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PODCAST

Improvly Speaking

Dayna Gowan is a speaker, improviser, and Facilitator of Fun, and the Founder of Improvly Speaking. Each episode, she brings you golden, beautiful, delicious nuggets of wisdom about public speaking, improv, performance, creativity and anything in between. Learning public speaking and improvisation skills has changed her life and made her a more confident speaker, colleague, and friend. Listeners will be inspired to face their public speaking fears, try new things, flex their creativity muscles, and

education self-improvement

All Episodes

78:46

Play, Profits, & Psychological Safety: Rediscovering...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/12/12

On this episode of Improvly Speaking, Dayna sits down with the incomparable Rona Lewis — leadership and communication coach, keynote speaker, experiential learning facilitator, and unapologetic play instigator. As the co-founder and CEO of Playful Mind Project and author of Play and Profit, Rona helps teams ditch burnout, strengthen communication, and spark innovation through purposeful and attuned play. Rona shares her zigzag journey from acting and advertising to fitness, corporate wellbein...

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92:18

Becoming a Boulder Hero & Creating Space for...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/11/15

What happens when an only child with boundless creativity decides to transform her hometown’s comedy scene? Jessilee Windhaus, founder of Haus of Comedy in Sacramento, shares how her love of improv evolved into multiple improv businesses with Haus of Comedy being a brick and mortar theater that will be opening very soon! Yayy!! Jessilee’s goal for the theater is to create a thriving, inclusive theater that empowers connection, confidence, and community. From childhood performances to busines...

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94:27

Speak Easy and Run Towards the Scary Things with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/10/30

When you’ve spent years performing on stage, doing standup, and speaking in front of crowds, you learn one thing very quickly: nothing ever goes exactly as planned. In this episode of Improvly Speaking, Dayna chats with actor, voiceover artist, and public speaking coach Brian Lafontaine about his improv experience, the beauty of uncertainty, and why learning to “run toward the scary things” can change how you show up in both performance and life. You can find out more about Brian Lafo...

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126:59

Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable with Jacque...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/10/10

If there’s one thing that improvisation teaches us, it’s that life rarely follows a script. For Jacque Arend, Managing Director of Camp Improv Utopia and Executive Director of Savi Fest, that truth has been especially clear over the past few years. She’s navigated running multiple improv camps, ADHD, and career pivots – and today, she shares with us how she’s learned to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Tune in to get inspired to start new adventures before you’re ready, and to get comfo...

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57:45

Uncertainty is My Friend: A Postpartum Life Update...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/07/12

After a podcasting hiatus, Dayna Gowan is back behind the mic – and she’s got a lot to share. In this solo episode, Dayna opens up about the wild ride that has been new motherhood, from unexpected detours in her birth plan to sleepless nights, big trips and moves, and the messy, beautiful process of adjusting to her new identity as “mom.” Plus, she’s sharing the mantra about embracing uncertainty that has changed everything for her growth and peace. Big announcement: Dayna is going full-tim...

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104:37

Punchlines & Progress: Jessica Halem's Journey of...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/06/30

On this episode of Improvly Speaking, Dayna Gowan sits down with the incredible Jessica Halem, a powerhouse public speaker, communication strategist, LGBTQ+ health equity advocate, and a former stand-up comic trained at Second City. Jessica has worn many hats (and delivered many punchlines). She’s currently the Senior Director of the LGBTQ+ Health Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania and formerly served as the first LGBTQ+ Director at Harvard Medical School. But no matter the stage ...

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65:38

Improvly Parenting: A Comedy Show in Real Life with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/06/13

Parenting can be just like improv (aka Improvly Parenting) – you never know what’s coming next, and you just have to roll with it. That’s exactly the kind of real talk you get on the Improvly Speaking today with my guest, Matthew Krekeler – a proud “girl dad,” podcast host, and media pro from Denver, Colorado. Matthew is the founder of the Girl Dad Nation Podcast, where he shares stories, hacks, and heartfelt conversations about raising daughters. With three girls of his own*, including his ...

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109:58

Yes, And Healing: Using Improv in Therapy with Salma...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/05/30

What happens when you combine the compassion of a therapist with the quick-thinking creativity of an improviser? You get someone like Salma Soliman – a licensed therapist and the founder of Brave Youth Therapy in California, and today’s guest on Improvly Speaking. I got the privilege of chatting with Salma for a joyful and heartfelt conversation about blending improv and therapy, how therapy has helped so many people (myself included) with disordered eating, and ways that we can break the cyc...

