OUT OF OFFICE

EXTRA TIME

Out of offi ce

TEAM BUILDING

Just make it up Mr Dickins. “We tell people not to try to be clever or funny. If you do, you’ll block yourself up. We like to think of improv as yoga for your soft skills, making your Comedians may make improvisation look eff ortless, communication more supple.”

but it’s rooted in simple skills and techniques. Learning Q them can help employees communicate more eff ectively – and there are several outfi ts delivering improv What will the business get out of it? As well as being a fun way of bringing workshops via videoconferencing colleagues together, improv is excellent at teaching self-awareness about communication. Mr Dickins says: “A lot Q What can you do? Hoopla, which pioneered London’s Q How can you do it? Workshops can be delivered via of things we think we do well, we actually do badly – perhaps we fi nd out fi rst club dedicated to improv comedy, runs Zoom or any other videoconferencing we’re not such good listeners, or that we online workshops through its corporate platform. You can also learn how to use have an instinct to shut down other training arm, Hoopla Business (020 3916 improv techniques at your leisure from people’s ideas. And improv provides a 5042, hooplabusiness.com). Founder Max Dickins’ book, Improvise! Use the Secrets space where making mistakes is OK: Dickins says: “Our teambuilding sessions of Improv to Achieve Extraordinary being able to mess up for it to be funny is are about creating something that teams Results at Work (improvisethebook.com). a very liberating thing.” can sometimes be lacking – genuine human connection with one another.” Each session harnesses key concepts of Q What are the risks? Shows such as Whose Line Is It Q What does it cost? Th e online format improv to help team members collaborate Anyway? and Mock the Week may be lends itself best to short and create ideas together. Workshops are most people’s reference point for improv, sessions of 60 to 90 structured into a series of exercises – but introverts shouldn’t worry that minutes. A workshop for whole-group activities plus breakout they’ll need lightning-fast wit and a up to 20 people, using sessions where colleagues work in pairs. verbal riposte always cued up. “It’s two facilitators, starts at

Th ree principles are paramount. not about performance at all,” says around £700. “Firstly, it’s all about listening amazingly well, with the willingness to be changed by what the other person says,” says Mr Dickins. “Second is what we call the philosophy of ‘yes and...’. You say ‘We like to think of something to me, I accept it and add improv as yoga for your something from my own perspective. Lastly, you need to treat everything as an off er. Anything that gets thrown at you soft skills, making your communication – including any unexpected mistakes, more supple’ curveballs or problems – you fi nd something useful in it.”

Other outfi ts off ering improv workshops include Hivemind (hivemindimprov.com), Th e Maydays (themaydays. co.uk) and overlapping troupe Th e Nursery (thenurserytheatre.com).

EXTRA TIME

Out of offi ce

SPENDING IT

Click and connect Many independent retailers took a big hit during lockdown, unable to compete with online leviathans. Here are some alternative shopping sites that support the high street and small businesses

1Buy the book Local bookstores are a vital community resource – and until the pandemic hit, they were staging a remarkable comeback, with membership of the Booksellers Association creeping up in recent years (see booksellers.org.uk, where you can search for a nearby store by postcode). You can

INVESTING IT Viewing and acquiring art online has seldom been straightforward. Galleries, auction houses and art fairs have been slow to adopt digital technology – until Covid-19 shut everything down overnight.

Figures from the insurance provider Hiscox suggest this could be driving a digital transformation in the art world. Halfway through 2020, online-only auction sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips were 436 per cent up on the same period last year. And according to Hiscox’s Online Art Trade Report, the changes are not only profound, but more than likely irreversible: “No longer will we have the joy and pain of crowded art fairs and gallery openings. Dealers will have to fi nd new ways to create the buzz.” support them by buying at hive.co.uk, which also off ers e-books, DVDs and Blu-ray, music and stationery. A cut of every sale goes to local bookshops, and you can nominate which ones to support.

2Indy boutiques Two of the best sites for buying direct from independent boutiques are downyourhighstreet.co.uk and

THE CHANGING PICTURE OF ART

trouva.com. Both off er a wide

Art fairs are a canary in the coalmine, according to Robert Read, Hiscox’s Head of Art and Private Clients. He says: “Whether her you were selling contemporary art at the top end of the market, , or ephemera at the bottom, these se were a really big vehicle. They’ve ve all been taken away in one fell swoop, and the only thing that can fi ll the vacuum is online sales.”

In 2020, the biggest global fairs have shown how this can be done. The Art Basel fair in June was an entirely virtual aff air, and it’s reported that many multi-million dollar sales took place in its online viewing rooms during the VIP preview period. However, one of the main eff ects of the digital shift may well be to democratise the art market and lower barriers to entry. range of clothing, homeware, gifts and other goods from businesses all across the UK.

3Artisan producers Founded in Bristol but now a nationwide operation, goodsixty.co.uk promises “the very best food delivered from independent retailers and artisan producers”. You can put together an order from multiple traders – around 140 are available in most areas – then confi rm and pay with a single checkout. With everything from cheese and charcuterie to pies and preserves on off er, it’s a potential diet-killer.

4Creators For many thousands of independent creators and microbusinesses, etsy.com

Some galleries and auction houses are rolling out technology to help users visualise what they’re buying, with tools that can show works hung in a virtual room. Mr Read also believes that dealers will adopt less opaque pricing. “Historically, it was a given that you would haggle when buying art. Now, when we buy something online, we expect to see the best price immediately, and to know exactly what we’re buying and what condition it’s in.” provides an invaluable shop provides front. It’s a worldwide craft fair for handmade, custom and vintage items; an online rummage tends to bring up both trash and treasure, but you’ll discover plenty of pieces that are unique.

5Buy local Drink global, buy local: ukwinesonline.co.uk maintains a directory of independent wine merchants, many of which off er deliveries in their area. Although the website looks as though it was designed in the mid-1990s, the content is up to date and comprehensive. If you’re seeking grain rather than grape, try the self-explanatory beerishere.org for details of craft breweries and specialist beer stockists delivering in

your neighbourhood.

Change could be rapid. Change could be rapid. The Art The Art Market 2020, published by Art Basel and UBS, estimated that in 2019 online sales accounted for 9 per cent of sales in the global art and antiques market by value ($5.9 billion of $64.1 billion). “I think online sales will account for at least 25 per cent of the market within fi ve years,” says Mr Read. “A moment has arrived that can change everything – in the words of Jean-Luc Picard, things are only impossible until they are not.”