Navigating Diversity & Inclusion in the Corporate World

Transcript - Navigating Diversity & Inclusion in the Corporate World

Rich: On, this very special episode of team building saves the world because I was enjoying this so much. And I personally, I think it’s a remarkably important conversation. Yeah.

Eva: Greg is a handsome man

and a very good improviser. And then into a boot, a nice person.

Rich: Hey, for, for my listening audience out there, Greg is a very handsome man.

Greg:  If we could just go around the round table and say what your favorite features of my face

Eva: though, we haven’t gotten to our $10,000 show, um, maybe one day, but, um, but you get, you get love and appreciation and other ways to improv

Coonoor: Hey Rich, I was under the impression that we were being paid $10,000, for this interview.

Rich: What actually takes somebody from improv and decides that I need to tell the corporate world.

Of the benefits of this.

Coonoor: And yeah, it was actually more of the corporate world telling me

Eva: The goal of theater is to comfort the disturbed into disturbed the comforted

Rich: hello team. It’s me. Your old friend. Rich  Rininsland host of team building saves the world. The show. When I speak to the leaders and innovators, the team building industry from all across the globe, try to find out what about that industry is so important, especially in the world of today. And today we’re exploring diversity.

I’m talking to the creators of an innovative interview based improv program called white privilege, black power. Greg Tinsdale Eva Lewis, as well as the author of the new book. I quit the life-affirming joy of giving up. Coonoor Behal. But first I need to send thanks out to my supporters, at TeamBonding if your team is ready to learn about teamwork and the power of play, then visit teambonding.com to learn more.

And now team join me in welcoming the creators of white privilege, black power, Greg Tinsdale and Eva Lewis and the founder and CEO of mind hatch Coonoor Behal hi guys,

that group of applause. You hear that applause. You hear that’s coming from a trapped group of people under my desk. Don’t worry. They’re glad to be there. I feed them regularly. Sorry, go ahead, Greg.

Greg: You were saying Richard, I wanted to say that my name is actually Greg Tindale there’s no “s”

Rich:  Oh, I’m so sorry.

Greg: The s totally come. And, uh, uh, the reason I bring it up is because my old wrestling coach, when he wanted to make me mad would go great job., Tinsdale Like deep down there. It’s fine. But I just want to let everyone down,

Rich: you know, I was

thinking about editing it to correct that, but I’m not, this is great. This is great.

Coonoor: I’m also just so entertained that it was not my name. ,that got mispronounced right? The white guy’s name, that got

mispronounced.

Rich: By the  other white guy got better and day. Yeah. And actually I’m really embarrassed about it because my last name is Rininsland, which means I have spent my entire life. Going through a variety of weird last names, including when I was in high school, I had a friend of mine who just gave up and started calling me reindeer sled.

let’s start with you guys. , Coonoor let’s start with you in mind. Hatch, can you actually, just as a history of all of this, tell my team about you and the company.

Coonoor: Yeah, of course. So mind hatch is my creative consultancy that I’ve had for about seven and a half years. I can’t believe it. I, uh, founded it after spending a few years in innovation strategy work at Deloitte actually, as my dad always calls it, Deloittes, it’s another,

um, um, uh, yeah, and so, uh, through Mind Hatch what we’re all about is, is creating the conditions for innovation and creativity to thrive within organizations and within teams. So we do design thinking and human centered design. We do organizational improv and innovation facilitation. And then of course, what we’re going to be talking about today with Greg and Eva, which is their show white privilege black power

Rich: while all that sounded perfect.

And like you had said it over and over and over again for many years, give us a little bit more about what Mind Hatch’s philosophy is and what exactly they’re trying to tackle in the marketplace.

Coonoor: Yeah. Yeah. So it’s definitely, you know, it’s definitely born of a lot of gaps that I felt as someone working in companies and an organizations, nonprofit and for-profit alike, you know, where we’re kind of still stuck, dare I say a trapped in this kind of.

Factory mentality in terms of how people work, how offices are set up the prioritization on FaceTime, you know, and, um, even bureaucracies, right. Are very much like, um, trace back to how like factories are set up. And the truth is that, especially in like a knowledge services environment, which a lot of people work in now that doesn’t really work.

That’s not really the right. Culture or the right way of work, or even the way of thinking to really inspire and produce innovative and creative thinking and innovative and creative thinking is what’s going to help your company stand the test of these, like never ending changes to the economy. You know, there are now happening even more rapidly than they were before.

So I’d view it as both kind of like an organizational culture play, you know, like I I’m really passionate about helping organizations not create or me’s who have to like leave the company to kind of do innovation and creativity work. Right. And so that’s kind of one thing that really lights a fire in my belly, but also just in order to innovate and to be a good.

Business. Like you need to be innovative. You need to be creative. You need to be paying attention to DEI because all of that is instrumental to your bottom line. So to me, it’s equal parts, creative thinking, but also just good business strategy.

Rich: When I did some middle management stuff. Just so everybody is aware of who I am for you guys.

I’ve been a professional actor creator writer since I was 25 years old, which means I have waited all the tables. I have tended all the bars for a long time. I was in corporate security work where I actually managed to make it up to middle management and then realized that was nowhere near what I wanted to be.

But while I was there, we were constantly being told it is far easier to maintain the people you have than it is to hire new folks. And it seems so much easier now for people to just dare I quote your book, say quit. So, so you’re saying that we do that. You’re focusing more trying to teach the marketplace to actually change for the people that they’re employing.

Coonoor: Yeah.

Yeah, no. Like for me leaving and being an entrepreneur was the right choice. Right. It was the way I was going to get things that I valued such as working in a meritocracy. Right. But that’s all for everyone, you know, not everyone has to be a small business owner or an entrepreneur. Some people really want to, and for good reasons, you know, wants to work in other companies.

And so, you know, there’s always going to be a critical mass of people who are like that. And so, you know, you need to kind of get the best out of them and have them do good work and enjoy being there and not be treated like a cog in a wheel. Right. And, and understand that they have a really big role to play in the culture of the organization and culture in turn has a huge role to play in how successful your businesses.

So I think it’s that. Yeah. And then of course, kind of getting into the tactical of also we use design thinking to really help you form innovative solutions that are, you know, in response to, to the marketplace and really deeply understanding through. Anthropological and empathic methods like understanding who your customers are and what their deepest desires are.

Right. So you can design for the future, you know, as opposed to the past. Nice.

Rich: Can you actually define what EDI means? It was something you had met previously. I was

Coonoor: DEI DEI, diversity, equity and inclusion. Yeah. That’s kind of a common acronym for, for those three things. Yeah.

