Clients see us as real people - their friends. One of the most fundamental adult education principles is relevance. Adults generally want to learn quickly so they can get back to their work and family responsibilities. Incorporating short sketches into a teaching program can help avoid overloading clients with data. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Entertainment is more powerful than preaching.
Up to this point, the approach to teaching the effects of alcohol on someone taking insulin or oral hypoglycemics was to lecture using overheads, and to refer to a handout on alcohol. With our use of the skit, the clients became interested, very attentive and a great deal of laughter was generated, which made everyone feel more comfortable. Following each skit the audience asked questions and even shared their own stories about alcohol and diabetes. Clients stated that the information was easier to understand and remember when presented in this fashion. Most indicated that they wanted to see more skits and their enthusiasm directly led to further exploration of this method of teaching.