The Power of Show and Tell
There are many things that are best learned through demonstration, sports, dance, and all kinds of physical work. For instance, it doesn’t matter how much you explain the particular skills necessary to ride a bicycle, until you see it done up close and personal you’re not going to feel at all comfortable taking a shot at it yourself.
Then, once you are in the saddle your body needs some time to lock in the correct combination of movement, balance and perception. Once it’s programmed into the muscles, riding a bicycle is such a satisfyingly fluid motion that your body rarely forgets it. But, it all starts with the demonstration.
I always assume that Show and Tell was everyone’s favorite part of school, but then I realize that not everyone likes public speaking. In fact, standing in front of a bunch of people and giving a speech is typically ranked as one of the three scariest activities people fear. Yet many of us were happy to stand up in front of our elementary school classes and show off whatever we carried in that day.
There is something about having a prop to work with that makes us feel safer, more complete. It has to do with how much of our brain we use for remembering words and how much we use to remember objects. Here is an example; can you remember what desk you sat at in first grade? Probably! Do you remember what your teacher said the first day, or for that matter anytime in that year? Probably not!
What is that? Because the part of the brain that remembers objects and positioning is ten times larger than the part that is used for remembering words and names! Why else would it be so hard to remember names without repeated exposure?
There is a technique to help you remember names where you imagine writing the person’s name on their forehead when you meet them. It would work best if you could actually draw their name on their forehead, because it would lock the physical motion into your nervous system. If you can really imagine writing the name on their forehead, complete with reaching out your arm, moving your hand and finishing with a flourish at the end, it will work better for you.
That is why great athletes visualize their motions many times in preparation for performing them. The mental pathways work best when the track is made clear by directing your attention along them. Just like a stable horse will follow a well beaten path even with an inexperienced rider in the saddle.
The way we position ourselves is something we do automatically, based on how we are taught, and how our nervous system guides us based on ancient programming. Good management of your team, or yourself, includes consciously choosing empowered positions; strategic arrangements and effective motions that promote your talents and cooperation.
That kind of physical positioning has to be demonstrated in three dimensions to be understood, so it can be retained in the parts of the brain that manage the physical world. As much as you verbally explain the dynamics at work when you position a team, it is when you see and feel how the arrangement works that it makes sense. And when the dynamics make sense, you remember them.
That’s the value of ‘Show and Tell’; it reaches deeply into the subconscious brain and the connection to objects makes us feel safer and more confident. That’s why our Dream Desk Seminars use moving furniture and lots of props, because we are addressing the larger part of the brain that manages three dimensions, using the alphabet it understands, objects.
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