We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Anoo Tree Brod a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Anoo Tree, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
People seem to perceive me as confident and full of self esteem, but I’m not really sure that is true.
I struggle a lot with insecurity, fear and self doubt but at the same time, there are certain areas I am very confident in. And even when I am feeling fear now, I can access the part of me that knows how to hold an audience’s attention and that can command a room.
So, where did I develop that confidence?
Well, as an improv performer for 25 years, I’ve learned the power of “commitment” on stage.
Over the years, I’ve realized that improv, like yoga, is a *practice*.
And since I’ve been “practicing” for 25 years the “commitment” (I.e. bringing my full self to everything I do) has indeed, transitioned into a full body confidence when I’m performing or speaking in front of an audience.
Interestingly, the more I commit and bring my “full self” the more the audience is engaged and wants to watch me. So it’s a regenerative loop of energy.
As someone who comes from a background of profound trauma which resulted in extreme social anxiety, finding this confidence within myself through the practice of improvisation is no small feat.
Now I not only perform and speak myself, but also help many people find their unique confidence.
The truth is, I’m less interested in confidence and more interested in helping people be *more of who they really are*.
I love watching the societal conditioning of my students fall away in class and the spark of their inner child and
full self- expression come to light. That self expression is a form of confidence.
I’m more interested in that. Watching people become who they truly are.
And that MAY show up as confidence in the traditional way of seeing confidence, but it also MAY show up as expressing fear, vulnerability or low self esteem in another moment.
Ultimately, it’s about full self acceptance for whatever arises and self expression of the being that lives under the conditioning.
This is true confidence. This helps us captivate an audience, whether we are performing, doing public speaking or just sharing our thoughts in a meeting with a group of friends.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Down to my bones, I am an improviser. I have been performing professionally for 25+ years and teaching improv for a little under that. As you will see all the things I do and love are rooted in some way in improvisation.
My story started living in a prison of fear and social anxiety and desperately searching for a way out of what I thought was my life sentence.
I started going to therapy and reading a bunch of self-development books.
One of the books I was devouring was called “Living In The Light” By Shakti Gawain.
She was talking about the idea of “following your intuition” and I was obsessed. I started practicing diligently.
If I got a feeling to turn left on my bike on my ride home from school, I’d go left, even though I always went right.
If I felt like I was supposed to eat a certain food, I’d try that food the next time I was at the grocery store.
During this time, my intuition seemed to be consistently whispering “Take an acting class, take an acting class…”.
The thought terrified me.
Here I was with a huge fear of being perceived and this voice wanted me to take a class that would have me be up in front of people being watched and probably humiliated?? No thank you!
But, I was desperate. So I signed up for an acting class at my college. But I never showed up.
So I tried again a few months later. I signed up for acting class in the small town I was living in.
I showed up once, then quit.
Finally, (third time is a charm), I had moved across country and the voice still nagged at me. I saw a class at a local artscenter called “Improv 101″….I wasnt exactly sure what it was but it sounded sort of like acting.
And I showed up.
And I kept showing up.
I was terrified. And exhilarated. My hands were sweaty and my shaky but my spirit was starting to soar.
That one decision to sign up for that class completely changed the trajectory of my life. Thank god for intuition!
One thing led to another and within a year I was performing with Actors Improv Company (formerly Transactors), the longest running improv company in the Southeast.
Improvisation is my passion and my work and my purpose.
I created Wild Mind Improv about 8 years ago which is my unique blend of performing and teaching improv that helps people feel inspired and helps my students connect with more of who they really are. In Wild Mind Improv I really focus on honoring the uniqueness of everyone who shows up to a class or event. My specialty is creating an awesome vibe in class where people feel really safe. Then, I help individuals release their blocks so they can be the best improviser, or speaker, or stand up or leader in their field or ….(fill in the blank) that they can be…because I help them to get freed up, find their confidence and move out of their head.
No matter how I am feeling, when I go to teach or perform improv, everything suddenly makes sense. All the density I carry around day to day, and the worries I live with seem to dissipate on their own.
Improv brings me into the now and connects me to joy…and the best part is I don’t even have to try. It just happens through the games and exercises.
I now bring improv also to corporations and organizations that are looking for creative ways to build teamwork, raise confidence in their employees or create a relaxing day of bonding and play together.
My other love is a cousin to improv: public speaking. I have used my years as a professional improviser to become an award winning speaker.
I love to inspire my audiences to be more themselves, break out of their boxes, speak up about trauma and mental health issues and to use improv to bring joy and connection to each individual watching and listening.
