Play at Work: The Serious Business of Fun Connection
- Victoria Hogg
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
Play at work is often treated as a joke: some people think you’re a liability if you so much as josh with a colleague in the break room. But it’s not about wasting time, lowering standards or turning a meeting into a circus with biscuits banter.
At its best, play is a social technology. It’s about slowing down and connecting. It helps people relax, listen, experiment and make better pathways forwards.
Richard Branson puts it plainly: “Fun is one of the most important and underrated ingredients in any successful venture.” Not fluffy, or naive, but practical. When people feel safe enough to play, they’re more likely to contribute, collaborate and think creatively.
Research into workplace playfulness suggests that playful employees can positively affect how colleagues perceive and respond to them socially. In other words, playfulness shapes connection, not just mood.
Wellbeing and healthy dynamics notwithstanding, any business that folds in play is statistically likely to maintain higher staff retention - which, to be clear, makes for a better ROI of that staff member.
For presentations, this matters enormously. A presentation is not just information transfer. It is a live interpersonal exchange. Play helps the room breathe, percolate and process difficult information.
The playful opening
Instead of beginning with, “Today I’m going to talk about improving communication,” try: “Hands up if you’ve ever left a meeting thinking, ‘I have no idea what just happened.’ Excellent! We’re among friends.” A tiny playful moment creates recognition. The audience feels seen before they are taught.
The interactive metaphor
If you’re explaining teamwork, don’t just show a slide with a photo of interlocking cogs; instead, invite the audience to build the idea with you: “Shout out one thing that makes a team wobble.” Capture their answers, then shape your points around their offers. This is improv in action: accept the offer, build on it and make the audience part of the process and the meaning.
The Adaptability Quotient pay-off
Play supports an agile mindset, which values experimentation, feedback and adaptability. It says, “Let’s try this. Let’s notice what happens. Let’s adjust.”
That is why playful presenters often feel more engaging. They’re not clinging rigidly to a script; they’re responding to the room.
The key? Purposeful play. A joke with no connection to the message may distract. A playful moment that reveals truth, invites participation or lowers tension can transform the whole room.
The takeaway? Play is not the opposite of professionalism. It is often the doorway into better professionalism: warmer, braver, more human, more memorable.
When people play together, they stop being passive observers and become participants. And that is where real connection begins.
All the best,
Paul n Vic
#AppliedImprovisation #YesAnd #BusinessInPlay #BusinessSkills #PersonalGrowth #AgilityinBusiness #AdaptabilityQuotient #PositiveEnergy #PlayfulSolutions #PlayAtWork #Playfulness
If you have a work problem to fix and you want to hear how applied improvisation can support you, email us at hello@improvinc.co.uk. We’d love to meet you! All chemistry calls are free.
Joke’s On Me!
Aim: To increase your self-awareness of how you come across, including making light of subjects.
Outcome: You'll be happier to sit in the duality of having fun AND taking each task in hand seriously.
How it works: Next time you're in any meeting, make a note of a serious point and, in your own time, write up three or four witty responses to that point that, importantly, would not embarrass or confuse whoever made the point in the first place.
Reflections: What is your default: playful or serious? Can you, with practise, have both engines running at the same time? What's the advantage of that?
