We are consistently faced with the difficult challenge of teaching people how to move. Whether it’s helping a client learn a movement for the first time, or a patient to re-learn a pattern after injury, the ability to convey a message that can be translated into physical movement is critical. Despite this importance, we have all faced the challenge of having our instruction, feedback and cues lead to effective movement. What’s more, we face the even greater challenge of getting acute improvements to have lasting effects. So this leaves us with an important question – how do we make learning stick? To answer this question we have to realize an important truth – new information is best understood through the lens of something we already know. Put simply, stories, analogies and metaphors can help us to learn something new by leveraging the experiences and knowledge we already have. As Hannah Arendt once said, “storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.” Therefore, we are able to convey the complexities inherent to movement, through the simplicity of the associations that emerge through analogy, metaphor and storytelling. Imbedded in science, logic and experience, this presentation will provide you with a blueprint for making your coaching memorable.
2. 2
How often do
you repeat
the same cue
over and over
or feel like
you are not
being heard?
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3. 3
How many
times have you
instructed your
client on how
to perform a
movement
only to be
asked -
so what do
you want me
to do?
4. 4
How many
times have
you given
your client a
cue only to
have them
do exactly
what you
hoped to
avoid?
5. 5
How many
times have you
achieved great
results within a
session only to
see those results
disappear the
next time the
client shows
up to train?
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6. 6
Now…How many
times have you
also delivered a
cue or bit of
instruction and
have it instantly
work and continue
to work as if you
got 6 weeks of
training out of
one session?
7. 7
How do we optimize instruction and cueing to
ensure learning?
15. 15
“Much of humankind's remarkable mental aptitude can be
attributed to analogical ability – the ability to perceive and use
relational similarity.” Gentner & Calhoun (2010)
16. 16
““In broad terms, an
analogy is simply a
comparison that
alerts a parallel
- explicit or implicit -
between two distinct
things, based on the
perception of a shared
property or relation.”
-John Pollack
17. 17
Perth is in the grip of a heat wave with temperatures set to
soar to 40 degrees Celsius by the end of the week. Australia is
no stranger to extreme weather. Melbourne was pummeled
with hailstones the size of golf balls on Saturday. Long term,
droughts, bushfires, and floods have all plagued large swaths
of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria
(excerpts from: James Geary in I IS AN OTHER)
18. 18
“War involves the organized, deliberate use of force to attain a
goal, often the control of territory. So does football.” Offensive
lineman “ battle in the trenches ” to give the quarterback, often
called the “ field general, ” the time to throw “ bullet ” passes
and “ march ” his team downfield. If he’s got a “ cannon for an
arm, ” he might even “ throw a bomb. ”
(excerpts from: Michael Mandelbaum in THE MEANING OF SPORTS via John Pollack in SHORTCUT)
19. 19
Car : Human Body
Computer : Human Brain
Jet : Broad Jump
Rocket : Vertical Jump
Prius : Jogging
Porsche : Sprinting
20. 20
What role does analogy play in influencing movement skill
acquisition and learning?