Rich: So when was it that you and your company met Eva and Greg?

Coonoor: Yeah, well, uh,  do Eva and Greg wanted, wanna talk about that too. I’ll share my side of the love story, um, and they can share their, their impression of

it, but, um,

Rich: let’s let them stay quiet and you give yours and let’s see if they shake their heads no or not. Yeah.

Coonoor: Um, so I known Greg and Eva for. Quite literally 10 years.

So it was 10 years ago, actually last month that I first started doing improv comedy in the Washington DC area is when I took my first class. And so shortly thereafter, Eva and I met because we were, um, both casts on the same, uh, improv team in Washington, DC that still exists. And Eva is still a part of, and I miss dearly since I moved away from DC, but I crashed the rehearsals whenever I can.

And so, and then Greg, you know, when I was coming up through classes in DC and Greg was like the dude, it was like the guy, the star on the stage who was already in lots of teams. And I would as like a thirsty young student, like go and watch, you know, at different, at different places. And so, yeah. Yeah. So Greg was definitely kind of a, a veteran of the scene, you know, before I became a veteran of the scene.

So I’ve known them for a long time and I definitely was aware that after I think you all started white privilege, black power after I moved to Seattle, Think well, we’ll match up timelines, but, um, but I definitely was aware that Greg and Eva had started collaborating. And one of the things that they were collaborating on was this show called white priviledge black power.

And I’d seen a couple of their videos online. And, uh, it was obviously a really, really great format, you know, like using improv and using comedy and using all the skills that improvisers, um, like Eva and Greg are amazing at to, um, draw light on, you know, difference like topics of difference, you know, whether it be race related, gender related, Um, about ableism, you know, LGBTQ identities.

And so they were just doing really remarkable things with their incredible skill and charm, you know, to kind of illustrate and bring to life, you know, these lives of difference that aren’t often brought to life. And, uh, yeah, and so I was extremely tickled when they reached out to me a couple of years ago and said, Coonoor, we think this has a lot of play for organizations, you know, doing DEI work.

And we would like to do it through Mind Hatch . So I was tickled not only because I know and love Greg and Eva and loved the premise of the show, but also from seven years ago, when I found in , I. I always kind of knew in my gut that there were some, there was something there between improv and diversity work.

I just knew there was something that could be used. And, and that the skills that I had trained in as improviser or critical, you know, to kind of having difficult conversations and having empathy for people who are not like you, but Greg and Eva just kind of like gave it to me on a silver platter. Like yes, here’s the connection, you know?

And so, um, and so, yeah, so it was really exciting from, from both standpoints.

Rich: Okay, Greg, Eva, let’s back up from your perspective. Now tell us a bit about yourselves, how you guys came together and where this all grew from.

Eva:  Coonoor knows, like how it kind of like when she first saw Greg, like I just knew Greg was around.

I kinda, like, I knew he was around. I knew he was a veteran. I call him like the first wave of like Washington proxy.

Rich: Yeah. Okay. But you weren’t, as you weren’t as starstruck.

Eva: Yeah. Greg is a handsome man in a very good improvisor and, and, and to boot a nice person

Rich: for my listening audience out there. Greg is a very handsome man.

Greg: Oh guys

Rich: yes. Now you must be nice to everybody else, Greg

Greg: it’s. Yes. If we could just go around the round table and say what your favorite features of my face. One way to just start this off.

Rich: I was going to be named your fashion sense, but I’ve only just met you.

Greg:  Well, I can jump in and say that, you know, I started doing improv in 2005, 2005, 2006.

And at the same time, uh, you know, I had a day job where I was a real estate agent. So I was, I was building this real estate business and you’re taking all the business books, taking all the seminars, all this stuff, but then I was also going through improv classes and I was like, wow, all these lessons I’m learning and improv.

Are the exact same as the business books and the business seminars only better. They were teaching me so much out of it. And so I think from day one of doing improv and doing that kind of level of comedy was I saw the connection to the practical world and the business world, and then thus the organizational world.

So I always knew that I wanted to do something like that, to be able to show other people how these simple improv rules can make you better at your job and better at life. So I always knew I wanted to do that, but, um, the, the very first improv group I was ever in was one called jinx. And I’m a bunch of people in that had gone on to success in multiple levels of, of comedy.

Um, also all lovely people. But the joke always was, was I kept being like, Hey, how do we get someone to pay us $10,000? Right. Okay. I wa I kept the, and I, at that point I was not good at improv. Like I wasn’t good. I was like, we need to find somebody to pay us $10,000 to do this improv show. And so at each level of getting better and better at improv, I kept being like, if this, the $10,000 show is this the $10,000

and, um, when I, uh, when I met Eva, um, we, we were, we were cast on a, um, I forget what the exact show it was, but yeah, it might’ve been, I think we were doing improvised, uh, horror

Yeah. And I remember, you know, the audience. I feel like we said, I consider myself a very good improviser. Nobody cared about me. Everybody loved Eva. Like Eva got all the laughs audiences. Like we’re all about her. And I was like, okay, it’s time for me to hitch my star. And so I knew, I knew selfishly. I wanted to do a show with Eva just because I wanted to perform with her because she’s so great.

Nice. And, um, So then it, uh, it started right around the 2016 election where, you know, we were both living in and around Washington DC. And I remember waking up in the next day after the results. And it was like doomsday, like people were on the Metro crying. There was a guy on the corner in DuPont circle in DC, just like giving out free hugs.

Like it, it was all clear. Yeah. It was clear that like, there was, there’s like this big rift that people didn’t understand the differences of what was going on in the different parts of the country. Um, and my background is I grew up in a little town called Westminster, Maryland, which is like a very rural kind of country area.

I grew up across the street from a corn field and then, you know, made my way out. But a lot of my friends are those people that America didn’t know were around and ready to vote and that election and, you know, and so I kind of had this very unique view of myself being a, a more liberal guy, but understanding where these other folks were coming from.

So I reached out to Eva and I said, Hey, let’s do this two person show where we just talk about what’s different about each other. And we’ll ask each other honest questions and then just learn and get to share that with the audience. And, um, it, we, we did it once and even thought she was only going to be one.

Yeah, I knew we were going to keep doing it.

Eva: I thought it was a one and done because

Coonoor: this is the $10,000 show

Eva: I’m done. I’m done it. Improv

Coonoor: improv is a money losing endeavor.

Rich: Yeah. You’ll never get that $10,001 you

Eva: You get it in good feelings in applause as well. But yeah, Greg ,Greg was exactly that. Cause we did it for a show that Washington Improv Theater was doing.

