How you teach is how you do everything – part 8: heeding the call to teach
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen, the queens of TeachNow. The essence of the post is an 8 point outline of what it does and doesn’t mean to teach with heart and soul.
I liked their post so much I’ve written a post for each point. You can read the first seven posts here:
- About ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here
- Being brave and bold
- Humble pie – there’s power in humility
- Bears? Fireplace in the way? No heat? No problem!
- Spontaneity via improvising
- Five ways to deal with ‘difficult’ students
- An end to learning
Point #8
Some don’t teach even though they’ve heard the call, for one or more of the above reasons. They haven’t found their way to the teacher’s seat.
Others seek the support, inspiration, and tools to create satisfying teaching experiences even while they’re still imperfectly perfect.
My take on heeding the call to teach
I have two kids who are going about the business of growing up and growing into themselves. When talk winds round to work I say to them, I wish for you three things: work that makes a contribution to the world, work that sustains the type of lifestyle you choose and work that you’re passionate about.
I’ve taught more than 10,000 participants in hundreds of organizations and two common themes I see are: 1) people who are doing work that doesn’t lift their hearts and 2) people who prefer the status quo instead of breaking out and making a change.
So if teaching is calling your name, if you’ve even a kernel of desire to ignite learning, to share what you’ve discovered and learn much more along the way, to create space for question marks that dance around participant’s heads to turn into exclamation marks of oh I get it, I never thought about things like that, wow, now I can…, who knew!!! …. then do it.
Please, for all our sakes, do it. Start small if that feels right. Dip your little toe in. Have a party and teach your friends something new. Or jump in with your whole self and contact your local college to see what courses you could teach through their continuing education department.
Just do it. The world needs more great teachers.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care
How you teach is how you do everything – part 7: an end to learning
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen, the queens of TeachNow. The essence of the post is an 8 point outline of what it does and doesn’t mean to teach with heart and soul.
I liked their post so much I’ve written a post for each point. You can read the first six posts here:
- About ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here
- Being brave and bold
- Humble pie – there’s power in humility
- Bears? Fireplace in the way? No heat? No problem!
- Spontaneity via improvising
- Five ways to deal with ‘difficult’ students
Point #7
Some think they need to learn more and more and more to have the right to teach.
Others remain students throughout their lives, but are moved by inspiration rather than inadequacy.
My take on ending learning
If you end your learning you’re sunk. Period.
Great teachers remain constantly curious about both their subject matter and how to teach it. Inspiration for both are welcome day and night, pen always at hand to capture those elusive ideas.
Great teachers continue to ask themselves:
- How can I hook my students in?
- How can I provide a sumptuous, inclusive smorgasbord of learning that is even the most resistant of learners can’t resist?
- What ________ (insert: books, videos, bloggers, magazines, people, conferences, meetups, websites, podcasts) can I delve into and hook up with to keep learning?
- How can I tweak that bit?
- How can I reinvigorate that part?
- How can I make learning fun and suffering optional?
- How can I continue to keep my spirit of adventure when it comes to learning and know that what I know is but a drop in a plentiful, overflowing bucket?
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: jen louden, learning, learning and development, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care, teachnow, training and development
How you teach is how you do everything – part 6: five ways to deal with ‘difficult’ students
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen, the queens of TeachNow. The essence of the post is an 8 point outline of what it does and doesn’t mean to teach with heart and soul.
I liked their post so much I’ve written a post for each point. You can read the first five posts here:
- About ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here
- Being brave and bold
- Humble pie – there’s power in humility
- Bears? Fireplace in the way? No heat? No problem!
- Spontaneity via improvising
Point #6
Some are afraid of the “difficult” students: they don’t quite know how to work with certain people.
Others prize the students who challenge them most as their greatest teachers, and breathe into the scratchy places where needs might not get met.
My take on ‘difficult’ students
In a word (or three). Bring. Them. On.
