Episode 013 -- Learned Nonuse and a Tie

Video Project

I'm thrilled to announce a video project I've been part of now airs on local TV in Seattle. The Medical Minute is a partnership between King 5 and Swedish Medical Center highlighting the working relationship between care providers and patients at Swedish. I got to share the screen with the always awesome Olivia.  Check it out below.

 

Learned Nonuse

Neurons that fire together, wire together.

-- Dr. Norman Doidge (and, apparently, several others)

In a few weeks I have one of those rare Seattle events where a tie will be appropriate. So now I need to figure out how to do that. Do I get a clip on, or do I try to learn to tie one-handed?  Clip on seems easy and temporary. One-handed tying would become a lifelong skill and permanent. Do I really want a lifelong solution here? Isn't that just conceding that I won't get my left hand back? I'm not prepared to make that concession.

The brain functions like a network of dirt roads. The ruts in the road make it simple for instructions to flow in a simple path. The stroke wiped out those ruts and roads and it's time to rebuild them. 

This thought process eventually led to a discussion of Shoulder Subluxation and  the work of Edward Taub and Constraint Induced Movement Therapy and the nature of rote learning.

Ultimately I decided to get the clip on tie. I think.

Hack of the Week

Putting on a belt with hemiparesis can be tough. It requires reaching around your body, past your weak arm, without losing your balance.

The solution is to thread your bel through your belt loops before putting on your pants.

This makes it much less likely that you'll fall over.

Where do we go from here?

• What are your thoughts and experiences with adaptive equipment and learned nonuse? Let us know in the comments here.
• If you have an Amazon Echo device (affiliate link), please enable the Strokecast skill. Go up to it and say, "Alexa, enable Strokecast."
• Don't get best...get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Episode 061 -- Prewire and Bad Boss Advice

2-Minute Tip: Prewire your big meetings

 

I first learned about the idea of Prewiring a meeting from the folks at Manager Tool. Check out their podcast for a deeper discussion. I also talked about it in the early days of this 2-Minute Talk Tips in Episode 7 (Empty Your Pockets and Prepare Your Audience).

 

Basically, to prewire your audience before a big proposal, meet with your stakeholders one-on-one to brief them on what you want to do, get their feedback, address their concerns, and answer their questions in the days and weeks leading up to your presentation.

 

By doing so, you increase your odds of success because everyone is better prepared for the discussion.

 

 

Post Tip Discussion: Bad Boss Advice

 

When your boss gives you bad advice about speaking, what should you do? Generally, comply.

 

You may want  to dig a little deeper. Ask for more information about the advice. Try to understand the context and details around it. What is the problem your boss hopes to address with this advice? Is there a more effective way that you can accomplish the same goal? There may be an opportunity for discussion here.

 

But you have to be prepared to comply and do things the "wrong" way if your boss insists. Doing otherwise is likely to be counter-productive if your goal is to stay employed and stay in your bosses good graces. If you're not comfortable with complying, then perhaps it's time to leave that organization.

 

Bosses also need to be mindful about the advice they give. A casual thought or some simple thinking-out-loud may be perceived by an employee as an order or policy change, and that can get ugly.

 

Call To Action

 

• Have you gotten bad advice from a boss? How did you handle it? Tell us about it in the comments here.
• Are you a boss who's had an employee take a suggestion too seriously? Tell us what happened here.
• Enable the 2-Minute Talk Tips Skill in your Echo device and rate it in the Alexa app.
• Prewire your next big meeting.
• Don't get best...get better.

 

Check out this episode!

Episode 012 -- Alexa and Stroke Recovery

The Amazon Echo is a smart speaker. That means it has a microphone and connects to the internet. It can play music and podcasts and do so much more.

More than 30,000,000 people in the US have one of these things. If you'd like to join them, click here (affiliate link).

This week, I talk about 10 ways stroke survivors and caregivers can use the Echo to live a better life. They are:

1. Calendar
2. Medication Reminders
3. Timers
4. Remember this
5. Shopping lists
6. Audio Books
7. Phone calls
8. Ask my Buddy
9. Meditation and Mindfulness
10. Home automation

The reason I'm talking about it is because I have good news about Strokecast. There is now a Strokecast Alexa skill. You can go up to any Echo device in the US and say, "Alexa, enable Strokecast." It's great for anyone who prefers not to listen on their phone.