And so I was like, Oh, here’s a, you know, one, this is nice, you know, we’ll go forth and do it, you know? And I definitely thought it was a one and done thing, but then Greg was like, okay, we got something this and this. And I was like, Oh, okay. Maybe this is something we’ll keep going. And we’ve been doing it for the past four years.

What the, and I should say, my background is I grew up in, I still do live in Maryland, right outside DC. And now I work in politics. As you see Obama, 2008 newspaper there, but got into improv was looking for something fun. And it always enjoyed watching the improv when I was in Chicago, when I was, uh, attending law school.

But, um, But the thing with improv that I think, you know, translates into anything is that everyone does improv, like this conversation we’re having is improvised. And so the notion of trying to add a funny layer on top of that, and then also another layer of trying to take on a lot of times difficult subjects and making them accessible on a level was challenging, but also fun to do a Greg.

And then also with the special guests that we, and later on, as we were going on, we would invite, uh, folks who may not have our point of view to come on. And then we would play around with that as well. So it’s, it’s been a, a good whirlwind.

Rich: So what actually was it about improv that attracted the three of you?

I mean, I come from an improv background myself. I don’t think there’s an, there’s a performer actor alive today who hasn’t at least dipped their toes in the world of improv because it is, it’s a fantastic mental exercise just to get you ready for even just conversation. But what, what drew you guys to it?

Eva: Yeah, I’ll jump in first. Um, for, for me, I went to, I went to Northwestern law in Chicago, so like I had all three years of school, I would go to second city and IO and other smaller improv theaters. And so I, I w I, you know, I was gonna say, I grew up with it and I didn’t grow up with it, but I, uh, would watch it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

And so it wasn’t until a friend said that he was going to do it while the, while we were studying for the bar. And that I took my first class. And I think what entices me to improv is one it’s not scripted. Right. So you, which is also the part that people are scared about because it’s not scripted, but there’s no rehearsal.

It’s all about being in the moment and being present and like listening. I mean, I like the phrase listening, like, uh, like a thief in terms of like, or the finals, nice little nuggets of things up. And the thing is like, with improv, it is completely freeing have you allow it to be in, like, if you, and the thing is like trusting yourself and your scene partners and your, your group, but when, what you’re trying to do, and when you get that nice.

Mailed of like finding people like the team I was on, you know, with Coonor that I’m still on PressPlay we have that. And I have that also what Greg, and then like you trust these people to take care of you and to support you. And also it’s also one of the rare places in the world, as in, I shouldn’t say the world, but there are places in one’s life where you will have unconditional support, which is a baseline, right.

In terms of, of improv rules. It, yeah, exactly the yes and principle, right. Which we all learn as baby improvisers self that that’s, that’s my improv, you know, uh, journey and why I’ve I’ve kept to it. And, you know, though, we haven’t gotten to our $10,000 show, um, maybe one day, but, um, but you get, you get love and appreciation.

In other ways, through Improv

Coonoor: Rich I was under the impression that we were being paid $10,000,

Rich: but it’s only coupons.

Coonoor: Oh, that’s great. I love that. A lifetime of savings. I mean, that’s,

Rich: you have like so many PS coming your way. I can’t,

Coonoor: you can’t taxed coupons.

Rich: Exactly. But go ahead. Yeah. What, what, what led you into the improv game?

Coonoor: So, so my story is one of tragedy.

Uh, so I, um,

um,

um, so I grew up as what I later knew was called a comedy nerd, loves comedy, watched comedy central night and day, even when they were only had stand-up shows and had nothing, no original content. And, um, um, and so when I w moved from rural Ohio to New York city for college, and like the second I got there, I sent internship resumes to like the daily show and late night with Conan O’Brien. And, um, and I, I don’t anything  anything I could. Um, and my sophomore year, I got really lucky and I got to intern at late night with Conan O’Brien. It was like for my first time I went back again my senior year, but so when I was like 19 and a sophomore and interning there, I was like around a lot of people who were either, you know, performing improv or doing, um, monolouges for improv shows.

I’m like the writing staff, or always at upright citizens, brigade theater in New York. And so I was at UCB like every week, seemingly watching shows and taking it in. And one of my fellow interns was a couple of years ahead of me, Katie. She came to me one day and she said, Hey, Coonoor I think you’re funny.

I think you might really like improv. You should take a class. And I did. I signed up for a class and I went to the first class I got. Really really scared. I was so terrified in that class. And I only, I, I, I left that class and I never went back. I had paid for a full course. I went to the first day classes and never went back and I immediately had so much regret.

It took me a few years to figure out the source of that regret, but it was, I was scared to be bad at something for keeping like a moment. Like at age 19, I was still kind of a really annoying, hyper achieving perfect kind of person

Eva: You had a fixed mindset Coonoor.

Coonoor: I had a totally fixed mindset. And what I, what I also learned was that I was self-selecting things in my life that I knew I would be good at.

To maintain the facade of like being a perfectionist and being a high achiever. And so I was scared to be bad at something. And, um, I always regretted it, but it took me a few years to really figure out why I had so much regret. So cut to a couple of careers later. I’m living in Washington, DC. I’m working at Deloittes  as my dad says, and I get like an innovation role in the company that is all work from home huzzah

I’m amazing. And I look, I’m like, Oh, I don’t want a time. Now. I don’t have like an hour commute to like Northern Virginia anymore. And my then boyfriend was like living in a different city. And I was like, I got a lot of time. And I’m like, let me get this monkey off my back. And I signed up for a class and intended it to be, just do the class.

Don’t even do the class show. Just do it to say you did it. And I remember at the end of that class, the teacher asked, Hey, so who’s going to be in the class, showcase this weekend. And every single person except me raised their hand. And I was like, Oh man, I can’t be the jerk. I can’t be the one doesn’t show up.

It’s not a showcase. So I did. And then I signed up for another class and then I got addicted just fully, fully addicted to it. And yeah. So as I, as I always tell friends, I started doing improv the second time to settle an old emotional score for myself. And, um, yeah, and much like Greg, I was, I took my first class, I think, exact same moment.

I was in that innovation project. And so I was really firsthand noticing the parallels of like what makes. A good innovation workshop, you know, what makes it collaborative team? It was like nearly identical, even down to the terminology of what I was learning as the baby improviser, you know, as Eva said, you know?

And so I knew there was a lot of connective tissue there and like Mind Hatch has really kind of the result of what I observed in those moments.

Rich: Greg is on to you now. So you were a mogul in the real estate industry. Um, what, what made you decide that improv was what you needed to sink your teeth into?

Greg: I also just always loved standup comedy and I never really understood the way into it.

