Funny what you remember! Aka the teachings of Mr. Scobie

Posted In: Me November 16th, 2012 divider No Comments »

Are there sayings you remember from grade school or high school even? I know I have a few, mostly from the same teacher.

I remember Mr. Scobie telling us a few things every few weeks, he even had them posted on his walls, and boy did they stick. I loved business but no wonder he was my favourite teacher.

One was “95 in the shade” meaning if you didn’t do your work now, you’d be back in summer school. Apparently it gets warm in the classroom in the summer (I never went) and you’d rather be outside. It got my attention! I now use a variation of that now, I call it “eyes on the prize”. Work now so you can take Friday afternoon off so you can play golf! :)

Another saying was “it all comes out in the wash”, which I’m still not sure about the meaning to this day. I think it means that your hard work will pay off, or vice versa. You might catch a break in an area but sooner or later, if you’re not doing the right things, it will come back to bite you.

So if you’re trying to make an impression, keep these in mind. Using analogies and mental imagery is very powerful. I try to use it as much as possible in my teaching so the training sticks and folks can get a lot more out of it. You also never know what will stick in people’s minds so it’s not a bad idea to ask them from time to time.

Something that rhymes or something catchy always seems to help, especially jingles. But I don’t think you want me to sing when I’m teaching…

What’s the best saying you remember from your youthful days?

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I’m heading back to Halifax! The next workshop is scheduled for Saturday, December 1. It also looks like I will be doing a talk at Aerobics First on the Friday night (November 30). Stay tuned for all the details.

And for all the details on the workshop, check out the site.