On Cueing
Is there a right or wrong way to cue when we are teaching Pilates? Teaching Pilates and finding the right feedback to give a client can be overwhelming for a new teacher and even for an experienced Pilates teacher. Often, we find cues that work incredibly with one person, and when we try to cue similarly with another client it might not connect in the same way. I remember in some of my workshops as a new teacher being told to "never stop talking" when guiding a session, and to constantly keep cueing, but to also not say unnecessary words. For myself, as an introvert and a personality who tends to be a bit quieter, that feedback to just keep talking totally freaked me out. From early on I wondered if I would be able to ever be a "good" teacher if I didn't feel comfortable endlessly talking.
In the Pilates industry, there is a lot of discussion, concern, and turmoil around the idea of "good" cueing for Pilates teachers. We see countless workshops and newsletters on how to cue properly, how to cue better, how to be an expert in cueing, how crucial cueing is in teaching, etc. All this language tends to build up concerns and fears for Pilates teachers, especially new teachers, around cueing and word choice, similarly to what I felt when I was in my early training programs. Many of us start to criticize ourselves on what we’re saying to our clients, we try to say too much, or we try to pick overly unique and creative cues that might become confusing. I've heard many teachers do "cueing vomit", taking the idea of constantly talking through the session, trying to find that magic cue that will make the teacher sound like a genius and make the client look like an advanced practitioner. But often, giving some space for silence, layering on one cue at a time, or saying nothing at all while the client feels their way through the movement can be much more impactful than many "key" phrases strung together that we've been taught to say.
One of the most important reasons for finding our own unique cueing methods as teachers is that our teaching will then flow authentically for our own personalities. There is nothing more exhausting than trying to be someone we're not every day at work. As teachers, we need to find the methods of instructing that make the most sense for us in order to feel confident in our teaching. Coming from this authentic place, instead of just repeating cues and phrases we've been taught over the years, not only can we then be more grounded in our own abilities as teachers, but also this gives us space to connect to a client and their unique needs as well.
And that is what truly makes for a good cue. An effective cue is one that is necessary for that client in the exercise, for how their body is moving and feeling, and how they understand on that day.
While I agree that cueing effectively is an important element in the art of teaching, the language surrounding this idea for Pilates teachers has become too overwhelming and intrusive. We’re not trying to fix someone, and we will never be able to correct everything all at once, or at all. Teachers often get too into finding what's wrong and the idea of fixing. We don’t want to cue someone telling them everything they’re doing something wrong, but rather to guide them in finding the best movement quality. While word choice is important, different methods work for different clients, and for any one client, there are better cues that help them find their best movement quality, and there are worse word choices that can either confuse them or have no impact at all.
On thinking about the ideas around cueing in the industry, one idea that has emerged for me is that cueing is just a conversation with our client.
Simply, we are trying to find the right cues for the individual client to help them find the best quality within their movement. First, we need to direct the client on what to do in the exercise. Then, we need to let them move to begin feeling the movement and connect to feedback from the loaded springs, gravity, and body weight to see how their body responds. Only then, can we start to layer in cues on how to move, what to think of, and other corrections to help the client find the best movement quality in that exercise. And that's really what the idea of cueing is, to guide the client in completing the exercise effectively and efficiently, with good quality, and safely.
So, when I see all the workshops attempting to say how they'll make the attendees into the best teachers with the best cues because cueing is so "crucial", I ask what they think the right way is of cueing when teaching Pilates. Truly, the answer is there is no one clear answer.
Practice is definitely what makes us better teachers, so over time, we do find better language and more effective cues that we use. But overall, when we are teaching we are simply trying to talk to a client in a language that they can understand. Learning to communicate takes time, and while we're learning the client's unique language, the client is learning the language of Pilates and how we teach. Every client is unique just as every teacher is as well, which is why one client might connect with one teacher more than another, just as one cue makes sense to someone but not another.
This can simplify all the concerns for teachers around picking the “perfect” cues or saying the "right" things to be the "best" teacher. What is the worst that can happen if we happen to say the wrong thing? If we do pick the wrong prompt for a client and they seem confused, we can clarify and say something else. The client can ask us questions, and we can offer alternative cues. We’re having a conversation with our clients to help guide their movement.
There are different elements of cueing choice including varying word choice, tempo, imagery, and intrinsic cues focusing the client internally on what they feel, versus extrinsic cues focusing the client beyond their body. There are cues that include anatomy, imagery, and tactile, and cues that are exercise-specific.
Knowing the different options of cueing methods, we have the tools to pick from to discover what works for a particular client. Sometimes we will hear another teacher give a directive to their client that seems like a great idea, but then when we try it for our session it might not connect in the same way for the person we’re teaching. That doesn’t mean the cue is generally wrong, it’s simply not working for that individual.
As we teach, we need to look at the body and how it is moving, to listen to what the client says, how they speak, and how they relate back to us with their body and movement. We can then continue changing the conversation as needed to help them connect and understand the movements we are teaching. Cueing as a conversation takes time and is a process throughout our careers. We are constantly learning from the clients we teach and each day the conversation can vary in how and what we are cueing for them. Keeping that conversation simple can allow for flow in the session as a give-and-take between the client and teacher.
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