And then I had, I had bought tickets to the Washington Washington improv show and, um, it was at this little hole in the wall theater, like a black box theater, you know, 50 seats dirty. You know, just like a place where you get into it. And if, if that kind of thing is made for you, once you get into that, you’re like, Oh, this feels right at home.

Coonoor: The same theater that we fondly called the alley behind it. Rat alley.

Greg: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Morgan and Washington DC. But, so I ended up, uh, we bought tickets, went to go see a show and I’d never seen improv before. And there’s one person, uh, he’s since gone on to move to New York and become a writer on different things named Zach Phillips.

And I’ll shout him out. He has a really great narrative podcast, a comedy called 64th, man, that you can, you can go by. That’s really great. But anyway, um, I remember watching him during the show and he ended up doing this mermaid character and it was just like, it came out of nowhere. Like he was just like a mermaid and his legs were like a mermaid fins.

And uh, so after the show I go up to him and I’m like, Hey, so you, you created that character before tonight. Right? And he goes, nah, it was all improvised. And I was like, listen, buddy, you can tell me, I know you at least have done that character before. Maybe you didn’t do this bit before, but you did not invent that right now.

And he was like, no, it’s like totally made up on the spot. And I left, like not believing him that it was improvised. And then at that point I was like, I want you to go try and take class and see what the, what this is all about. And then it was then the same thing of the first class. I was like, Oh, I’m going to be doing this for the rest of my life.

Rich: Excellent. And that always seems to be the way of it. Either with improv, you either love it or you don’t. And I was, I was the exact same way. I was actually, I started as a side project of just to give you a little more background about me. I was a blacksmith back in like the early nineties for the, at the Pennsylvania Renaissance festival.

And they had all of these afternoon classes when we weren’t working on the weekends that during the, during the week you could do. And I took my first improv class there and I was like, I must keep doing this cause you’re right. It is at once you settle into the rules of yes. And which is just a way of describing how you actually take an idea and you support that idea and lift that idea higher, and everybody around you is building to do to the same thing.

You just want more and more of that. The speaking of more and more guys, I do need to take a brief second here while I step away and talk to my team. And I want to tell them all about a company. I am very proud to be a part of TeamBonding,  TeamBonding was founded over 20 years ago with one simple question.

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Maximize the impact of team building with an accent on fun. Visit teambonding.com to schedule your event now, TeamBonding when you want seriously fun results. And speaking of fun, I’m back here still with Eva Coonoor and Greg Coonoor. Let me ask you what actually takes somebody from improv and decides that I need to tell the corporate world of the benefits of this.

Coonoor: Yeah, it was actually more of the corporate world telling me, uh, to be honest. So I, um, was still at Deloitte, you know, a couple of years after taking my first class. And, um, I was so key. I did not tell any of my friends that I was doing improv. For a year and a half, because I did not want them to come to my shows.

I was terrified. I was always terrified of them, even though I grew up performing, I never loved people who knew me coming to see me pretend to not be me easier to do that in front of strangers, you know? And so like even I grew up singing and in plays and musicals, I never really wanted my parents to come, you know, because it made me mortar.

So, so same thing with improv. I was just in the closet as an improviser for a year and a half from like my closest friends. So, but I was out of the closet at work because I was like, no, one’s going to, no one from work is going to come, come watch. You know? So that felt like a safe place that I divulged my secret.

Um, one, as it turns out, it was a really good place to, to tell people because it was my colleagues at the consulting company who were like, Hey Coonoor we have been reading in Harvard business review and fast company and Forbes that. Improv is helpful for the business. Can you come do a workshop for my team or for my client?

You know? And so I really just started doing it for my colleagues internally, and I was already interested in and becoming pretty expert in facilitation work and, you know, innovation as well. And so I just started digging internally. It really just at the request of my colleagues and it was really they who showed me that like, Oh yeah, this is the applications to my day job that I maybe would have not discovered until much, much later had they not kind of brought it to my attention.

Rich: So improv and diversity, I was watching snippets as I was getting ready for this of your, of your show, the white privilege black power. And I got to say first off, absolutely hysterical. And just the, the, the methodology you guys go through to discuss things that people should be remarkably uncomfortable discussing or, or have been before that actually, if you give me one brief second here, I want to play something.

That’s one of my favorite bits for my audience.

Greg: Um, I’m here for the audition

before I start not wanting to say that I grew up loving Bruce Lee movies.

I’m excited to speak on the fan.

Rich: So that of course, is you Greg discussing how as part of a bit you’re ready to play Bruce Lee.

Greg: That’s right.

Rich: Hilarious as you can tell from the audience’s reaction, but what even brought this on, I mean, where, where did this germinate from? Not that particular sketch. Just the idea of this is a way we can talk about diversity.

Greg: Yeah. Well, you know, I, I got my degree in government politics and so I thought at some point I might want to go become a politician. And then I realized I just liked performing. I didn’t necessarily remember the politician and, um,

Coonoor: let’s perform, hold the public service.

Greg: I mean, I, I literally remember I was at, I, uh, when I was in college, I was like the student liaison to the city council in college park, Maryland.

So I would like go to all the city council meetings and like be around all, everything that was happening. And it was like a, at one point a guy came up to me. And he just started yelling at me like a guy I didn’t even know, but like, because I was like part of this body that he felt I was accountable to him.

He just like, I’m gonna go unload on this dude. And I was like, Oh, this is not fun. Like, like are entitled to do what it is. So I feel like the other, but in my soul, I always knew that, you know, I love being able to help and give back and make people’s lives better. And so that was always kind of laying dormant.

And then, you know, once the 2016 election happened, I don’t know if you remember after that, but, you know, we had the women’s March in DC and we had, um, you know, all of a sudden people were starting to decide to run for office and like small towns and all those types of things. Uh, Eva’s part of a great organization that trains women to run for run for office.

So it was one of the things where I was like, well, you know, I don’t really want to become a politician. I don’t really want to go and March in these marches because. You know, I was like, what do I have to give? And I was like, well, improv, like improv is a captive audience. They don’t know, you know, kind of what, what they’re in for.

So let’s invite these people in and have this conversation in front of them. And you know, one of the things I always, always struck me is they did a study once of theater goers, and they had all the theater goers wear heart monitors. And when they were watching the show there hearts all started beating in unison.

Wow. You can go online and find that that out and see if it’s actually a real or not. But that’s something that I read. I believe it, I believe it to be. it real. Cause I’ve been in audiences before where you leave and it’s just this amazing shared experience where you feel like you’ve had some level of oneness.