When I am speaking I have a similar feeling to when I am performing improv. I feel free, alive and full of joy and purpose.
It is my destiny. We all have our unique destiny. I love helping people connect to theirs.
And finally, I do Life Purpose Readings & Soul Readings on the side. That life changing decision to listen to my intuition and “take an acting class” catalyzed decades of study in spirituality, metaphysics and intuitive guidance which I now share with my clients to help them change their lives as well.
I’m most excited about a few things of late.
First off is leading improv immersions for either a day or a whole weekend.
I especially love combining that with travel.
I am available for hire to come to your town to lead a shorter or longer improv workshop and spread the magic of Wild Mind Improv far and wide.
The immersive quality seems to catalyze more breakthroughs for my students in their personal and professional lives and is an experience that many say will stay with them for a long time. People find shifts in their confidence levels, and find they are bringing play and joy back into their lives. It’s an awesome thing to witness!
The other thing I’m most excited about is sharing my messages through my keynote. Whether that is coming into your corporation or organization to share stories and exercises about improvisation to enhance confidence in public speaking or team-building or simply bringing joy and play back to the workplace; or to speak on finding our purpose, our unique voice and living in alignment with who we really are. These subjects, and being able to share them in groups, lights me up.
And finally, I love doing my Soul Readings as well. Using my intuition to get answers for my clients feels very much like improv. They both force me to get out of my own way to let the higher intelligence/creative muse work *through* me. They are both rooted in the element of surprise. They both require me to be fully present.
These are my joys and my gifts to share with the world. They bring me out of the darkness time and time again. And they are my way of planting tiny seeds of light on our beautiful Earth.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three skills most impactful in my journey:
Well I hate to be repetitive but:
1-Learning to connect with my intuition.
As far as advice on how to develop this, I’d say:
Our intuition or inner guidance is talking to us all the time and we probably hear it and act on it more than we give ourselves credit for. But start practicing in small ways. If you get an inkling to take a different route home, follow it. See what happens.Do you feel like wearing a color you don’t usually wear. Try that color. Is there a class or activity that you’ve been thinking of doing for a while…sign up for it. See what happens. If you want to up the ante-Keep an intuition journal. Write down what you think might be your intuitive nudges or dreams and note what happens as you pay more attention to them.
2- Improv. Well, duh lol. BUT it really has changed my life.
It has taken me from a completely shut down person riddled with self consciousness to a confident leader and speaker. It has helped me trust my instincts and respond spontaneously rather than always living in my head.
If you are going to develop the skill of improv, sure, you can read books or watch YouTubes but the real way you will develop these skills is by getting your booty in a class and having the actual experience of it in real time with other humans. 🙂
3-Earthing/Grounding.
I have a daily practice of walking barefoot in the woods. The daily connection to nature, removing myself from electronics and constant beeps and buzzes, helps me stay grounded.
Also as someone with CPTSD I am constantly working to regulate my nervous system.
So, co-regulating with nature is a great way to do that.
Nature is pure and peaceful so it helps bring me into that peace as well.
Our modern culture is so disconnected to natural rhythms and this is a way for me to stay connected to an ancient part of my being that recalls being in direct contact with the Earth and those natural rhythms. PLUS, there are tremendous physical healing benefits of daily earthing such as decreased inflammation and better sleep.
The best way to develop a connection to nature is to start small. Take little walks outside if you don’t already. Or go bring your laptop by a tree. See if you can start to reconnect to nature bit by bit so that it becomes a regular part of your life.
How would you describe your ideal client?
My ideal client knows there is something more. They may be feeling that feeling of dissatisfaction that comes when our Soul is ready for the next level of growth or some sort of change.
( Don’t fear that rumbling inside! It is a messenger).
They have done self growth, but maybe they are feeling like they need FUN now.
They miss being a chid and playing full out. They want to connect to a full range of emotions rather than only the societally acceptable ones.
They may feel isolated and long to connect with others, but don’t necessarily feel safe in groups or want to just go to a party to meet people. They want to connect with structure and safety in place.
Maybe they live too much in their heads and they know it’s time to connect more to their bodies, their instincts or their emotions.
They may have something to say but are not confident enough to use their voice in the way they truly want.
They feel stifled.
They are ready for some change but maybe they don’t have a ton of energy so it has to be something easy that will catalyze them.
Maybe they have something to say but are not confident enough to use their voice.
They just know it is time to break out of the box that the world has put them in.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wildmindimprov.com or www.anootreebrod.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anootreeb_wildmindimprov/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WILDMINDIMPROV
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@anootreebrod7415
- Other: TikTok @anootreeb_wildmindimprov
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