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114:23

Brewing Up Improv, Business, and Big Dreams with Tony...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/04/26

Today on Improvly Speaking, we hear from Tony DeRosa, owner and co-founder of hear.say brewing + theater, a new improv theater and brewery in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tony blends his love of improv with beer, business, and community building, and is sharing it all on today’s episode. Tony's story is a great example of what can happen when you follow your instincts, lean into creativity, and allow yourself to take big, joyful risks. Tune in to hear how Tony got into improv, why he founded he...

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121:08

How to Strengthen, Support, and Fall in Love with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/04/11

What do you think of your voice? If your answer is anything uncertain or negative, you’re definitely not alone. But as this week’s guest on Improvly Speaking proves, your voice isn’t something to cringe about — it’s something you can strengthen, support, and maybe even start to love. Today, we hear from Emmy-winning journalist and broadcast voice coach Susan Murphy, who brings more than 40 years of broadcasting experience to the mic. Susan likes to say that she’s not here to change your...

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113:13

Exploring Ecstatic Dance, Psychedelic-Assisted...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/03/29

Have you ever felt completely lost in the rhythm of music, moving without thinking, and experiencing pure joy? That’s the essence of ecstatic dance – a practice that blends movement, community, and self-expression. In this episode of Improvly Speaking, we hear from Dr. Bob Swoap, professor of psychology and expressive arts therapy, to discuss the power of ecstatic dance and its connection to improvisation, wellness, and personal growth. Plus, he shares all about his research on psyched...

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95:29

The Value of a Bold Choice: Jesse Greenfield on...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/03/15

Jesse Greenfield first appeared on the show nearly a year ago, and so much has changed since then! In this episode of Improvly Speaking, we catch up on their incredible journey, including the launch of their own business, Kaleidoscope Training Center, and our experience facilitating a 2-day Intensive Training Session at the 2024 Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference (spoiler alert: we had so much fun!).. And if you haven’t heard Part 1 of Jesse’s interview in 2023, check that out her...

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111:44

The Power of Playback Theatre to Bring People...

Improvly Speaking ·

2025/02/28

Ferran Luengo is a Spanish actor, improviser and applied theatre facilitator based in London. He has his postgraduate on theatre in education and Applied theatre master degree. Ferran is passionate about playback theatre, a community oriented improv art form that he has been practicing since 2013. He’s brought playback theatre workshops around several continents and he has served as the Secretary of the International Playback Theatre Network. In this episode, we dive into what Playback ...

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121:45

All Improv, All In with Brian James O'Connell

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/07/20

Brian James O'Connell (or BOC as most people call him), is a working actor, writer, director, filmmaker and teacher based in Los Angeles. As a regular performer, coach and teacher, Brian derives most of his approach to improv from The Deconstruction, which we certainly discuss in this episode. He also offers "All Improv" deep-dive workshops across the country for improvisers looking to improve their skills and craft. When BOC saw his first improv show 20 years ago, he immediately loved ...

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94:32

Putting Yourself Out There and Making Discoveries On...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/06/18

Amanda Bonar is an improv and sketch comedian based in Los Angeles. You can find her performing in the Sober Show and Do the Dumb shows at UCB, as well as other shows at the Clubhouse in LA. Amanda shares her improv journey and how she fell in love with improv around age 10 when her parents took her to a family-friendly improv show. She performed on her high school and college improv teams, and she has been doing some form of improv for almost 20 years now! (That's amazing!)In thi...

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125:40

Improv Is For All Ages, Including Seniors and Older...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/05/25

Improv is not just for the young. It's for all ages and abilities, and Paula Dirkes is bringing improv to senior communities for them to experience and enjoy the gift of play. You can find out more about Paula here: LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulacdirkes/Website - seniorimprovgames.comWebsite - vintageimprovisationdetroit.comI reference an old This American Life tv episode (yes, tv episode) at the end. Here is that episode if you want to check it out -- https://ww...

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99:14

Access the Issue and Push It Out of the Tissue with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/05/09

I promise the episode title will make more sense once you listen to the episode. :) It's amazing all that can happen in a year! My bestie Susan Bartley joins the podcast again for a part 2 episode to give some updates about all that happened in her business in 2023. In the first episode, which was released in April 2023, Susan shares all about her pole journey and why and how she got into pole fitness in the first place. In this part 2 episode, Susan tells us about her new pole studio called ...

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113:45

Improv-ing Your Video Presence and Performance with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/04/23

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86:32

From Trails to Tales: Embracing Nature, Health, and...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/03/30

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107:26

The Mysterious Notebook of Goals and Creativity with...

Improvly Speaking ·

2024/03/15

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51 results

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