And so I that’s, what I really wanted to bring out was by having a conversation with Eva, Who is someone who I know can like reach that level of openness and challenge me to reach that level of openness. It was like a great mutual relationship to be able to do that in front of people who, when they walk in and see both of us talking to each other are going to have so much of their own stuff that they’re bringing to the table and then task to just be open and watch people talk and have these people who you might not agree with make you laugh.

Like that is a, is a huge gift to them to be able to see the world from a different standpoint. So that’s really what I wanted to get out of the show,

Rich: Eva, first off, uh, would you like to give a shout out or the, at least the web address of the organization you’re working for? For my listeners?

Eva: Oh, sure.

It’s a emerge Maryland. And I was a 2015 graduate. There’s also an emerge America, which there are national chapters all over the country, but there is a merge Maryland, which I went through and they do train democratic women to, uh, to run for office and have, have had a lot of success. Um, so definitely check them out.

Even if you’re a woman who’s Democrat and in a state check ’em out and see if they’re they have a program for you.

Rich: Fantastic. But for you, Eva personally, was it Greg brought this to you, correct? This idea.

Eva: Yeah. So, so yeah, so yeah, Greg it to me and I said, Oh, that sounds cool. Like, it was different in some ways.

Cause usually with some improv, like you just get a word and you go for it. Sure. Some folks you’ll have a storyteller. Someone will say a story and then you’ll do it off of this. But having us be the ones who are the storytellers or giving the material that we’re coming from that was different. And that was intriguing to my myself.

Rich: If I can just ask flat out Eva, what does diversity mean to you?

Eva: Yeah. I think the diversity to me is just like, it’s being inclusive, right? It’s it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s getting representation from the whole spectrum of whatever that is. And the thing is like there’s diversity within black folks, right there, diversity within the AAPI community, you know, within the white community, um, within the Latino community and all that.

And I think it’s the diversity that we’re bringing. And I should say this too, like with, um, our show, obviously the diversity I’m bringing is where I’m black and I’m woman and Greg is, is, is white and male, but there are some things that we don’t have, right? Like we’re both cis-gender individuals, right?

We’re both heterosexuals. We both were, we’re not AAPI, we’re not Latino. Right. It was still there. We don’t have a visible physical disability when, you know, when we’re talking to folks. So like, so like they, the thing is like, I know for me that wasn’t like top of mind, like I think it was like, it’s always there.

And then for us, it was more of like, here’s the challenge of taking the improv in a different direction while also giving an entertaining show.

Rich: So let’s talk about the show, white privilege, black power. I mean, talk, tell us about that first performance. Was it something that, I mean, like you say, the audience does not know what they’re getting into, but if you’re bringing them into a show that is called white privilege black power, they got to have an idea of where you’re going.

Eva: Yeah. Yeah. And I’ll go first because I had a question teed up ready for Greg. Here’s the best question that I probably asked them. I, you know, it was more, the question was like, Greg, do you ever like get, when you wake up in the morning and you just look in the mirror and you say, thank God, I’m a white man.

Um, so, uh, Greg, Greg going on, he hears him and hauled a little bit. And I don’t think he flat out said yes, but the undertone was like, yes,

Greg: I think I said yes, but it was kind of like, yeah,

Rich: actually I think Greg looks in the mirror. Every that goes, look at my hair.

Coonoor: I say, yes. Is that technically white pride,

lower case p

Rich: uh, well first can tell me to actually explain to my audience what the show actually looks like. What is it you actually do?

Greg: Sure. Well, what happens is, uh, at the beginning of the show, I mean, it, it’s usually just, uh, Eva and I, if it’s a live show, um, where, where we just stand across from each other on a, a, on a black box theater stage, uh, and we each have questions for the other person that we haven’t told them yet.

So we’re surprising each other, but we have a mutual respect to not ask. Gotcha. Questions. Um, and then, uh, so we just start by asking each other questions and then being honest about the responses and that might add lead to a little bit more back and forth. And then ultimately we jumped into a scene, a comedy scene where we’re able to highlight kind of the kernel of the idea that we found while we were talking to each other.

Rich: Can you guys give me an example of one of your favorite interactions?

Greg:  The, the things I was think back to is when, um, We were starting a show. And, and you mentioned my hair in front of the audience. Eva said, I have a question for you. Can I touch your hair in front of the audience, proceeded to run her hands through my hair?

And you know, I think, I mean, this is how we’re, you know, how can we be the most creative. To get people thinking outside of the box for something that they might not know, or they, maybe they think that they know. And of course, you know, the, can I touch your hair thing is, is huge in the African-American community, particularly amongst women where there’s a lot of people who just don’t know, it’s inappropriate to ask that question or to comment about that.

And so for us to be able to explore that idea from the flip side of now, there’s a black woman wanting to touch a white man’s hair and interested in his hair. And all of a sudden, you know, the assumptions that you had about what’s right and wrong, acceptable, unacceptable, you’re being forced to rethink them.

And I think that’s where a lot of the benefit of for the audience is, is to come at it from a different angle and think, Oh, I didn’t think about it that way. Yeah.

Rich: Eva. What about you? What’s one of your favorite interactions you had favorite?

Eva: I, and I’m not sure how we got there, but this is one where we did have a guest.

This is somebody who’s  and Greg knows her as well. And we were playing a politician. And so the way we were setting it up, it was like this politician who was like taking a good look in an incumbent and like, you know, God was money came from money, gobs money, you know, like silver spoon, every everything, no obstacles in life, really.

Right. Um, but they didn’t want to be a politician, but here’s the catch then what I, when I started out, I was, I, cause in my mind I was like, I’m a white man. Like I, I I’m in my mind, I’m like, I’m playing a white man. And I was like, I need to make this clear to the audience. I would say. I’m a white man, so and so, and, and then it hit.

And so like, I think particularly for a lot of folks and enable it to dig down deeper in terms of what that looks like. And particularly like this, this man who is a, isn’t like an official has all his money, but wants to be, I think he wanted to be a hairdresser. I think that was really in like his family didn’t want him to do that.

And so like, this was the pain that he was going through and be forced into doing the glamorous life of a politician. So that, that that’s showed up. Definitely sticks out to me.

Rich: Let me ask you guys. I mean, when you put on these performances, of course, the idea you want to be able to entertain people. You want them to laugh.

You want them to come along in the journey with you. What do you hope for with this particular subject matter? What are you hoping to get at the end of the night?

Greg: Well, I’ll say selfishly, um, and it’s really fun to look back at the videos and the history of all the shows we’ve done since 2017. Cause I can see myself growing as a person in this, uh, this work.