I love getting into the ring with a so-called difficult student. It’s a spine-tingly ride to, in the moment, in front of the rest of the group, rise to a challenge that’s been thrown down. I’ve worked with participants who have been:
- rude, disrespectful
- angry
- disengaged, bored
- posturing
- confused, frustrated
Here are 5 things I’ve learned from each of these gifts (I say gifts, because each situation is an opportunity to dig deep, dig in and hunt for a way through to learning). I’ll use my TeachNow interview with Jen Louden where she pretended to be a disgruntled participant as an example to walk you through each of the 5 methods.
- don’t ignore the participant, much as your brain might be screaming at you to do so – it’ll only make it worse. In Jen’s case I thanked her for bringing up her concerns.
- avoid the temptation to jump in and rescue – take responsibility but only partial responsibility. In Jen’s case she listed off a wide variety of complaints, more than I could deal with in the moment. My reaction? I simply asked her what one thing could I do to help her in that moment, or what one question she had for me that I could address. It stopped her cold and had the result I’d intended which was to have her share the responsibility for her learning.
- meet their ‘energy’ with an equal measure of your own ‘energy’ – I’ve found it helpful to raise or lower my energy and even how much space my body is taking up, to match the participant’s. In Jen’s case she was speaking relatively loudly, so I did the same. It’s also helpful to spend some time before you find yourself in front of a group think about how you tend to react to conflict, because when you’re on the spot, in front of a group you’ll default to auto-conflict-pilot.
- remember the rest of the group is ultimately your priority – I’ve been in workshops where a disgruntled participant took the agenda way off track and the teacher spent way too much time dealing with that one person. As much as you want to address the individual’s concerns remember the rest of the group. In Jen’s case, she was speaking for the group, using the term ‘we’. I jumped in to say that while some of the rest of the group may agree with her, it was possible that not everybody did and I asked her to speak for herself. This let the group know I was thinking of them. If Jen had continued to sidetrack the conversation and I wasn’t able to link it to any learning, I would have acknowledged that we weren’t finished and invite her to speak to me more at break.
- figuring out their motivation will guide your response – when participants react negatively in a workshop it’s helpful to know what their motivation is, which in turns helps to decide how you should react. For example, a participant who is bored may not be in your workshop by choice, they may only be there because their boss told them to. I deal with this in my opening, when I welcome folks if they are super keen about the topic … or not, if they are there by choice … or not etc. If I suspect a participant is bored then I amp up my efforts to make the connection to learning that will benefit them even more clear.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: difficult students, jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care, teachnow
How you teach is how you do everything – part 5: spontaneity via improvising
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen. The essence of the post is an 8 point outline of what it does and doesn’t mean to teach with heart and soul.
I’ve written a post for each point. You can read the first four posts here:
- About ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here
- Being brave and bold
- Humble pie – there’s power in humility
- Bears? Fireplace in the way? No heat? No problem!
Point #5
Some under-prepare and wing it every time, and shame themselves afterwards with “I should’ve done better.”
Others use their spontaneity skillfully, building on a base of solid planning to serve in a way that makes them proud (enough of the time).
My take on the beauty of spontaneity via improvising
Yes preparation is essential. Yes a good plan, which links learning objectives to creative learning activities, is critical. And yes a supply list, handouts, and the other assorted flotsam and jetsam that comes with training is important.
AND.
I work with professional improvisers all the time because while Rock.Paper.Scissors is a corporate training company it’s also a corporate entertainment company and our form of entertainment is improv.
AND.
I’ve learned the beauty of improv as a way to amp up learning. Being in the moment. Laser focused listening. Weaving ‘lived experiences’ (participant’s reactions to interactive activities) into practical application makes learning pop.
Being in the flow.
Improvising means custom tailoring learning down to the moment. Improvising means responding to curve balls, to questions and to curiousity.
It’s a heck of a way to teach and more importantly learn.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: humour, improv, jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care
How you teach is how you do everything – part 4: Bears? Fireplace in the way? No heat? No problem!
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen. Teaching is an art and a science, a calling and a passion. When done with integrity and attention to access and inclusion issues, magic can and does happen.
Kind of like when I read Jen & Michele’s post. I decided to do a series based on each of their 8 points. You can read the first three posts here:
- about ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here
- being brave and bold
- humble pie – there’s power in humility
Point #4
Some over-prepare: they obsess over their teaching and exhaust themselves even before they start.
