Every business owner nowadays has to be a writer in some form.  That could be to create content for your social media platforms, blogs, weekly newsletters or updating your webpages.  So running into that mental wall happens to us all and sometimes it can be that bad that giving up feels like the only option.

Now I don’t have a problem talking to myself, I tell myself I’m talking to the cat, but the other day whilst having a ‘conversation’ with the cat, my daughter pointed out what I was doing was actually ‘Rubber Duck Debugging.’ 

WHAAAAT?!

After a little research I found out that it’s something programmers do when they are struggling with a piece of code. They talk to a rubber duck and go through it from start to finish and the problem becomes obvious.  It doesn’t have to be a rubber duck, any inanimate object will do, a plant, a photo, a printer, a pet…you get the drift.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DUCK WORK FOR YOU!

• Start from the beginning and tell your duck exactly what the problem is and what led to the problem.
• Tell your duck what your goal is, what your end game is and why you need to solve this problem.
• Explain to your duck what you have already tried.  Has this worked before?  Explain why it didn’t work, or what worked really well.
• Talk to the duck as if they are clueless and have no idea what you’re talking about so therefore need every detail explaining.
• Be patient with your duck, take your time.

WHY TALKING TO A DUCK WORKS?

As business owners we are never just thinking about one thing at a time, there is usually several different processes going around our heads.  Talking to the duck actually slows you down and makes you focus.  It also helps to pick out any mistakes with what you’ve already written.  Also hearing it verbally makes us process the information in a different way.

Give it a go…what’s the worst that could happen? They could think you’re quackers!