And I, you know, I considered myself like a woke dude in 2016, but there were a lot of questions and topics that I hadn’t actually addressed or thought of. And so to go back and look at how I answered a question. One of the earlier earliest questions you’ve asked me was, do I think that black people can be racist?

And at the time my mindset was, Oh, anyone can, can be racist because we all have a racial biases and we hear stories and things like that, that, but the idea of racism as a systematic oppression passion of different people, and you have to have as a power structure, you have to have power. To in order to enforce racism, right?

It’s like the difference between racism and racial bias. They’re not the same thing. And that was a thing I had not encountered before, but being asked it and having to answer incorrectly in front of an audience and then be told the correct answer and then do a comedy scene about how I didn’t understand it.

And that was a growth point for me. I think that I was able to take those lumps in front of the audience so that the people in the audience could, could go back into their own lives and say, Oh, I had never thought about it this way, but they didn’t have to be embarrassed in front of a crowd to do it.

Coonoor: And onto that in terms of like, what, what I hope and aim for like our, our corporate audiences to get to piggyback on what Greg just said is like, you know, in comedy, we have this idea of like punching up or punching down, right. Punching down is like, Making fun of, uh, or ridiculing those not in power right.

Or those who are more vulnerable than you are. That’s not funny ever at her funny, you know, the scenes that Greg has described or examples of like punching up, right. Punching up at authority of peoples in positions of power of power. And that’s where humor can really come from. And so I, my aim for, um, our audiences in a corporate environment is.

Yes to laugh. Of course, at that kind of the absurdity, you know, hopefully like Eva asking Greg, can she touch his hair, underlines the absurdity of anyone asking you anyone to do that. And so, but also like who is the position of authority, like who is, who is worth being skewered. Right. And, and why. Um, but also Greg and Eva, you know, take the pressure off the audience’s shoulders because they are the ones who are using their skill to have through improv with these really difficult conversations.

Right. And so I think it provides an audience, a lot of relief and it gives them kind of an entryway into having those conversations later on as well.

Eva: Yep. And I would just say it just also like adds, uh, uh, I think for me the show, like, obviously we want to be entertaining, but like it just plants a seed, right.

To like, it’s just so wanted to think about it later on in life. And then I’m, I’m also, I’m taking an acting class now in the, my instructor says this one line, uh, which is like, he’s like the goal of theater is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comforted and so I think, uh, that also in terms of like people being able to relate to this, so like black women seeing, you know, me asking this white man to run through his hairs, an experience that they have gone through, I’ve gone through.

Right. Um, is there, and then also those who may have been doing the, the touching doing that, like being disturbed a bit and saying like, Oh, maybe I shouldn’t be doing that. Right. So I think that’s just a nugget and it’s a safe space, uh, where we were, where we are in terms of doing,

Rich: I had, if I can share a story, I had a female friend of mine in high school who was just, she’s a woman of color.

One of my absolute best friends at one day, we’re just walking to gym class. We had gym class at the same time and she just grabbed my hand instead of holding my hand all the way. And I’m, you know, I’m an actor, I’ve always been an actor. I’ve always been rather that makes me rather touchy, feely kind of person.

So as I’m walking along, I’m just holding her hand too. And she turns is we’re at the doors for her to go to the girl’s locker room immediately go to the boys. And she turns me, gives me a kiss and says, okay, bye honey, I’ll see you after. And I’m like, okay. And I go in afterwards, we get back together and I’m like, can I ask what that was about?

And she said, Oh yeah, there were like five black girls standing off to the side, watching us as we were coming up holding hands. I was like, okay, but the kiss and the bye honey and she went, Oh, we just got to shake them up sometimes.

Okay.

But looking at a corporate level, Coonoor what are you hoping for the, for your audience? What are you hoping for corporations to understand or to, or to gather from all this.

Coonoor: Yeah. You know, I think, um, so I mean, I said earlier in terms of what I hope the audience kind of comes away with, but I think in terms of like a corporate structure and culture, I hope that, um, what happens is that the fear is taken away from them.

You know, like Eva and Greg have done what lots of people feel is the hardest part, which is initiating and having these conversations like, okay, now Greg and Eva had done that for you. And also by virtue of them doing it, you all had a shared experience and you’ve laughed at the same things. Right.

There’s a commonality there. Right. And so I’m hoping that it is like this, this door opening to both. Wow. Not only was that, not that hard, but also wow. It was really enjoyable. Right. It’s just kind of doing a little bit of like. Cognitive rewiring, right. To be like, okay, like we, we can, we can do this. And, and we should, I mean, not only that, but we understand the value of it.

Right. But I think beyond that also, you know, what Greg and Eva do through, like the performance part of improv is like they really dig deep and they’re embodying people on like themselves or they’re embodying their experiences that are unlike the audience’s experiences. So I really hope it’s also several steps in the direction of just like empathy, right.

For, for different experiences as well.

Greg: Yeah. I was just gonna say that, I think that as we’re doing these shows and we’re doing them over zoom and video chat now, and we’re able to hear the questions that, that they’re asking their employees are asking of us, but then also be able to see how they’re talking in the chat feature to each other.

It really feels like this show has been a great pressure release valve for a lot of folks to be able to feel seen and to be able to get stuff out there in an environment that is supportive, uh, instead of letting it fester and then. You know, having people, you know, do things that are not great at one of the performances that we did, someone in, one of the employees said, Oh, I’m, I’m starting an anti-racism book club.

But no people of color are joining the book club and it was just a white person who was doing it. And then, so even I had just had a discussion where we’re talking about, Hey, that’s good. You know, as white people, you need to be able to do the work by yourself. And it’s not the job of people, of color to be able to teach you about that, which was something that, you know, maybe people didn’t know or didn’t understand that that’s not always appropriate to have someone at your job, be the person you go to, to talk about this stuff and learn from.

And then we ended up doing a scene where I was starting a, a karate club at work. And Eva going back to Bruce Lee Eva’s dad had studied under Bruce Lee. And I was trying to get her to, uh, teach at my karate club in the office. And so it was like, so this idea of karate book club, I feel like I walk away now, when I think about it, someone trying to get an expert to teach them, and it’s not the expert’s job to teach them, I think, karate book club.

And so it’s also that. That audience walks away. And when there’s PR they’re put in that position, they’re like, Oh, karate book club. And like, they lived in their bones experience of, of knowing the right thing to do in that situation.

Rich: I was going to ask, can you guys explain to my audience how the audience gets involved in this show?

Because if anybody who’s ever been to an improv show, it’s, you know, they’re, they’re probably used to the, I need, uh, I need to an area and I need a profession and I need a relationship between two people. Um, what do you do? What do you do to get the people involved in this.