Where do we go from here?

• Do you have an Echo? What skills do you find most interesting? Tell us in the comments here.
• If you need an Echo, visit Strokecast.com/alexa.
• Enable Strokecast on your own Echo and listen every week.
• Don't get best…get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Episode 060 -- Assume Your Screen Shows and More Thoughts on Storytelling

 

 

2-Minute Tip: Always Assume Your Screen is Showing

 

I think we've all been in that meeting at one point where someone's PC is connected to the projector and suddenly an embarrassing IM pops up. Or the meeting gets derailed by a 5-minute discussion about they're wallpaper.

 

There are lots of notifications that popup on our devices -- meeting reminders, email previews, Skype notices, Windows 10 Action Center updates, etc. Sometimes we just have assorted files scattered across folders or our desktop.

 

And sometimes we forget folks can see that stuff because we're just conducting our presentation. That's when it's easy to get into trouble.

 

Always assume your desktop is showing when connected to a projector, and make sure the only stuff on there is stuff it's okay for your audience to see.

 

Program note: Amazon Echo Skills

 

Both 2-Minute Talk Tips and Strokecast now have Amazon Alexa skills. You can listen to every episode from theses nifty speakers around your home.

 

Just go up to your echo device and say, "Alexa, enable 2-Minute Talk tips."

 

Then say, "Alexa, enable Strokecast."

 

If you don't have an Alexa device, you can order one here (affiliate link).

 

Post Tip Discussion: More Thoughts on Storytelling

 

More and more these days, I find myself thinking about storytelling. From holy books, to fables, to blockbuster movies, stories are what connect us. Stories are how we share history, teach lessons, build a community, and bond over shared victory or loss.

 

Stories are how we can tap into the Pathos side of the pathos-ethos-logos triangle and can make us much more effective speakers.

 

 

Call To Action:

 

• What are your thoughts on storytelling? Tell us in the comments below and at 2minutetalktips.com/stories.
• Find one new story every week that you might be able to use in a future presentation.
• If you have an Alexa device, go up to it and say, "Alexa, enable 2-Minute Talk Tips."
• If you want to purchase an Alexa device, visit this page on Amazon (affiliate link).
• Assume your screen is showing every time you connect to a projector
• Don't get best…get better.

Check out this episode!

Episode 011 -- Meet Robyn Weiss

"Put your life into our rehab, not the other way around."

-- Robyn Weiss

Rehab Without Walls

Robyn Weiss is a licensed PT, former Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, and currently the Community Relations Manager for the Pacific Northwest Region of Rehab Without Walls.

Rehab Without Walls is a transitional therapy organization that helps stroke survivors move from inpatient care to living at home before going to outpatient care. They do PT, OT, Speech Therapy, social work, and more.

In my case, that meant PT Elisa, PT Aide Cory, and OT Micayla would comer to my apartment for 90 minute sessions last summer after I left the hospital. We completed important community living exercises like walking to Top Pot Donuts and Starbucks.

Robyn is a passionate advocate for the program and for its mission. In this episode we talk about her background and the value she sees in Rehab Without Walls.

Hack of the Week

Robyn explained that sitting down doesn't have to mean doing nothing except experiencing back pain. By simply putting a step, block, or other item under your desk or in front of your couch, you can stretch your hamstrings and make the work a bit. Simply rest your feet on a small platform to lift your knees a bit so your thighs point up.

Where do we go from here?

• What are your thoughts about a program like Rehab Without Walls? Let us know in the comments below.
• If you want to learn more about Rehab Without Walls, click here.
• Rest your feet on a platform as you sit at your desk.
• If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app and share this episode with a friend.
• Don't get best...get better.

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast

Episode 059 -- Believe Them and 8 Questions to Ask After Your Talk

 

 

2-Minute Tip: Believe Them

 

When your audience members tell you that you did a good job, believe them.

 

In our zeal to be the best we can be, many speakers have an inaccurate and often negative view of our own performances. Often we see how it could have been better. Or we notice a mistake no one in the audience did. We can obsess over those "failures" no one else saw.

