Sure, if you think it is worthwhile. As I said, is something that I do sometimes without even thinking about it. Maybe it goes back to my chess playing days, and I just fell into it when I started serious training with Keller and Marian Breland. I did find out that Keller himself did little imagery, but then, like me, he never claimed to be the world's best trainer. Again, like me, he was adequate to the task. He knew what he wanted (he had a VERY clear picture of what he wanted) and got into the ball park (sometimes by the "back door" as he put it), and then began to shape finer and finer bits of behavior until he got what he wanted. He did not, as he put it, build "little pictures" in his head. Keller thought it was neat that I could, and he appreciated how that might be useful. Keller sometimes made several false starts before he got what he was after. He was absolutely fantastic at developing short cuts (analysis) for mass production training. He was definitely a "BIG PICTURE" trainer who became bored with nitty-gritty. He was always looking for a faster way to get from point A to point B. His skill at observation was uncanny. He quickly picked up on behavioral nuances. Kent Burgess, who learned from Keller and Marian, was ABE's Director of Training for more than 10 years (he finally went to Sea World as their first Training Director) and THE finest trainer I ever met. He was both an instinctive trainer, who had imagery to a fine art, plus a skilled technician who had a grasp of the technology as close to perfection as I have seen inside or outside a scientific lab. I feel fortunate that I had Kent as my teacher and mentor for almost two years. If you feel it is useful, you may use the above too. Bob Bailey

Home