What improv can teach you about risk-taking | Sehar Manji | TEDxSherbrooke Street West
What if play isn’t the opposite of work, but the best way to get ready for real life? How do we move forward when self-doubt, discomfort, and the myth of “readiness” hold us back? Veteran improviser, actor, writer, instructor, and public speaking coach, Sehar Manji shares how Improv reshaped her mindset and helped her exercise resilience, presence, self-trust and adaptability in a low-stakes space – where play rewires your brain to handle uncertainty.What can improv teach us about navigating the unknown? Through interactive moments, practical insights, and personal stories, Sehar invites us to rethink our relationship with failure, control, perfectionism and fear, and shows how play rewires how we respond under pressure, both on stage and in life.No script, no prep, and no pressure to be perfect. Improv lets you start exactly where you are. Whether you're navigating change, craving more creative energy, or simply waiting for permission to try something new, this talk offers a new way forward: one where you don’t have to be ready. You just have to press play. Born and raised in Nairobi, Sehar Manji is a veteran improviser, actor, writer, comedian, and instructor based in Montreal. Since stepping into her first improv class in 2010, she has gone on to perform across stage and screen. A longtime presence in Montreal’s improv, sketch, and comedy scene, she was among the first South Asian performers to appear regularly on local improv stages.
Her work spans improv and comedy festivals across North America, including Just For Laughs and OFF-JFL; a spot in CBC’s Kim’s Convenience Emerging Writers’ Room; and on-screen credits in Transplant (NBC), Pillow Talk (Crave), and the upcoming film Love & Chaos. She has also appeared in numerous commercials (including one alongside Ryan Reynolds), and made her professional theatre debut in The Rishta at Montreal’s Centaur Theatre. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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