But it's not about us.

 

It's about the audience. When audience members tell you that you did a good job, take their word for it. Respect their opinion. Believe them.

 

 

Post Tip Discussion: 8 Questions to Ask After Your Talk

 

There are stories we tell ourselves that keep us small.

-- Emma Gibbs-Ng

Lyn Henderson's Inside Knowledge Podcast

 

Evaluating our performance after a presentation is good, but simply asking, "How was I?" is not good enough. It makes it all about us again and doesn't give us the actionable data we need to get better. Instead, we ought to ask these 8 questions after a talk:

 

1.  How was the timing?
2. What were the questions the audience asked?
3. What demos or visual aids worked and which ones didn't?
4. How did my jokes go over?
5. How well did the presentation flow?
6. What did people say to you after the talk?
7. What follow up items do you have?
8. Did you accomplish your goal?
    

 

The questions focus on how the audience experienced the presentation, rather than how the speaker experienced it.

 

Keep track of the answers over time because they will reveal patterns that point to ways you can grow and improve as a speaker.

 

Call To Action:

 

• Ask the 8 key questions after your next talk.
• What other questions do you ask? Let us know in the comments below.
• Share this episode with a friend or colleague who also conducts presentations.
• Believe your audience when they say they like you.
• Don't get best...get better.

Check out this episode!

Episode 010 -- Joint Pain and Science-y Stuff

Ultrasound

I'd been experiencing hip pain for several months when I tried to move my affected leg. My therapists tried to figure out the cause and couldn't quite pinpoint it. Eventually, I got a referral to and ultrasound specialist.

He quickly found the issue -- it was a tendon. He gave me a steroid injection and after a few days most of the pain was gone.

The main cause was my gait. Basically, because I don't walk like I use to (I tend to swing my leg out, lock my knee and lift my hip) I irritated the tendon, and it screamed at me whenever I tried to use it.

The short term solution is the injection. That will last a few months. The longer term solution is to strengthen my knee and leg-brain connections so I can learn to walk again with a more traditional gait.

And Evening with Neuroscience

I attended a panel Q&A with a bunch of neurologists last week, and it was a fascinating 2 hours. I spent the time soaking in all sorts of information and tweeting about it.

#EWN2018 In dreams your brain does all the actual actions you are dreaming. The only reason you don't physically move is the brain stem inhibits it. Given that, I wonder about the implications are for the disabled who have able-bodied dreams.

— Bill Monroe (@CurrentlyBill) April 14, 2018

 

#ewn2018 "Brain developed out of movement." Interesting implications for stroke recovery and PT/OT

— Bill Monroe (@CurrentlyBill) April 14, 2018

 

#ewn2018 "The MEMORIES of your experiences make you who you are."

— Bill Monroe (@CurrentlyBill) April 14, 2018

 

It was sponsored by Grey Matters, an neurology journal published by University of Washington under grads. One goal of the event is to connect more of the broader community with science and the brain. If you get a chance to go to something similar, and you like science, I recommend it.

PT and the Stationary Bike

I wrote about this study in a separate post here on Strokecast.

Basically, 30 minutes a day of both PT and Stationary bike work results in much better balance and walking performance alone. If your Doctor or medical team approves, and a stationary bike ride to your exercise routine can be quite helpful.

Hack of the Week

Play Pokémon Go or Ingress on your smart phone.

These are augmented reality games. That means you have to leave your home to play. The games send you to different locations in your community to complete tasks, like catching cute, virtual critters.

As stroke survivors, we know that most of us need to leave home from time-to-time to get exercise, improve our walking, stimulate our brains with the real world, and more. Sometimes, that's not a good enough reason. We need a more concrete and immediate goal. Pokémon Go and Ingress give us those concrete goals.

Plus, they're fun and are a great way to connect with friends and family who are already playing.

Where do we go from here?

• Talk to your medical team about pains you have and keep giving them data so they can help point you in the right direction.
• Find local events you can attend to learn more about the brain
• Add an exercise bike to your routine, if your Doctor approves.
• Subscribe to Strokecast in your favorite podcast app.
• Don't get best...get better.

 

Here is the latest episode of The Strokecast