The Importance Of Cueing
The Importance Of Cueing. By Sophie Contreras (APPI Presenter, Physiotherapist, UHM Education Manager)
As Pilates Instructors, a skill that can really differentiate us from the rest, is effective cueing. It's well known, that being able to perform a skill well, is very different from being able to teach that skill well.... Refining your cueing skills will help you progress from being an instructor who can demonstrate well, to an instructor that can teach effectively.
There are many tools we can incorporate to help teach Pilates effectively, the most important skill of all, however; is being able to adapt your teaching style to meet the individual learning needs of your client.
A very basic way of looking at learning, is breaking styles down into three categories:
Visual learners tend to have the best result when they can observe, read or visualise the skill or information they are being taught
Auditory learners need to hear the information or verbal cues
Kinaesthetic learners need to physically perform the skill they are being taught, or if it's knowledge rather than a physical skill, these learners tend to need to write the information rather than read it or listen to it.
Although clients may lean towards one learning style, in reality, most people are a combination of all three, and rely on a variety of cues. For this reason, it's important that we have several different ways of approaching our teaching. Even if as teachers, we have a preference for one type of cueing. For example, as physios, in general, we are very comfortable with palpation and using our hands, so tactile feedback and facilitation is often something we are very comfortable with. Have you ever experienced a client though, who becomes rigid, or tries to resist a movement you are trying to facilitate when you help with your hands? This type of client clearly needs to be taught with a different approach. I know I used to struggle with visual imagery, it seemed so vague to me, a bit "airy fairy" and too non-scientific for my liking. However; with more experience teaching Pilates, I soon realised how powerful visual imagery was to get the message across to my clients, especially those who perhaps were not used to movement, and didn't respond well to touch.Being able to picture everyday objects and relate those common things to their body position, really seemed to help people gain body awareness that was otherwise not there. Of course, it's not for everyone, talking about ripe peaches, grapes and buckets of water is too strange for some people, and these might be the people who need to observe the movement, then receive straightforward instructions on what to do. Just explaining the motor pattern in simple terms may be your best approach here. And then, there are the clients, who appear to become confused with verbal instructions, so the use of tactile facilitation and feedback here is imperative.
It's vital that we develop all styles of cueing in Pilates. Sure, we may have our favourite way of teaching, but a good instructor, will put those preferences to one side and continue to adapt their teaching style until they get the desired outcome. So, before you get frustrated with your client who just doesn't "get it" or appears to be "a slow learner", take a moment to reflect yourself, chances are, you may need to explore some teaching cues.
There are many tools we can incorporate to help teach Pilates effectively, the most important skill of all, however; is being able to adapt your teaching style to meet the individual learning needs of your client.
A very basic way of looking at learning, is breaking styles down into three categories:
Visual learners tend to have the best result when they can observe, read or visualise the skill or information they are being taught
Auditory learners need to hear the information or verbal cues
Kinaesthetic learners need to physically perform the skill they are being taught, or if it's knowledge rather than a physical skill, these learners tend to need to write the information rather than read it or listen to it.
Although clients may lean towards one learning style, in reality, most people are a combination of all three, and rely on a variety of cues. For this reason, it's important that we have several different ways of approaching our teaching. Even if as teachers, we have a preference for one type of cueing. For example, as physios, in general, we are very comfortable with palpation and using our hands, so tactile feedback and facilitation is often something we are very comfortable with. Have you ever experienced a client though, who becomes rigid, or tries to resist a movement you are trying to facilitate when you help with your hands? This type of client clearly needs to be taught with a different approach. I know I used to struggle with visual imagery, it seemed so vague to me, a bit "airy fairy" and too non-scientific for my liking. However; with more experience teaching Pilates, I soon realised how powerful visual imagery was to get the message across to my clients, especially those who perhaps were not used to movement, and didn't respond well to touch.Being able to picture everyday objects and relate those common things to their body position, really seemed to help people gain body awareness that was otherwise not there. Of course, it's not for everyone, talking about ripe peaches, grapes and buckets of water is too strange for some people, and these might be the people who need to observe the movement, then receive straightforward instructions on what to do. Just explaining the motor pattern in simple terms may be your best approach here. And then, there are the clients, who appear to become confused with verbal instructions, so the use of tactile facilitation and feedback here is imperative.
It's vital that we develop all styles of cueing in Pilates. Sure, we may have our favourite way of teaching, but a good instructor, will put those preferences to one side and continue to adapt their teaching style until they get the desired outcome. So, before you get frustrated with your client who just doesn't "get it" or appears to be "a slow learner", take a moment to reflect yourself, chances are, you may need to explore some teaching cues.