In a presentation to my management group last week about leadership, I also spoke about what I believe to be the 5 most important distinctions between simply telling your teammates about the best way to do their jobs, and actually teaching them:
- Repetition : This is stems from what I call “Terry’s Rule” – if you want someone to remember something, you need to say it to them at least 15 times. That may seem like a lot, but in practice it has really proven true for me.
- Consistency: Here’s an excellent corollary of this (especially as it applies to the service business): If quality and service are the highest priorities, don’t confuse teammates by sending mixed messages about expediency.
- Plain English: I always encourage my staff to say more with less, and remind them we are not paid by the word.
- Common Sense: I wrote about this just recently - there’s much benefit to being our own speech editors; I call it “stepping back before moving forward”.
- “Hands On” is Better: Probably the most important secret of all. The best quote I’ve ever seen about this came from a 100 year-old piano study book I recently discovered: “An ounce of demonstration is worth a pound of explanation”.
One of the most important (and enjoyable) roles we play as leaders is to teach; I hope these “secrets” can help you as much as they have assisted me in pushing your team to greater and greater heights.
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Very nice post. Worked as a teacher for a year or so, and that just about summed up everything I learnt
Cheers,
Albert | UrbanMonk.Net
Modern personal development, entwined with ancient spirituality.
Things are changing as far as teaching goes, Terry, as you note But I’m curious about something… If you repeat something 15 times, to me that seems more like “telling.” What if you were to do that in several different ways, such as through drawing, an image, a story, a game, demonstrating?
Hi Albert and Robyn – thanks for your comments!
Albert, I bet that was one interesting year for you – I think teaching is quite the noble profession.
Robyn, I have tried different ways to get a point across, but at least with my teammates it always seems to come back to how many times I say it, or present it, or use it in a story. And that number always seems to be around 15 (although it can be less sometimes). My business has too many other distractions, I’m afraid. I need to work on that!
All the best to you both.
Terry,
I’m thrilled to see that you noted “repetition” as an important ingredient.
I work with large organizations and can’t emphasize enough the need to consistently repeat and model messages in every way possible. It’s not an issue of being boring; it’s the fact that everyone is busy, picks up bits and pieces at different times in different ways, and pays attention to what’s constantly on the radar screen.
Way to go!
Steve Roesler
http://www.allthingsworkplace.com
Terry, as a teacher and a “teacher of teachers”, you are dead on with your list. I would add one thing to the list. Teachers must be LEARNERS first. When we “teach” with a learners mindset, we model to our students how to ask questions, solve problems, take risks, persevere, and ask for help! These lessons are sometimes more powerful than the lesson we intended to teach!
Hi Steve and Angela, thanks for stopping by.
Steve, you are so right – we’re not meaning to be boring; we’re meaning to really teach something and make sure the message is received through all the clutter.
Angela, good point about being a learner – that is indeed the proper mindset to have. As someone who loves to learn, your comment reminded me how much that love has influenced my teaching. Thanks!
All the best to you both.
Great post Terry.
I too like the inclusion of “repetition”.
I usually modify it slightly with the the word “creative repetition”.
Keep creating…great learners,
Mike
Good list Terry. I’m doing a three day workshop on teaching designed for college professors next week and plan to “show” them rather than just “tell” them how to improve their teaching skills. Part of that is being a good role model in front of the classroom.
Hi Mike and Delaney!
Mike, I like your modification, because you indeed need to be creative to say something 15 times and not have the listener lose interest.
Delaney, this sounds like a really great workshop – good luck with it and I hope you post about it in your blog.
All the best to you both!
A wise sage, Aristotle, once said, “The proof that you know something is that you are able to teach it”. Good teaching, therefore, comes from sound knowledge of one’s material. A commitment to continued personal growth is therefore essential in the development of better teaching skills. The idea of staying updated through daily study in one’s field of expertise is therefore one of the most empowering things teachers can do for themselves.
Hi Herman – Aristotle knew what he was talking about! I really like what you said about needing to commit to personal growth to be a better teacher -that’s pretty darn good advice too. Thanks!