“Try it Now” is one of the most powerful teaching formats there is.
And one of the most underused.
The idea is simple:
As soon as you introduce something even slightly skill-based,
you stop talking
and you give people a small task to do.
Right away.
Not later.
Not at the end.
Now.
The task should be:
- simple
- safe
- tightly constrained
Enough structure to keep people on track.
Enough freedom to let them actually try.
Sometimes this becomes a core exercise that comes back again and again.
Sometimes it’s just a 2–5 minute micro-practice.
Either way, the effect is the same:
People stop understanding in theory
and start learning in reality.
Some topics make this obvious.
Programming. Music. Pottery. Art. Sailing. Sewing. Writing. Cooking. Medicine.
No one expects to learn these from explanation alone.
That’s why good courses in these fields naturally oscillate between:
a bit of theory
then practice
then theory again
then practice again.
Think of a calligraphy workshop:
You show a lettering style.
Then you interrupt.
Pens out. “Try it Now.”
Then back to explanation.
Then practice again.
That rhythm just makes sense.
Where facilitators go wrong is with “theoretical” topics.
They assume practice isn’t needed.
But even the most abstract subjects depend on skills.
Take an MBA.
Yes, there’s a lot of theory.
But it also requires hands-on abilities:
estimating a market,
evaluating trade-offs,
making decisions with incomplete data.
If you explain how to size a market
but never stop to let people actually do it,
they won’t learn the skill.
They’ll only recognize it when they see it.
Knowledge tells you what.
Skill teaches you how.
And “Try it Now” is how skills are built.
In practice, this format looks a lot like small group discussion:
- form groups or pairs
- assign a concrete task
- observe
- then debrief together
Five minutes of practice can easily turn into
10–15 minutes of real learning.
That’s not inefficiency.
That’s the work.
If your Learning Outcome involves doing,
“Try it now” isn’t optional.
It’s the point.
Thank you.
And Free Palestine.