DAVID BARRON

About the author

David M. Barron didn't set out to write a book about human connection. He just wanted to stop feeling invisible.

The sixth of seven children in a sprawling Irish Catholic family, David learned early that survival meant being the easy child—the one who didn't cause problems, didn't demand attention, didn't rock the boat. A childhood stutter made him a spectator in a household where quick wit and loud opinions were survival skills. Theatre became his sanctuary, a place where scripted words meant he could finally speak without his voice betraying him.

But it was improv—discovered at 47 in a Wheaton, Illinois basement studio while waiting for his daughters to finish piano lessons—that changed everything. Not because it made him funnier or more confident, but because it taught him something he'd been searching for his entire life: how to help others shine.

Over the past decade performing with house teams like Formal Bonfire, Juxtaposition, and Dirty Bars (musical improv), David discovered that the same principles that create compelling scenes also create compelling relationships. The skills that make great improvisers—generous attention, authentic presence, staying connected when things get uncomfortable, the courage to help others succeed even when they're not helping you back—are precisely the same skills that make great leaders, parents, partners, and friends.

David is:
A Creative Operations and Technology Director who's spent 25+ years helping creative people solve technical problems (while learning that the best solutions come from genuine collaboration, not expert authority)

A husband who's discovered that approaching his wife with love-gratitude-play transforms logistics coordination into actual partnership

A father of two daughters who's learning that the most powerful parenting happens when you help your kids discover their own wisdom instead of downloading yours

A Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College graduate (yes, really) who learned that sometimes a costume gives you permission to be more authentically yourself than business casual ever could

A theatre performance major from Michigan State University who studied with improv legend Del Close in 1986, not knowing he was witnessing the future of modern comedy

An empath who spent decades seeing his sensitivity as a liability before discovering it was actually his superpower

What makes David different from most people writing about leadership and connection is his unflinching honesty about his failures. This book is filled with moments when he froze instead of acting, performed instead of connecting, let fear win instead of choosing love. He doesn't have it all figured out—he's just willing to figure it out in front of you, with the kind of vulnerable storytelling that makes you feel less alone in your own struggles.

His writing combines the observational precision of someone who's spent years reading energy in rooms, the theatrical storytelling of someone who understands dramatic arc, and the raw authenticity of someone who's tired of performing in his own life. He writes like he's having coffee with you, sharing stories that make you laugh and wince and recognize yourself in uncomfortable ways.

David lives in Wheaton, Illinois with his wife Cory (his scene partner in the longest-running improvisation of his life) and their two adult daughters (who keep him humble about how much he still has to learn). When he's not performing with Dirty Bars on Friday nights at Westside Improv, he's probably in a hot tub noticing the ripples, the robins, the way everything connects when you're actually present.

This is his first book, written not because he mastered generous playing, but because he kept finding himself in conversations with people hungry for exactly what he'd discovered in that Wheaton basement: permission to be authentically themselves with others, and practical methods for creating the kind of connections that make everyone involved feel more alive.