Looking for the Moment to Teach

There are a million demands on our day.  There are emails to reply to, meetings to run, phones to answer, classes to teach, coffees to refill, reports to write, posts to reply to, prospects to pitch, clients to ameliorate, etc etc.  And in the midst of these seemingly immediately urgent demands the prospect of taking time to teach can shudder at the the thought of the incoming straw that may break this camels back.

But why does teaching have to seem like such a process?  Instead of viewing teaching as a hour-long (or more!) commitment, what if we looked at it as a flexible activity that can be used to fill those in-between moments.

There are a few benefits to this mindset.

1) Efficiency-live, in the moment, feedback is more effective.  You probably won't remember the specific, teachable moment in a week.  And if you do it certainly won't be as powerful.  Furthermore, people can only process a little bit of feedback at a time, a torrent of feedback will be largely lost.

2) Sincerity-timely feedback is viewed as more sincere.  The fact that you felt it necessary to give an immediate (or close thereafter) impression of the situation showcases a true belief of the importance of the event.  Coming back to an event that has sit for a week or two may indicate that the lesson wasn't truly critical.

3) Connectivity-taking time to teach reinforces relationships and builds greater connection.  Teaching is investment, and we only invest in that which we believe is valueable.  As a leader, teaching is a productive way to connect with your team and highlight their value.

But it can be difficult to find the time to follow up.  Maybe you're busy, maybe you're exhausted, maybe you're emotionally drained.  Whatever the day there will always be an excuse waiting in the wings to avoid teaching.  So here are a few ways you can start teaching more, today.

1) Don't create time, look for opportunities.  The key to taking a moment to teach is not to set aside time to do it.  The key is to look for those already existing moments; walking together to a meeting, driving back from an event.  Often we fill these 'in between times' with small talk, which is important at times, but begin to also view this as valuable development time.

2) Try a standard formula for ease of conversation.  Quick conversations don't have much time for beating around the bush, so try this conversation structure for quick teaching moments.  First, state the behavior you want to address.  Next, give an observed example of this behavior with your student.  Finally, give the observed affect on the work, project, or other people.

3) Make it productive, not personal.  Don't focus on a fault or lack of the particular person, focus on the behavior or result you want to address.  If the teaching leans a bit critical, don't apologize for it, rather support your statement with examples.  If the teaching leans towards praise, give the 'why' behind what went well.  Instead of addressing the person, you want to address the behavior.

By taking just a few minutes everyday to teach you'll find that you will be able to have more dynamic and worthwhile relationship with your team, employees, or coworkers, than you had before.  And by looking for the moment to teach you will ensure there is always time.

5 Tips for Going Pro at Fielding Questions

All of us have had to sit through some sort of presentation; it may have been a class in college, maybe a training event in work, or a speaker we chose to attend.  If the speaker is good the time will pass by quickly.  But even a good presentation frequently comes to a grinding halt when opened up to questions.  All too often this unofficial end to the presentation is too quiet to hear or too tangential to matter.

Fielding Questions Matters
This is the opportunity for your discussion to become a two way street, questions are the bait that move your audience from passivity to engagement.  It reduces misunderstanding and allows you to learn which key points may not have made desired impact.

Questions are the most active learners will get with your material; this is the most personal response they can give you.

What’s a Good Fielder Like?
When you handle questions well it will seem as a natural extension of the training, lecture, or presentation.  You will find people reengaging with your information at this point rather than disengaging.  But how can this be done?

Whether you are in a 1-on-1, group, or large assembly situation, try to keep the following in mind:

1) Acknowledge those trying to get your attention.  Use a head nod or quickly sketch for your audience the next 5 people you’ll call on.  This allows people to listen to what is being said rather than focus on being heard.

2) Rephrase each question.  This checks your own understanding and allows you to make sure everyone can hear.

3) Set up the answer.  Begin with an introductory sentence giving the context to effectively understand the answer.  This can be as simple as mentioning the main thought the question is referring to.

4) Validate the learner.  If you find that other people have asked a similar question this particular person is, say that.  If a specific issue is difficult, acknowledge it.  This showcases your credibility and gives encouragement to your listeners.

5) Don’t lose sight of your topic.  Occasionally questions will be asked that really do not relate to the learning goal.  When this situation occurs, politely say ‘This is a good question but I’d like to ask your permission to address it offline (after, at break, etc), I’d like to keep questions focused on the material we’ve covered today’.  Audiences especially appreciate this.

Whether you teach in classroom settings or simply have to work with people on an individual basis, every one of our jobs requires us to answer questions.  Try some of these tips and see if they work for you.

What are effective ways you have seen people respond to questions after presentations?  What do you enjoy hearing as an audience member?