If it bears repeating then REPEAT IT!

I know many coaches, teachers, trainers, and parents who get sick of repeating the same instructions day in and day out to staff, students,  athletes, and their kids...

"Well, I TOLD them!"

"They should have listened!"

"GAWD! How many TIMES do I have to say it?"

I've been coaching and teaching for quite a while now. It took me a long time to realize that there is no one magical analogy, cue, or drill that guarantees the message will be received and permanently internalized. It doesn't matter how well the lesson is delivered, how eloquent your description, how effective the activation, or how often you've modeled the correct behavior, if it bears repeating then, by all means, REPEAT IT!

When my son was three years old, he was learning to look both ways before crossing a street.  I modeled. I reminded. I praised. I admonished. I cued. I nagged... After months, he was going through the motions - his head turned, but he wasn't seeing ANYTHING. Now, years later, he's much better, but occasionally I still have to model, remind, praise, admonish, cue, and nag.

Here's the deal, giving a lesson or piece of advice once does not absolve our responsibility to see that the lesson has been learned and properly implemented. It's our JOB to repeat instructions when necessary. ...and sometimes, when the occasion calls for it, we need to repeat advice for our own benefit and for our own training.

Related Article:
The Gable Method by Dan John