RENOVATION PSYCHOLOGY®
Advice for the Home Team Toolbox

Dear Dr. Debi,
We got new specialty bits for the drill, a new radial arm saw, and even an orbital sander. My partner thinks they can just plunge into all of this, and I don’t really know all the ins and outs, but I am sure my partner doesn’t know ¼ as much as they are boasting to me. How do we start using new tools safely?
Signed, Novice and Worried

Dear Worried Novice,
New tools sound like a team investment in an upcoming project. You may want to learn those tools yourself too. On the good side, your partner might know much more than you think about how those tools work. Many skills are learned by watching someone use the tool; but then again – it does take more than just seeing it used once to catch onto safe tool usage and to know how to avoid waste.

I suggest that you ask your partner to teach you how to use the tools. You can read the instructions booklet (What?! – yes!) and you can ask your partner questions about it, to clarify how things are done. You can also take out some library books or buy some at the hardware or book store on power tool usage. These books are really fun to read – many nice pictures show exactly what is being described. They are almost irresistible to pick up since they are on a topic you are facing right now, and you can look and read them by skipping right to the applicable chapter.

Leave the books around to share – you don’t want to end up knowing more than your “instructor.” Even the advanced tool user will likely learn some neat tricks thumbing through a tool guide book. Often these books have some nice jigs you can incorporate in upcoming projects. Jigs are little homemade add-ons that help you make precise use of the tool and often they help you avoid wasted materials.

Now – for the lesson – A word to the teacher: Take a little time and listen. Your ‘student’ will communicate to you how they are absorbing the lesson, as you show and tell about the tool. When they don’t understand, or they not do it right, this is a chance to change your tactic and also learn about their learning style. Understanding their learning style is a very good piece of information to have in a relationship – whether about your partner, or even about your child. Try explaining things a few different ways: using an example from their experience, making a diagram, even using pieces of wood (or other materials) like puzzle pieces to demonstrate how things should be working.

It is great to try using a number of methods to explain the ‘lesson’ so that you might stumble on some way that fits your student’s learning style. As you watch your student, listen to their voice, and watch their face, you will see if it is sinking in. If they are not getting it – you will see it: there will be sighs, shifting positions, a wrinkled nose and even more little signals. Keep trying – just change gears. As you manage to find the right match, you will see a change in them: they may become more relaxed, nod, or offer ideas or questions – this means that you are getting warm. Keep it up and your student will train you to know just how to teach them!

The process of teaching is an important skill to have in your Home Team’s tool belt. This tool lesson is just one of many lessons that you should be ready to enjoy. Maybe another time, roles will be reversed, as the other shares their ideas on the budget or design. Teaching each other is just one step in learning how the other’s mind works and how to exchange information for a successful Home Team!

Happy tool days!
Dr. Debi

Dr. Debi Warner is the Founder of Renovation Psychology® and author of Putting the Home Team to Work, available now online. Dr. Debi provides advice for greater domestic harmony to folks who are renovating their home – for True Home Improvement. This column is offered for enjoyment and enhancement and is not intended to replace your personal medical care.

Photo by Bob Jenks, St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Dr. Debi has a consultation practice, visiting home sites all over New England from her studio in Littleton, NH at the Tannery Marketplace.

© 2005 Renovation Psychology® Visit www.RenovationPsychology.com Questions are welcome.