You Don't Have to Punish Your Dancers – The Power of Positive Reinforcement
Whenever I discuss the negative side to punishment, and why you should always avoid physical punishment I get questions about what to do instead. The focus is usually on the side of consequences. Coaches want to know, how do I get them to stop doing that bad behavior? How do I get them to listen, how do I get them to work hard, how do I get them to remember everything. Punishment is only part of the equation. I believe the flip side, focusing on positive reinforcement will have a bigger long-term benefit and it creates a very different team climate. So in this episode, I’m going to explain how to shape the behavior you want in your dancers using positive reinforcement.
- [1m 41s] Positive reinforcement defined
- [5m 24s] Examples of positive reinforcement you can use with your dancers
- [11m 10s] Be careful, empty praise will backfire
- [13m 48s] Internal reflection and journaling
- [14m 52s] How do I get my dancers to work hard?
This episode brought to you by:
The Tiers System is an app FOR dance coaches made BY dance coaches that gives you the tools to empower your dancers to take control of their technique and development. The app provides you with over 150 skills broken down by category (turns, leaps, jumps, acro/tumbling) and by level (beginner through elite), and the skills lists are customizable so you can make sure it fits your unique team.
The app tracks dancers progress through the skill progressions so you (and your dancers) can transparently see where they are in their skill development and what they need to do to move to the next level (or Tier). You can access a dancers full skills list, see which dancers are strongest in which categories, and select any skill to see the list of dancers on your team with that skill with the click of a button.
The Tiers System provides you with data insights into your team’s progress, goals, and future. Some other bonuses include tutorials to accompany skills so that dancers can learn independently, practice plan templates, cleaning checklists, discussion prompts for team leaders, and more!
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