How Theater Helps Unlock Ideas in the Corporate World
Bruna Pavani explains how theatrical training tackles imposter syndrome and improves meetings and presentations.
Bruna Pavani explains how theater helps professionals overcome self-criticism and voice their ideas in meetings. The conversation explores public speaking and the courage to make mistakes in corporate settings.
Stage experience and studying theatrical techniques offer practical tools for handling exposure in the workplace. In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, in an episode dedicated to growth strategies and market trends, Bruna Pavani highlighted how artistic practice helps unlock communication and reduce common barriers in everyday business.
In the video above, Pavani details the dynamics of agency meetings and the mindset needed to pitch proposals to leadership. She emphasizes that the value of theater training lies not in creating artificial personas, but in building personal confidence to communicate without constraints.
Theater against imposter syndrome
For Pavani, theater arts training should be far more widespread among professionals across different industries. "Everyone should do theater and therapy," she says, emphasizing that theater's purpose is not to teach people how to act in the workplace, but rather to disarm self-doubt.
The distinction between acting and communicating clearly is central to Pavani's analysis. When leading a presentation or engaging in a discussion, a person should not adopt a persona, but command their own presence. According to her, theatrical training works directly "toward making you less self-critical, having less imposter syndrome, and pushing you to put yourself out there more."
The agency meeting and the cost of staying silent
Pavani recalled a pivotal moment in her career while working at Publicis on the Chevrolet account. During a work meeting attended by Hugo Rodrigues, she came up with a creative angle but hesitated to share it out of fear that the idea wasn't good enough.
Shortly after, another teammate brought up a similar line of reasoning, which Rodrigues immediately approved. That moment served as a turning point for Pavani: "From that day on, I decided I would never hold back again." She notes that ever since, she has made a point of pitching her hypotheses even when unsure of their feasibility, letting go of the fear of external judgment.
Executive presentations and the courage to fail
Pavani summarized the willingness to speak up without guaranteed validation as needing "less perfectionist self-pressure and more permission to make mistakes." Bruno noted that unshared ideas end up lost without execution, highlighting the importance of engaging result presentations and pitches to secure organizational buy-in.