Is Adult Learning an Oxymoron?
“Personally I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.” - Winston Churchill.
This quote comes to mind as I work on my new on-line office. As much as I love to learn, I was all “webbed out” by yesterday. The Bare Feet Studios Geek Queen and Da Brain (Roxanne and Shane) always very patiently explain to me why, why not, how, where, etc. - but there are times I just do not want to be taught!
Things that appear simple - such as adding a PayPal button - go all, as my grandmamma would say, “catty-wampus.” After a few hours (days) of wading through things I don’t understand, the thrill is gone and I’m ready to throw the computer out the window. This, when I have the luxury of time, love learning for the sake of learning and think change is terrific. It really is hard to teach an old dog new tricks. So, if “Mary the Data Geek” here gets frustrated and mentally shuts down, what about all the people who don’t like change, don’t have the time or - let’s face it - don’t have the interest in knowing all the gnarly “why and “how” details?
Of course, an educated customer is truly the best kind for all of us, regardless of our product or service. We don’t have to do the missionary work about our value; they ask the right questions; and we move right along to building a great, long-term (and mutually lucrative) relationship. But, how do we get them “eddicated?”
Personally, I know I sometimes go too deep, too soon. I’ll have jumped way ahead to something really cool about human psychology, the latest research on rat brain pleasure centers or some such. All while my client or audience is still back at wanting to know “Should I do direct mail?” or, “How many slides should I have in my investor pitch?” Yeah, yeah, I’m lookin’ really smart but does it do them (or me) any good right then? I just gave them all kinds of great information but if they don’t perceive it as such, I’ve wasted their (and my) time.
So, here’s a quick list for all of us who want to help existing and future customers learn for mutual benefit:
1. Remember the audience. If they’re not techy or in your industry, you’ll lose them the minute you go into tech speak or industry jargon. If you think you’re really good at translating such into real-world terms, call your grandmother and ask her if she understands you. Or, ask three people at random (your plumber, accountant, dentist) if they get what you’re saying.
2. Remember the purpose - of the content, presentation or meeting. Don’t try to give everybody everything. Keep focused, keep it interesting. Make it relevant.
3. Keep it simple. It’s better to give three points people understand and use - than two hours (or thirty pages) of theory application. Note, however, that simple isn’t the same as boring or condescending.
And, for what it’s worth - Brilliant as he was, Sir Winston had a terrible time in school; traditional rote learning was definitely not his forte. But, he could learn on his own, in his own way, far better than many so-called “stellar students.”
Read more: Kathy Sierra on Adult Learning, Presentation Zen
Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, adult learning, presentations
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