Coonoor: Yeah, well go. Do you want to talk about like the live show?

There’s hopefully soon we’ll be able to do that again, but, and then I can talk a little bit about how I produce the virtual show,

Eva: what the, what the live show. I don’t think we’ve ever done where we we’ve gotten, uh, questions from the audience, but you know, usually Greg and I will have a question or two, one or two questions ready to go to ask each other or something, but then we will have a special guest, someone who bringing a point of view that we don’t don’t have.

And so like, they’ll have, we’ll have questions for that person and they may have questions for us. And so like, th that, in that respect, it’s, it’s, it’s the performance doing it because we ask question and we get the response and then we do the scenes off of it. And then when we feel like we’ve played it out, We ended and then ask another question and go from there.

Greg: Okay. Yeah. W one of my favorite corporate gigs that we did is it was a meeting of group therapists who are all doing a conference together to learn about how they can use diversity, equity and inclusion in their groups therapy.

Rich: That sounds like an improv to catch right there.

Greg: And so what, what it was, I think there was about 80 people in the audience and that we were interviewing one of the women who was in the, the, um, who was a group therapist and what was really interesting.

And she was essentially a colleague of all these people, but they didn’t know her story. So we’re interviewing her. She was, um, a woman of color. She was a black woman. She was also blind and she had gone blind later in her life. Wow. So. We ended up having this long conversation with her, talking about, you know, how she, how she interacted with the world.

And so everyone in that audience learned so much more about like this, the details of her really interesting life and how it’s different, what she has to do. That’s different from them. And, you know, every step of the way we got to do little improv scenes and, and laugh about it and, you know, help people learn about it.

And it was one of those experiences where we walked away. And, you know, I think Eva I are both really, really good at what we do. But after that, it felt like, Oh, we really took these people to a different level. And it almost felt like we had people coming up to us afterwards and like asking us questions.

Like these are people, you know, therapists in their fifties and sixties, who’ve been doing it for decades saying like, okay, how can I incorporate this work into what I’m doing? And, you know, that’s like the, you know, the trickle down of you change one person. And then they, you know, they have 50 clients and now they’re interacting differently with those 50 people.

And then those 50 people. So that was really special for us to be able to, to be in that world. Amazing.

Eva: And then one thing I would add about that, that that was special and it taught me something because there’s, there’s one regret I have from that show is that the woman was blind. She was legally, legally blind.

And I know as a performer. There was a part of me like, Oh, I should, I, character should be blind. And I was like, no, then I don’t want, you know, I don’t wanna make it seem like I’m making fun. But the thing is like being blind is like being tall or being fat or being skinny. It’s just, it’s just, it is what it is.

Right. Like Greg being attractive and it is what it is. Right. And so

Coonoor: for a while,

Greg: I really like what features though?

Rich: It’s the nose Greg it’s the nose when you’ve got like a sublime nose.

Eva: I think for me, the lesson was learned was like, you can do just about anything if you’re doing it in a way where you’re not making fun and it went there, the thing is like, I knew I wouldn’t have done it where I’m making fun of being blind, but thing is there people who are blind in the world.

So like, it’s a thing. Um, and so, um, so I think that that’s the one big takeaway I got from it. In fact, I even said that and the woman was like, yeah, you should have done it. And I was like, yeah, because

Coonoor: it’s like, you know, sometimes when you’re in a baby improviser, you’re kind of cautioned against. Doing certain things, then it’s good because then you’re maybe improviser, you don’t have the skill to do it like wisely, but like, you know, that there are all types of people.

Right. And if we’re always only playing professional class people or educated people or white people, or able-bodied people and scenes, you know, like that’s not a true reflection of the world and probably even like our everyday experiences, you know? And so, yeah. Yeah. So in the, in the virtual setting, which we have, like everyone had been, uh, been doing since the pandemic began, I actually think one really big benefit of doing it virtually is that you can have more audience participation.

So you can imagine in like a live show experience it’s you might say, Oh, Hey, who in the audience was the tell me like a story of when you were made to feel different? You know, not everyone might feel confident enough to share that and like a crowd full of people and, and power to them. Right. But what we can do in a virtual setting.

As we can sound like a real simple two question survey, anonymous survey to the organization beforehand and collect these stories, you know, and, and me as a producer, um, I will, uh, give them in the moment to Eva and Greg to improvise from. And so not only do we have that level of kind of like specific experience being drawn from that given audience, uh, which also actually turns into data for the company to kind of like use later on.

Um, but also in the zoom chat, people are always like, Giggling and laughing and ha ha ha. Or they’re like, Oh, that reminds me of this other story. You know, people are, I tend to be very like other unpolished and very active and communicative in the chat and kind of like commenting on what they’re seeing in the scenes and then relating to one another.

So it was really, that was actually a surprise to me. I didn’t, I wasn’t expecting that to happen until we did our first show last year. And it’s a very, very cool natural thing that had that happened. So, uh, yeah, I think the virtual setting has of course its limitations, but it’s been a really, a real good boon to kind of like involving the audience I think, and, and, you know, tapping into their experiences and using it for the shows.

Rich: Let me ask you can, or what kind of feedback are you getting from corporations who have, who have taken it?

Coonoor: Uh, well, gosh, I think, uh, one, we did a couple, a couple shows ago, Greg, the person at the end. Said Oh, wow. That was not only entertaining, but enlightening. I think that was the quote and I’ll never forget it.

Yeah. So the feedback has been really, really good. I think yes, people have enjoyed it as a shared experience and they found it very compelling. And I think no matter what, every time people are, their fears are done away with, you know, they might’ve been apprehensive about like, how’s this gonna work? It’s improv.

We don’t really know, you know, but I think once they’ve experienced, like. The deaftness that Greg and Eva bring, they’re like, Oh, wow. That was really great.

Greg: I understand a company who would be nervous because they don’t know, they don’t know who we are or like what we’re going to unleash on, right. Their corporation.

But what I think is interesting about Eva and I, as individuals compared to, you know, we both have day jobs where we like I’m negotiating millions of dollars of deals on a daily basis. Eva is like running outreach for, you know, getting people elected. Like we both have a lot of responsibility and are in constant communications on super high levels in our daily lives.

So we’re, we’re not going to go into some organization and then just, you know, make potty jokes or do things that, that we wouldn’t feel probably doing in our own businesses and, you know, in our, in our own life. So I think that. You know, I like if you hired a standup comedian to come in and do stand up about DEI, I think, you know, that would be very scary for, uh, for us to come in and do it.

To me, it feels like we’re just like an extension of being within our own corporations and businesses. And, um, it feels like a very safe space for us. Yeah.

