Drive thru talking, people!
It's all the rage at my house.
And when I say rage, I mean: I'm actually about to introduce it and I'm the only one stoked about it so far.
Drive thru talking is a communication technique that I learned about when I was dating my husband.
He sent me a video on how to communicate.
When we were dating.
It freaked me out. I thought I was dating a psychiatrist.
After my initial shock, I realized that the video had some really good things to say about communication.
And I realized that if my boyfriend was willing to commit to better communication, he fell into the "keeper" category.
So I married him.
And I have been trying to keep communication lines open since.
As I've been looking at various ways to strengthen my daughter's cognitive functions of Expressive Verbal Tools, as well as the Receptive Verbal Tools, drive thru talking is re-emerging as a handy little tool.
Drive thru talking is simple and easy to use (and if you call now, I'll throw in these steak knives for an additional $9.95. Did anybody else think that when I wrote "It's simple and easy to use"? No. Just me? OK)
Well, it's simple and easy to use.
Basically, you are practicing listening and talking to one another.
You repeat what the other person is saying in order to confirm that you heard correctly. Much like the do at a drive thru restaurant.
Hence the term: Drive thru talking.
Drive thru restaurants repeat your order to you because it's a quality control measure. It's their way of making sure you get the hamburger you ordered, instead of a fish stick that may have been in the back of the freezer for one month too long.
Let's take a look at an example that shows us what drive thru talking is not.
Here is a completely fictitious scenario from my marriage:
ME:Honey, can you pick up some milk when you are out? Love you, Bye. Have a great day.
MY MAN: Yeah. Love you too.
1 hour later
ME:Where's my milk?
MY MAN: ( a stunned look on his face and the overwhelming sense that he's missed something)
What milk?
ME: The milk. The milk I asked you to get when you went out. The milk you said, "yeah" to getting.
MY MAN: I don't remember that.
ME: ahhhhhhhhh!
That is an example of bad communication on my part.
It's completely fictitious. Never happened. Because, remember folks, I watched a video once about communicating over ten years ago. I'm a pro and don't make mistakes like that.
Here's how drive thru talking is really done:
Mom: Can you please take out the garbage?
Child: You want me to take out the garbage?
Mom: Yes, and please do it right away.
Child: I can take the garbage out right away.
Yeah! Success is achieved.
Good has been done here.
The garbage is going to be taken out and it's going to happen right away.
Why is this a good exercise for strengthening the Cognitive Functions regarding verbal tools?
Let's go over the points, shall we:
1. I said it is, and since I'm an expert in communication,
(remember, I once watched a video)
it's obvious that I'm right
2. It requires you and your child to FOCUS on what is being said.
When you instruct them and they have to repeat back to you what they've heard, you can determine if their INPUT Receptive Verbal Tools need strengthening. When you have them instruct you to do something, you can determine if their OUTPUT Expressive Verbal Tools need strengthening
3. Over 40 billion served makes a point (Get it? It's a fast food joke referencing Macdonald's restaurant. Did anyone else think that? No? Just me.... OK)
When using drive thru talking, focus on precision and accuracy. Stay away from generic words like:
that
stuff
thing
Opt for more specific terms like:
the catapult
your dryer lint collection
the mini-replica of the space station
And ask your child to do the same.
Precision!
Accuracy!
Now you say:
Accuracy!
Precision!
You know, as though you were practicing drive thru talking with me.
(Did anyone else get that? No? Just me...OK)
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