Erin Diehl

Erin “Big” Diehl is a Business Improv Edutainer, Failfluencer, keynote speaker, and coach. Through a series of unrelated dares, she created improve it!, a unique professional development company that uses improvisational comedy and experiential learning to sharpen leaders and teams so they can thrive in ever-changing environments—all while having a whole lot of laughs along the way.

Recently featured in The New York Times, Diehl is a graduate of Clemson University, a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional, and a veteran improviser from Chicago’s top improvisational training programs, including The Second City, i.O. Theater, and The Annoyance Theater.

Having spoken on global stages with companies like Amazon, LinkedIn, McKesson, and The Obama Foundation, Diehl brings an energy and message that creates lasting ripple effects for change. As a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program and a member of The Chicago Innovation Awards Women’s Cohort, she is a living testament to the power of lifelong learning—and how understanding ourselves helps others do the same.

Diehl is the proud host of the Workday Playdate podcast with improve it!, a Top 1% Global Podcast available wherever you listen to pods! She is also a first-time author of the Amazon Best Seller & Top New Release, "I See You! A Leader’s Guide to Energizing Your Team Through Radical Empathy."

Among her many accolades, Diehl is most proud of successfully coercing over 51,000 professionals to chicken dance.

When she's not playing pretend or facilitating, she enjoys walking on the beach with her husband, son, and eight pound toy poodle, BIGG DIEHL.