Bravery Breakouts – Moving from Bystanders to Civility Upstanders: A Talk and Playshop

Wednesday, September 17, 2025
1:00 PM – 
2:00 PM

Workplaces thrive when kindness is more than a value—when it’s a practiced skill. In this interactive “playshop,” the Greater Good Science Center's Kia Afcari combines research-backed insights from the science of kindness with theater-based learning to help participants move from passive bystanders to active “Upstanders” in the face of workplace incivility. 

Participants will begin by watching a short skit or video illustrating real-world incivility, then identify key dynamics and emotional responses. Grounded in research on altruism, fairness, and prosocial contagion, Kia will guide participants through Boal-informed theater techniques designed to build confidence and skills in intervening with compassion and effectiveness. 

Together, we’ll explore what unbidden empathy looks like in action, how fairness preferences guide behavior, and why collaborative wins can shift entire workplace cultures. Participants will leave with practical Upstander practices they can apply immediately—and the science to back them up. 

Come ready to move, reflect, and take a stand for civility. 

Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants will be able to:
  1. Experience incivility in the form of a video/skit and identify the key aspects of what they saw 
  2. Identify and be able to describe the key research related to interpersonal kindness: 
    1. Unbidden empathy & altruism 
    2. Coordinated actions & behaviors 
    3. Innate preference for fairness & reinforcement for generosity 
    4. Prosocial contagion & “Upward Spirals” 
    5. Outsized reward for collaborative wins 
  1. Participate in Boal-informed theater practices to help uncover key ways to be "an Upstander" during a situation involving incivility in the workplace.
  2. Identify and describe key Upstander practices that can be used in real work situations and connect those with the science of kindness and altruism.
Kia headshot
Greater Good Workplaces