Sometimes I just have to do something daring. At least daring for me. I'm too much of a coward for bungee jumping or skydiving. Enrolling in a stand-up comedy workshop not only fit the "daring" bill, it gave me a chance to discover new ways to make my own workshops even more student-friendly. Greg was our comedian instructor.
In a class Greg took, he and most of his classmates weren't African-American. Nonetheless, the class instructor arranged for his students to take lessons in - are you ready for this - African dancing!
A live band played traditional African music. Drummers deftly slapped the djembe and junjun drums. The music had an ever-changing rhythm and beat. No matter how hard Greg tried, no matter how much he counted to himself, his movements were awkward. Clumsy. In music-speak, Greg "couldn't catch the groove". Sensing Greg's frustration, the band's leader clued him in to what African dancing was all about: connecting by feeling the drums... moving with rhythm of the drums... experiencing the drums. By internalizing the beat of the drums, Greg soon found within himself the rhythm and beat that had eluded him.
In later lesson, Greg was invited to try his hand at drumming. Even though he dabbled in various instruments and was no stranger to drums, Greg found drumming equally frustrating. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall into sync with the other three drummers, who kept changing their tempo-going faster, slowing down only to speed up again... but for no apparent reason. Again, the leader clued Greg in: The band's drummers were connecting by watching and following the lead dancers.
There are two things I haven't yet shared with you:
1. The class that Greg was taking was in neuro-linguistic programming-pretty heavy stuff.
2. What Greg learned in a serious behavioral class was equally relevant in a comedy workshop.
It's equally relevant to the art of argument. The dancers were connecting with and tracking the drummers. The drummers were connecting with and tracking the dancers. Each was leading, and was following. Each was affecting, and each was being affected.
Arguing is seeking change. Change in the way the other person thinks, or feels, or sees things. Change is a process. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Always affecting. Always being affected.
In a class Greg took, he and most of his classmates weren't African-American. Nonetheless, the class instructor arranged for his students to take lessons in - are you ready for this - African dancing!
A live band played traditional African music. Drummers deftly slapped the djembe and junjun drums. The music had an ever-changing rhythm and beat. No matter how hard Greg tried, no matter how much he counted to himself, his movements were awkward. Clumsy. In music-speak, Greg "couldn't catch the groove". Sensing Greg's frustration, the band's leader clued him in to what African dancing was all about: connecting by feeling the drums... moving with rhythm of the drums... experiencing the drums. By internalizing the beat of the drums, Greg soon found within himself the rhythm and beat that had eluded him.
In later lesson, Greg was invited to try his hand at drumming. Even though he dabbled in various instruments and was no stranger to drums, Greg found drumming equally frustrating. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't fall into sync with the other three drummers, who kept changing their tempo-going faster, slowing down only to speed up again... but for no apparent reason. Again, the leader clued Greg in: The band's drummers were connecting by watching and following the lead dancers.
There are two things I haven't yet shared with you:
1. The class that Greg was taking was in neuro-linguistic programming-pretty heavy stuff.
2. What Greg learned in a serious behavioral class was equally relevant in a comedy workshop.
It's equally relevant to the art of argument. The dancers were connecting with and tracking the drummers. The drummers were connecting with and tracking the dancers. Each was leading, and was following. Each was affecting, and each was being affected.
Arguing is seeking change. Change in the way the other person thinks, or feels, or sees things. Change is a process. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Always affecting. Always being affected.
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