22. 22
ANALOGY LEARNING
Table Tennis
_ 3 Groups
_ Explicit, Implicit and Analogy
_ Practice Performance (300 Trials)
_ Explicit = Implicit = Analogy
_ Recall of Explicit Rules
_ Explicit > Implicit = Analogy
_ Transfer Test (50 Trials-Backward Counting)
_ Accuracy (Explicit < Implicit = Analogy)
_ Retention Test (50 Trials)
_ Accuracy (Explicit = Implicit = Analogy)
(Liao et al., 2001 and Poolton et al., 2006)
23. 23
Liao et al., 2001
“draw a right-angled
triangle with the bat…
strike the ball while
bringing the bat up the
hypotenuse of the
triangle”
UK
Poolton et al., 2007
“move the bat as if it is
travelling up the side of a
mountain”
CHINA
THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE
Analogy Learning
24. 24
ANALOGY LEARNING
Free Throws
_ 3 Groups
_ Explicit, Analogy and Control
_ Practice Performance (3-days + 480 Trials)
_ Explicit = Analogy = Control
_ Recall of Explicit Rules
_ Explicit > Control > Analogy
_ Transfer Test (1 x 40 Trials-Backward Counting)
_ Accuracy (Explicit = Control < Analogy)
_ Retention Test (2 x 40 Trials)
_ Accuracy (Explicit = Control = Analogy)
(Lam et al., 2009/2009)
26. 26
ANALOGY
Use the familiar to explain
something less familiar
Familiar
Resonate emotionally |
Emotionally charged
Emotional
Highlight similarities and
obscure differences
Similarities
Tell a coherent story
Story
STRUCTURAL MAPPING
Creating Effective Analogies
27. 27
Culture
How does their culture
influence the way they
see, understand and
experience the world
Generation
How does their
generation influence their
identity, world perception
and social interests
Motivation
What is their ‘Why’ and
their central driver for
working towards a set
of goals
Habits/Hobbies
What are they
interested in doing
and ‘Why’ are they
interested in it
Personality
What makes them tick |
What is their favorite
color, super hero,
super power, etc.
FIVE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR ANALOGIES
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“It is not simply the case that the longer a piece of information stays in
STM then the more likely it is to go into LTM. Instead, the more
significant a stimulus or event is then the greater likelihood it is
retained in LTM” Williams et al. (2008)
29. 29
ANALOGY
Identify analogies that
capture the same timing,
speed or rhythm of the
movement
Time | Speed
Identify analogies that
capture the same force
characteristics or strength
demands
Force | Strength
Identify analogies that
capture the same direction
or spatial qualities as
the movement
Direction | Space
Identify analogies that
capture the same shape,
positions or geometry of
the movement
Geometry | Shape
STRUCTURAL MAPPING
Creating Effective Analogies for Movement
33. 33
ANALOGY LEARNING
Framework
3 Steps
1. Identify movement of interest
2. Prioritize top 3-5 common errors
3. Generate 1-3 analogies for each error
_ Acceleration
_ Absolute Speed
41. 41
ACCELERATION
Analogy Learning Examples
POSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMS
“Head to heel strong as steel”
“Drive your knee forward as if
to shatter a pane of glass”
“Explode forward like you are
sprinting upstairs”
“Sprint out like you are trying to
catch a robber”
“Jet over helicopter when you
drive out”
“Sprint out like you have a cheetah
2 steps behind you”
“Imagine your arms are hammers
and your shins are the nails”
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ABSOLUTE SPEED
Analogy Learning Examples
POSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMS
48. 48
ABSOLUTE SPEED
Analogy Learning Examples
POSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMS
49. 49
ABSOLUTE SPEED
Analogy Learning Examples
POSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMS
50. 50
ABSOLUTE SPEED
Analogy Learning Examples
POSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMSPOSTURE | FRONT SIDE | BACKSIDE | ARMS
“Lead with your belt buckle”
“Lean into the wind or run
like you are in a wind tunnel”
“Sprint through knee/shin
high grass”
“Sprint through knee/shin
high surf”
“Sprint as if the ground is on fire”
“Sprint as if to spin the earth back”
“Bounce off the ground like a ball”
“Open and close the door”
52. 52
“Analogies aren’t accidents, they’re arguments - arguments that,
like icebergs, conceal most of their mass and power beneath the
surface.” – John Pollack
53. 53
“Analogies…often trigger emotions [and are a] practical way to
sort a flood of incoming data, place it within the context of our
experience, and make decisions accordingly.” – John Pollack
54. 54
“If one never trusted a single analogy, how could one understand
anything in this world? What, other than one’s past, can one rely on in
grounding decisions that one makes when facing a new situation.”
– Douglas Hofstadter and Emmanuel Sander