strip, speak or sing?
I watched Horizon: How Mad Are You? the other week. It was a slightly odd programme in which the basic premise is the professionals try to guess which of the participants have been diagnosed with a mental illness. The participants had various activities inflicted on them to help the professionals identify the ‘mad ones’.
Generally the group agreed that cleaning up a revolting cow shed (to spot OCD) was far preferable to performing stand-up comedy (to spot social anxiety). PW and I nodded vigourously in agreement.
Which reminded me of the “Strip, Speak or Sing” debate:
A group of London IA ladies were discussing public speaking and whether those in the group who speak at conferences are “incredibly brave” or not. Somehow this evolved into a discussion of whether each individual would prefer to “Strip, Speak or Sing” in public (in the appropriate context that is e.g. strip in a life drawing class, not just randoming stripping off in the office! ).
This was one of those conversations were each participant stared at the others in disbelief when they heard their order. Interestingly, no-one put Speak first.
Which in turn reminded me of an early BBC activity of working out the Myers Brigg types of all the members of a team. The team was then divided along MB lines and had to interogate each other about working behaviour. The conversation that struck with me, for obvious IA reasons, was:
“what? you never file any emails? none at all?”
“of course not. You mean some people really use all those little folders?”
All of these occasions were simple but necessary reminders that other people *really* don’t think like you.
(and if you’re wondering – I’m Strip, Speak, Sing)