From no to yes-and: 6 steps to open up

A few years ago we developed improvisation formats about interculturality on the workfloor, with Livingstone (center of competence for intercultural enterpreneurship). Lutgart Dusar told us about the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity of Dr. Bennett Milton. You can find a short decription and nice visualisation here.
Since then, I often use this model in parallel with the movement we make from no tot yes-and as improplayers:

yesandbennett

We use this f.i. in workshops about diversity to clarify improvised storytelling as a metaphore: the unknown story (and everything participants experience during improvisation exercices), then stands for “the other, the strange one”.

At the other hand, even if words are just words and models nothing more than simplifications of reality, I think Bennett’s terms might help improvisers out of the ongoing discussion about the poorness of the “yes-and”rule. His words are more about a state of mind and being as a co-player than about responding with no or yes, which often results in just technical tools.