Others make room for their anxiety, knowing it can’t be quelled by over-preparation. These teachers. prepare for their students, not for their fears.
My take on exhausting yourself before you’ve begun
I’ve been teaching for about 30 years. I can’t image doing anything else. I’ve worked with more than 10,000 workshop participants in and from more than 80 countries.
Jen Louden asked me a question recently that got me a thinking – what would you whisper in the ear of your earlier, teacher self? Without hesitating, I knew the answer. I would whisper relax but….
I’d whisper relax because my preparing led me to some anxious moments. I’d spend so much time preparing that if things went off-plan, well, my anxiety would race ahead of me faster than an Olympic sprinter. I used preparation as a means of control, as a means of quelling my nerves.
AND
I’d add but because those years of careful preparation were golden for being able to:
- put together a thorough learning road map for innovative, sticky, engaging learning
- not have to worry whether I had all my supplies, because not only did I have my supplies I had back up ones
- think through the what if’s and what about’s so the odd time something really went sideways I was prepared
All in all I’d say relax but maintain vigilance. Stay on your toes and stay alert. So….
- when your training room doesn’t have any heat in the middle of winter or
- your client forgets to bring your handouts or
- your assigned training space is so small folks are literally sitting on top of each other or
- you realize halfway into your training that half of your group has been angrily waiting for you to appear in another room than the one you’ve started your workshop in because the workshop was mistakenly advertised in two different rooms or
- your workshop has the most gi-normous fireplace you’ve ever seen, one so big that you can’t see all your participants from one place in the room and you spend the two days of training bouncing from one side of the room to the other (because moving rooms isn’t an option), that and vying for attention with the bear that keeps crossing the patio outside your training room ….
You handle it all with a sense of humour, you rise to the challenge and turn it into the most glorious of teachable moments.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, preparation, self-care, teachnow
How you teach is how you do everything – part 3: humble pie – there’s power in humility
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen, which I think is hands down, one of the most eloquent pieces on teaching I’ve read in a long time.
The post covers 8 points about teaching, which I’m following up with a series of posts on each point. You can read about the first, about ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here and the second, about being brave and bold here.
Here’s the third point.
Point #3
Some are arrogant: their experience, intelligence, or knowledge separates them from their students. Significance anybody?
Others let their experience, intelligence, and knowledge fuel their curiosity, connection, and humility and teach from those qualities.
My take on arrogance.
Arrogance in a teacher fuels a desire for one way communication a.k.a. ‘the lecture’ which Don Tapscott defines as when the notes of the lecturer go to the notes of the student without going through the brains of either.
Arrogance hides any opportunity for a trainer to learn from her/his participants.
Arrogance wipes out opportunities for access and inclusion (both in how one teaches and what one teaches). It’s my way or the highway. There’s one way to do things and it’s my way. Diversity? What’s that?
Whereas anchoring learning in lived experiences (e.g. experiential education), being willing to go wildly off ‘topic’, being humble and using your goofs and gaffes as opportunities for great learning (both for you and your participants) is fuel for the brain and the heart of learning.
Stay tuned for more posts about ‘how you teach is how you do everything’.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: don tapscott, humility, jen louden, lecture, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care, teachnow
How you teach is how you do everything – part 2: be brave & bold
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen, which I think is hands down, one of the most eloquent pieces on teaching I’ve read in a long time.
The post covers 8 points about teaching, which I’m following up with a series of posts on each point. You can read about the first point, about ‘needy students sucking you dry’ here. Here’s the second point.
Point #2
Some teachers feel needy and approach teaching as beggars: “Like me? Love me? Pay me? Listen to me? … Even just a little? Please?”
Others develop an embodied dignified sense of their right to teach, to serve, to be heard and to exchange value. And their students benefit.
My take on ‘needy trainers’:
Ah the challenges of a not-so-confident trainer. We all suffer from nerves from time to time. If you don’t you’ve either been doing this too long, you’ve lost the ability to care or you’re unconscious.
However participants expect us to be confident. They are spending valuable resources (time and money) to seek space to learn with you. That needs to be respected.
Be aware of what value you bring both in what you’re teaching as well as how you’re teaching it. Be brave. Be bold. Be creative.