Coonoor: What Greg brings up is a real, I wouldn’t call it a rule, but it’s something that I’m really passionate about in mind. Hatches, organizational improv work is.

You know, not to be like discriminatory, but just like, I want people like Greg and Eva who have kind of like workplace professional experience, as well as improv experience, you know, like, I, I don’t kind of have facilitators who are maybe just full-time improvisers or just full-time actors and actresses, you know?

And so I, I really tried to send organizations, people who know how to relate to have worked in companies, so worked in organizations before and kind of can therefore deeply understand the experience as well as like the fears. Right. And, uh, that people have. So, um, so that’s definitely kind of strategic and what my patch does that I think is a little bit different than a lot of other, um, other kinds of applied improv and corporate improv places.

Rich: Speaking of which, if I was a corporation that was looking to, after hearing all of this to hire on white privilege, black power Coonoor why don’t you tell me where I can go.

Coonoor: Oh, great. Well, you can go to the mind hatch website, it’s mind hatch, llc.com and you can go to our organizational improv page and you will find all you need there about white privilege, black power.

Rich: Fantastic. Also on that page, I read a little something about a book called I quit the life of for mutual way of giving up really quick. Can you just tell us a little bit about the book?

Coonoor: Oh, sure. Yeah, it’s actually more relevant than you think, because the introduction to my book is very much the story I told about me being 19, 19 year old perfectionist and quitting improv.

That was an example of a bad quit and not Microsoft. So the book I quit, the life of her main joy of giving up is really a it’s a collection of stories of every day, real people that I interviewed about their quitting stories and how they summon the courage to really upend. Societal expectations, family expectations, cultural status quos, you know, to really kind of make the lifestyle they wanted and really, you know, unburden themselves of like the unfortunate stigma and shame that we give to quitting and to quitters.

So yeah, my hope is that it will really. Inspire and motivate people to make big choices in their lives and to make sure that those choices are matching their values. And so really start to like, you know, get rid of the shame and stigma that we attached to quitting.

Rich: Excellent. Thank you. Can they, can they get the book from your website or do they need to go Amazon?

Coonoor: Hey order it right now. And I quit book.com and it will also be published in just three weeks. So the week of April 26th, it will be available on Amazon and in bookstores and other places as well. I usually

Rich: look forward to reading it. Thank you, Greg. What about you? Do you have a website or anything that you want people to know they can reach out to you through?

Greg: Yeah, well, um, as far as the white black power show, we do have a, an Instagram account, which is just at white privilege, black power. So you can go check out some past clips there. My personal Instagram is, um, at Greg Tindale comedy. Um, most of the stuff you’ll see, there’s this video of me playing with my son’s toys, star Wars, Marvel toys, Jurassic park.

We’re real big into Jurassic park dinosaurs right now. It’s pretty cool gig. Um, and then I’ve got videos, just have my comedy stuff on my YouTube page, which you can [email protected]. Excellent

Eva. Go.

Eva: Yeah, same for me. I get an IgE. I just add Eva R Lewis. I said, check it out there. I’m in my day, job is I’m the executive director for the Maryland democratic party.

So if you’re in Maryland, go check out our website,  mddems.org if you’d like to find out more

Rich: fantastic guys, I don’t know what to say. My producer Melissa has been yelling in my ear as the time has been going by because I was enjoying this so much. And I personally, I think it’s a remarkably important conversation that not enough people are having.

So I want to thank each and every one of you for coming on board and for being on the podcast, it means the absolute world to me, someone you’ve never met. So I, I cannot thank you enough because quite honestly, I have been doing this. We had a first season team building around the world and I was telling my, I was telling my producer at the end of it.

I went, wow. Did you notice how about 80% of the people I interviewed looked just like me. That’d be great if we heard that there’s a whole other, I meant like white haired, but yes, that’s exactly. Yes, I will. Thank you. I will take that compliment, but so I’m going to take that compliment and I’m going to throw it back in your face because it’s time for my speed round.

corny radio shows. Sound effects, done. Okay. The way this is going to work, you guys, I am going to start a stream of music. That’s going to last for 60 seconds. At that time, I will either ask you specifically a question. Like if I say Eva, Greg, or Coonoor you answer that question. If I don’t say anyone specifically, it’s the first person to shout out an answer.

You guys are working together as a team, the number to beat because you want to see how many questions you can actually get through answering them. The number to beat is 13. So good luck to all of you. I me make sure I have the actual,

Coonoor: how many seconds? 60,

Greg: 60

Rich: seconds, 13 questions. 60 seconds. It sounds easy.

Let’s see how well you do. As soon as the music begins I’ll start asking the first question. Here we go. Greg, how old is your son?

Greg: Seven and

Rich: three

Eva. How long have you been in politics?

Eva: 11 years.

Rich: Coonoor who’s your favorite historical figure?

Coonoor: Oh god. Abraham Lincoln.

Rich:  If you could live in any TV home, which would it be

First answer?

Uh, Eva if you could time travel, where would you like to go? Past or present or future?

Eva: Uh, future

Rich: Coonoor, Oh, tell me one thing you learned in kindergarten,

Coonoor: how to eat play dough

Rich: favorite ice cream flavors

Chocolate, anything chocolate with stuff inside

Coonoor: best childhood memory,

Eva: sledding down the Hill of my neighbors. My best.

Friend’s a yard.

Rich: If you could eat any food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

What celebrity do you think is lame?

Eva: Lena Dunham

okay. I know I was holding you all up because the people who live out West, we’re going, we can’t answer this. They live here, guys. That was fantastic. You got 10 total. I mean 10, it’s harder when it’s all of you working together because you’re trying to be polite and I get it.

Yes. Your coupons are in the mail. Oh, my friends. That’s it. That’s another episode of team building saves the world. And I feel like we actually did a little saving of it today. If I’m perfectly honest, let’s give a big round of applause to my guests, Eva Lewis, Greg Tindale and Coonoor Bahal guys. Again, thank you so much.

I can’t tell you how much this meant to me. And thank you to all of my team out there. Please always remember if you have been a fan of this podcast or you’re just getting on it, but you even liked what you heard today. Tell all your colleagues, tell your friends, and we would love. If you could subscribe to us on Google podcasts, Apple podcasts, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts, we’re still even on Spotify.

Plus you can leave us a comment on all of our social media team, bond podcast. And we hope that you back here again, never forget my friends for me to all of you. If you are within the sound of my voice, you are now on my team and I am always on yours. Thanks again from team building saves. The world has been Rich Rininsland

you guys have a good day. I’ll see you. Next time.

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