What, Why and How ~ 10 Benefits and 10 Tips (2023)

REVIEWING = PROCESSING = REFLECTION = DEBRIEFING

1. ADDING VALUE TO THE EXPERIENCE
   The value gained from experiences depends very much on how experiences are reviewed. Reviewing is an opportunity to add value and meaning to experiences however 'small' or 'large', 'negative' or 'positive' they may be.
2. GETTING UNSTUCK
   Without reviewing, groups and individuals can get stuck at a particular stage of development. Reviewing provides a range of strategies for moving beyond this stage and for getting the cycles of learning and development turning again.
3. ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES
   Reviewing can help to clarify, achieve, measure and celebrate objectives.
4. OPENING NEW PERSPECTIVES
   People may be in the habit of reviewing experiences from their 'normal' perspective. By also 'seeing' an experience from the perspectives of others and by 're-viewing' an experience through a variety of 'windows' (reviewing techniques), people can escape from tunnel (or normal) vision and learn from the bigger picture.
5. DEVELOPING OBSERVATION AND AWARENESS
   The more involving an experience, the harder it is to observe what is happening. Reviewing can encourage observation, perception and general awareness both during and after experiences.
6. CARING
   By reviewing activities we show that we care about what people experience, that we value what they have to say, and that we are interested in the progress of each individual's learning and development. When people feel cared for, valued, and respected as individuals they will be better learners!
7. ENCOURAGING SELF-EXPRESSION
   It is not always easy to talk about experiences. An imaginative and sensitive approach to reviewing can help people to find the medium, situation, symbol or question through which they can most readily express themselves. This is where the expressive and creative arts can be particularly helpful.
8. USING SUCCESS
   Focusing on success may be a strange experience if it is usually problems that are the focus of attention in reviews. Reviewing can help people to enjoy success, to understand how it happened and to get accustomed to the idea that they can be successful.
9. PROVIDING SUPPORT
   Reviewing can be a valuable safety net. The reassurance that support will be available in the event of failure encourages people to take risks (of the kind that will be supported). Whether people experience failure or success, the causes can be analysed so that they learn how to avoid failure (or win from failure) and how to achieve success.
10. EMPOWERING PEOPLE
    Reviewing enhances people's ability to learn from individual or group experiences. Improved learning ability, together with increased confidence, allows people to become more independent and more capable of self-development, and even ... of self-actualisation! ('Self-and-others-actualisation' may be a more suitable aspiration for those who acknowledge the mutually supportive nature of much reviewing.)
    

EVENMORE REASONS FOR REVIEWING!
'10 reasons' is just the beginning ... You will find even more reasons at the beginning and end of my article about active reviewing. See Introduction, Benefits and and Key Points. Yes - there are extra benefits if reviewing is an active process!HOW TO REVIEW - PRACTICAL TIPS - see next