About me
My name is Ian Keeling and I am a professional improvisor, author, and executive level speaking coach. I'm passionate about creating more confident and effective communicators, inclusive and collaborative workplaces, and helping anyone share their stories and ideas in any setting.
I firmly believe that improv is the closest art form there is to life, at work and at home. Embracing improv skills, mindsets, and techniques can make anyone a better leader, improve communication, reduce stress, and prepare them to adapt and excel in this rapidly changing world.
In 2016, I fulfilled a life-long dream with the publication of my first novel, The Skids, which won the Copper Cylinder Award and was nominated for the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic. As a member of the Toronto Improv community for over thirty years, I'm on the faculty at The Second City and was a founding member of Bad Dog Theatre and Bizprov Canada. I've taught improv in Spain, won a poetry slam at Lee’s Palace, and once got a room of executives at Rolls-Royce to play penguin tag.
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In over ten thousand hours of workshop facilitation, I've worked across multiple sectors including Finance, Tech, Manufacturing, Telecommunication, Health Care, Academia, and Government. A selected list of clients I have had the pleasure of working with include: Deloitte, Ernst and Young, Rolls Royce, BGIS, BLG, ARM, Gilead, Subaru, TD Canada Trust, CT REIT, Bell Canada, Capital One, Alliance Atlantis, SEDI, Thermos, CP Rail, Open Ocean Robotics, St Lawrence Market BIA, University of Toronto ITS, Ocean Leaders-UBC, Rotman School of Management, Loran Scholars and Youth Employment Services, along with dozens of universities and all three levels of government.