Youtube Exercise » English Grammar Homework

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

TED

374K views 8 years ago

Warm-up Questions

What skills or activities do you think people most often use a coach for (sports, music, work, etc.)?
In your opinion, what is the difference between being “good” at something and becoming “great” at it?
From the title, what advice do you think the speaker will give about improving your performance?

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Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

Why improvement is hard in complex medical settings (00:00 – 03:25)

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1. What extreme problem does the speaker notice at the birth center?

The staff refuse to follow any medical rules
The building is too new to be organized
People struggle to improve in the face of complexity
The community has no interest in childbirth care

2. Why is washing hands and using clean gloves difficult in this setting?

The tap is in another room and they lack clean gloves
They are not allowed to wash hands during delivery
The staff have never learned about infection
They believe gloves are unnecessary

3. What key point does the speaker make about the professionals working there?

They are inexperienced beginners
They only work alone, not as a team
They refuse to learn from textbooks
They are experienced but seem to be at their limits and not improving anymore

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

Two views of professional development and the case for coaching (03:25 – 10:09)

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1. What is the “traditional pedagogical view” of becoming a professional?

You go to school, graduate, and then manage your improvement on your own
You should keep changing careers every few years
You can only improve with a coach from the beginning
You should avoid feedback to protect confidence

2. What does Itzhak Perlman say when asked why violinists don’t have coaches?

He says Dorothy DeLay banned coaching
He says coaches are only for sports
He says he never needed help after Juilliard
He says he always had a coach

3. What kind of feedback does the speaker’s coach give after observing surgery?

A long list of small, specific observations (like lighting and elbow position)
Instructions to use the newest technology immediately
Advice to stop operating and teach instead
Only general praise, with no specific details

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

Coaching at scale: checklist + coaching improves childbirth care (10:09 – 16:47)

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1. Why does the speaker say a checklist alone would not be enough?

Because coaching helps people actually make the changes and “bring it alive”
Because only doctors can use checklists
Because the World Health Organization rejected checklists
Because checklists are always ignored everywhere

2. In the study, what happened to basic practices in the group that received coaching?

They improved only in the first week and then disappeared
They stayed the same with no improvement
They increased to greater than two-thirds of the practices being delivered
They decreased to less than one-third

3. When the baby was born not breathing, what action helped the baby start breathing?

Waiting quietly for several minutes
Repeatedly clearing the airways using suction and then the baby started to breathe
Immediately sending the baby to another hospital
Giving the mother water and stopping the contractions

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

Transcript will load here…

1. What is the speaker’s main message about getting great at a skill?

The best professionals should avoid being observed
Most improvement ends after you graduate
You can continue improving by using coaching and feedback
Natural talent matters more than anything else

2. According to the talk, why do people often stop improving when they work on their own?

They don’t recognize the issues blocking them, or don’t know how to fix them
They improve too quickly and get bored
They stop caring about results
They are always told exactly what to change

3. In the childbirth project, what combination is implied to be most effective?

More textbooks without practice
Punishment for mistakes
A checklist plus coaching to help teams execute fundamentals
More complicated equipment only

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande

Do you agree that “expertise means not needing to be coached,” or do you think experts need coaching even more? Why?
What makes feedback feel “painful,” and what can a coach do to make it easier to accept?
In your job or studies, what would a “coach” actually do (observe, take notes, role-play communication, measure results, etc.)?
Should coaching be used more in high-stakes fields like medicine? What are possible benefits and risks?