What if one of the biggest barriers to workplace learning is the belief that work must always feel serious?
In this episode of Voices of The Learning Network, host Bill Banham sits down with Kelsey Kates, Founder of Play Free Works and former Global Head of Learning Experiences at Google, to explore why playfulness may be one of the most overlooked drivers of learning, trust, and performance at work.
Drawing on years of experience designing learning at scale, Kelsey explains why people don't arrive at training sessions as blank slates or emotionless professionals. They arrive carrying stress, distractions, expectations, and life experiences that shape their ability to learn, connect, and contribute.
The conversation challenges the "serious work fallacy"—the assumption that professionalism requires people to suppress their humanity. Kelsey shares how authentic playfulness creates psychological safety, encourages participation, strengthens relationships, and helps teams take the risks necessary for meaningful learning and innovation.
Bill and Kelsey also unpack what playful learning actually means. Spoiler alert: it's not about adding games to every workshop. Instead, it's about creating environments where curiosity, experimentation, and connection can flourish. Through practical examples from her work at Google and beyond, Kelsey offers simple techniques that learning professionals, facilitators, and leaders can immediately apply to improve engagement and retention.
From purposeful primers and movement-based prompts to creating opportunities for early participation, this episode is packed with practical ideas for anyone seeking to build more human-centered learning experiences.
In this episode:
- Why emotional state and life context influence learning readiness
- Challenging the myth that professionalism requires seriousness
- The connection between playfulness, trust, and psychological safety
- Lessons from designing learning experiences at Google
- What playful learning means beyond gamification and "forced fun"
- How small moments of humor create stronger human connections
- Why participation should begin within the first few minutes of learning
- Practical facilitation techniques to increase engagement
- Using movement and visual shifts to reset attention and energy
- Building learning experiences that feel personal, even at scale
- How playful leadership can improve learning, collaboration, and performance
About Kelsey Kates
Kelsey Kates is Founder of Play Free Works and former Global Head of Learning Experiences at Google. She helps organizations create more engaging, human-centered workplaces by applying the science of play, psychological safety, and experiential learning to leadership development, workplace culture, and learning design.
Voices of the Learning Network is the Learning Network podcast connecting the learning and development community. https://thelearning-network.org/
