanks very much to Jessica, I'd highly recommend her as a facilitator for team building, cross-functional teams and learning and development!"
Heather Chapple
The Good Future Collective
Jessica—we just returned from our day with the students and I wanted you to know that your messages and practice games stayed with them all day. You set a tone of being active, smiling, and “looser” that marked our 6 hours together. During reflection times from our demonstrations and simulations, they referred frequently to your messages (e.g., leave your need to be smart at the door, no perfection needed, your presence will be most influential, and more) and how they might employ them when they are team members and facilitators of various groups (e.g., say yes/and, use your body to invite others to participate and look really good, it only takes a minute to learn a lot about another person). And you would have loved the ending of our day together when Fidel suggested that we play “pass the clap” one more time—everyone was included, flops and all, and we concluded with applause for our work together.
You were awesome and so smooth in your leadership and modeling, your explanations so crystal clear that left them with ease of noting the crossovers between our professions to emerge. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts and knowledge with our students—the effects are to be continued and will be lasting.
Sally St. George
Professor
Director of the Couple and Family Therapy Program
Faculty of Social Work ⁞ University of Calgary
Student reviews from Level 1 Improv Classes
Level 1 Taught at The Kinkonauts Theatre Company
"Jess is possibly the most emotionally intelligent instructor i have ever had. She led by example, always made the space feel so safe, and adapted the instructions based on what we as a group needed. Since so many of us were "corporate", she always made what we did in class into something we could take away and use in our day jobs. Her use of time was great and she was always prepared. ... I would take another class with Jess in a heartbeat! No notes."
"Jessica’s leadership style is the perfect mix of professional and playful. She provided constructive feedback that never felt like a 'correction,' which kept the momentum going and boosted my confidence."
"Jessica created a culture where mistakes were celebrated as 'happy accidents.' We had our signature celebration and sound for these mistakes. This took the pressure off being 'funny' or 'right' and allowed me to be more vulnerable and creative."
"Jessica's humour, caring, being open to questions and feedback, and pushing us to be honest with ourselves, and celebrating our efforts. The way the class gradually progressed from warm up at the beginning to time on the stage at the end of each class was positive."