Vizualization is a powerful business tool

The beginning of a new year and the ending of an old one tends to drum up a lot of media about assessing what happened in the last year. Looking back, what happened, what can we learn from it? It sounds like classic text book stuff. But I challenge you to try something different this time. Try not doing it. Ok. I know that is nearly impossible. But how about this. Try doing it only 10% of what you might normally do. And in place of the remaining 90%, think about how you see 2010 unfolding. Oh yeah, and here is an advanced move... think about it as if it has already happened or is happening right now.


A good friend of Nancy and I at KnowledgeShift, Adam Hartung, wrote a book called the Create Marketplace Disruptions. Adam has a unique way of looking at businesses and innovation. And it is from Adam that I was reminded of this visualization concept. Adam has a step in his evaluation process called "Scenario Planning". And what is so special about it to me is that it is focused on looking at the future. What does the future at a macro level look like. Say 2-5 years from now, how is the landscape going to change and what does that mean for my marketplace. I think we can use the same concept to look personally and see what our personal futures will look like. What things can affect us negatively, what things will most likely stay the same. It is a process of opening up our minds to options, possibilities, seeing challenges that we might not have seen - or been unwilling to see.

So now I take you back to my challenge at the beginning of this blog... once you have an idea of what your future looks like, dare to think about it in the present tense. This is a great way to see the places where your own internal voice may be judging you or worse, sabotaging you. If you hear that voice, don't shun it. Talk to it. Ask it why it says those things. This is really your fear talking to you. And changes in thinking and perception about yourself, can bring a lot of fear. Keep on. Walk with your fear. And if you don't have any little voice talking to you about why this is a stupid exercise - then good job... I mean it really.

As a very practical application, I have recently been doing this with sleeping, as my dog has been getting me up in the night to go out. And then when we return to bed, I found that I couldn't get back to sleep very easily. My mind was racing with lyrics to songs, stuff I heard throughout the day, worries, etc.... So, I decided to try telling myself the following: I am a sound sleeper. I fall asleep easily. I have relaxing and peaceful sleep. zzzzz

Thinking is the first step. The next step is writing, followed then by verbalization which leads to action. But baby steps first.

I would love to hear about your experiences with this - either by your own experimentation or your personal stories with this type of work.

Happy New Year everyone - it is a great year!

Law of Emotional Learning

It is no surprise that we are big fans of Thiagi.  And if you aren't familiar with him, well then you are in for a treat.  You can check him out at http://thiagi.com .   This month's Thiagi letter is full of great information.  The part that really jumped out at me was a section called "Laws of the Adult Learner".  We talk about the value of emotions in our ADDIE to Improv class.  And Thiagi has a section called Laws for All Creatures Great and Small that echos that sentiment.

Law of emotional learning: Events that are accompanied by intense emotions result in long-lasting learning.

Use training games, simulations, and role plays that add emotional elements to learning. Make sure that emotions don't become too intense and interfere with learning. Make sure that participants don't learn dysfunctional behaviors because of intense emotions. Debrief participants after emotional activities to reflect on their feelings and learn from their reactions.

John Cleese and Lily Tomlin both are known for not only their comedic genius' but also for educational training.  Pretty cool, huh.  The simplest idea behind it is that if you are laughing you are learning.  But if you take that a step further and think about the evolution of our brains.  We have what is called a Triune Brain.  Three, three, three brains in one.  

Long ago we were reptiles, and we still have deep within our brains, the reptilian brain or it is also called the R-Complex.  The Reptilian Brain is responsible for basic functions - fight, flight, breathing, digestion, circulation - basic but very important stuff.  As we evolved over thousands of years, we developed a Mammalian Brain or Limbic Brain.  The Mammalian Brain is the type of brain you find in mammals - and the differences between reptiles and mammals is quite apparent.  Mammals have "feelings".  It is this part of the brain that controls emotions, moods, memory and hormone control.  It is here that we are advocating that you look for ways to incorporate emotional experiences in your training.  Scenarios, exhibits, games that put you in the moment (hey, that's an improv term) and allow the student to experience and practice the skills they are learning help to stimulate the Mammalian Brain, raising the learning.  And it is important to stress that whenever you are using an emotional component to your training that you allow time to debrief.  To allow your students to talk about their experience.  The talking is part of the processing of the information.

And for those of you who need to complete the circle of our story, the last part of the brain is the part that humans and primates have, the Neocortex.  This allows us to be able to do things that other mammals cannot - such as complex social interactions and advanced planning - and in humans this part of the brain has grown quite large, thought to be due to our development of language.

So I challenge you, what types of things make you laugh, smile, muse?  And how can you try to incorporate those types of experiences into your training?  When would it be inappropriate?  And why?  Let yourself go, wonder.  I would love to hear what you come up with.

 

Check out this website

http://www.psycheducation.org/emotion/triune%20brain.htm 

 

 

By Allison Black

Taking IMPROV to Heart

Taking our teachings in ADDIE to Improv to heart, I am often reminded of how Improvisation can be applied to everyday life.  It is with this Blog that I hope that our thoughts and insights on applied improvisation will be beneficial to you.  Sometimes the impact may be subtle and hopefully once in a while it will help you find an "Ah hah" moment.  I find the more you are aware of improvisation, the more you see it, and the more you become it.  So without further exposition, I give you our new ADDIE to Improv Blog (sounds of "TaDa" and cheering - and of course clapping, because that is what improvisers do).

Allison Black, KnowledgeShift