Thursday, April 1, 2010

Critical mouth

It's good to observe with a critical eye, for the purpose of honing your perception and figuring out what might be helpful to the observing party. Sometimes you get the chance to tell that person/people what you think, sometimes you don't.

The hard part isn't in seeing what you want to comment on, or even what to tell someone. It's in figuring out how to say it to actually HELP them. It's too easy to tell someone "you're doing that wrong" or "you shouldn't do that", but does that really help them? Or does it just make you feel superior?

I know this feeling because I've been guilty of it myself, more so in karate than taiko. But I really try not to let it happen and have been pretty good lately. It's not easy to use my critical eye, figure out what I want someone to change or try, and tell them in a way that will actually make them want to listen to what I said. It's easier to just say it in a way that is convenient for me, but learning how to be a good teacher is more than just being smart, it's in communicating smartly.

Would you rather inspire someone to try harder or shame them into it? How you comment reflects more on you than it does on your audience.

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