I claim that the key is not "that you can use the punting pole as a rudder to steer the boat" which people point out to you rather quickly but rather which direction you push it in when you use it as a rudder... Is it the direction you want to go, or the opposite? I never quite figured that out...

Perhaps even more important is to notice that the pole acts as a rudder steering the boat even when you're not thinking about using it as a rudder!