Teaching gives you great power. Your participants expect you to use it wisely.
Try something new. Shake things up.
Teach with your heart, with your mind, with your soul. Embody teaching.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: confidence, creativity, jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care, teachnow
How you teach is how you do everything – part 1: How not to suck on fumes
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
‘How you teach is how you do everything’ is the title of a recent blog post written by Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen. I started to read it with skepticism as I don’t usually find a lot of great writing about what it really means to be a teacher – trainer – leaning and development specialist.
Many people are still at the point of having to discover that teaching is an entirely separate skill from one’s subject matter expertise. (For example, just because you know how to make widgets doesn’t mean you automatically know how to teach others to do the same.)
However, with a capital H, I plunged into the post because I respect Jen’s work (don’t yet know Michele). My antennae soon started to perk up and by the end of the second point (of eight) my antennae, were buzzing with delight. Hence I decided to do a series of posts exploring each of the eight points.
Point #1
Some teachers assume that their students are needy and that needy people will suck them dry.
Others know that we’re all needy, and develop both the compassion and the boundaries to serve without being drained.
My take on ‘needy students’:
Yup, teaching is hard work, really hard work. It takes tremendous energy to constantly be refining both your content and your delivery so it makes for a delicious smorgasbord of learning that participants can’t help but partake.
AND teaching is all about creating the space to fill participants’ needs, for example the need to learn, apply, stretch and grow.
AND self-care as a trainer is critical. Figure out what you need to stay:
- focused on your participants,
- alert for any necessary changes,
- aware of interesting group dynamics that the group can learn from and
- focused and present
In order not to deplete myself I always make sure I have a quiet moment at break to regroup, refocus and plan ahead. I do this even if it means redirecting a participant’s question until later.
Finally I know, after 25+ years of being a passionate trainer that while it can be draining to fill the disparate need of participants, it’s also gas for the gas tank in terms of what I learn and receive from the people I work with.
Far from depleting the tank and having to suck on fumes teaching is top grade, jet propelled fuel for the mind and for the soul.
To find out more about the TeachNow series with Jen Louden and Michele Lisenbury Christensen (including an interview with yours truly) click here.
Tags: jen louden, michele lisenbury christensen, self-care, teaching, teachnow, training & development
You make sex boring – 2 funny resources about speaking & training from Scott Berkun, author of Confessions of a Public Speaker
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
The most recently monthly Rock.Paper.Scissors e-newsletter includes an interview with Scott Berkun, author of ‘Confessions of a Public Speaker’ and 7 tips on speaking and training I pulled from his book.
The newsletter also includes 2 funny resources related to speaking & training. Things couldn’t possibly go this bad for you:
- Check out Stuart McLean’s (Canada’s #1 storyteller) spinning a tail about Dave giving a speech which goes drastically and hilariously wrong. Grab a change of underwear as you’ll likely wet yourself laughing (26 minutes but if you want to cut to his actual speech go to 8:30 min).
- Find yourself tuning out given all the corporate speak in some speeches? Create some of your own with your very own bull&$# detector.
Tags: confessions of a public speaker, public speaking, scott berkun
You make sex boring – 3 resources about speaking & training from Scott Berkun, author of Confessions of a Public Speaker
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Training & development
The new issue of the monthly Rock.Paper.Scissors’ e-newsletter describes my interview Scott Berkun, author of ‘Confessions of a Public Speaker’.
It’s a great book and a must read for anyone who finds themselves in front of groups, whether to give a speech or an interactive training.
Here are some related speaking & training resources:
- Check out Nancy Duarte’s speaking resources; here’s a post from her blog about colour choices for your presentation materials and her TED talk ‘you have the power to change the world’ (18 min). Her mapping of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech (at 11:45 min) is intriguing.
- Garr Reynold’s popular, presentation zen website is full of resources.
- If you haven’t been to a PetchaKucha event (designed to inspire creatives worldwide) or an Ignite! event get going!
You can read the entire e-newsletter here.
Tags: confessions of a public speaker, garr reynolds, ignite!, martin luther king, nancy duarte, petchakucha, scott berkun