This competency enables a learner to:
Getting and Giving Information, or communication, is essential to group success. Nothing can happen until communication, on one or more levels, has been established. As group members join a team, they need to learn about the nature of the group and the task at hand. Each member makes a decision, consciously and unconsciously, about the quality of their membership in the group.
As they grow to understand what the group is about, they identify with group norms and group goals, This helps maintain group membership. Individuals are able to call on other members' knowledge, skills and abilities, increasing the likelihood that the task at hand can be completed.
All of this happens through communication in one form or another. From the point of view of a single individual joining a group, he receives some information, tries to make sense of it--hopefully recording it in some fashion--and at some point is probably called on to give it to someone else, as shown in Figure 8-1 below. These are the essential parts of Getting and Giving Information.
| |
Receiving information can be done in many ways. It is usually passed to us in one of two fashions: our ears, orally from another person; or our eyes, through the use of writing and illustrations.
The information can vary in complexity. It might be very simple, for example: "Meet me at the Scout Hut at 7:00 sharp Wednesday night." Or it might be extremely complex: "Go due north 122 feet to the maple tree. Back up 10 feet the way you came. Go 145 degrees at 3 miles per hour for 2 minutes. Stop at the red cedar tree. Turn 25 degrees south..."
If you are not careful, two things will happen:
This is because both the individual sending and the person receiving the information may obscure the message.
There are two ways you can insure that the information you receive will not be forgotten or distorted:
Repeat information back any time you receive the information. While you may think you understand what you think you heard, you may in fact have gotten it totally wrong. Clarify and verify!
The sender controls:
The recipient controls:
To minimize the likelihood the recipient will confuse your message, take a moment to think about the type of communication you like to receive that encourages you to express yourself freely. Certain circumstances facilitate open communication more than others.
Others think my statements are worthwhile. They show interest by leaning forward, paying attention, nodding in agreement, taking notes, and so forth.
Others respect my ideas. They may not agree with them, but the respect the source. New ideas are greeted with interest and not made fun of.
As a leader, there are a number of things you can do to encourage others to talk with you.
Give the individual your undivided attention. Stop whatever you are doing. Invite the person to sit down. If appropriate, find a location where you can talk privately.
Maintain eye contact. Don't stare him down, but look directly at him and show your interest.
Use the individual's name. People feel important and appreciated when you use their name.
Smile, relax, and be friendly. Make him feel that you are eager to hear what he has to say.
Much of the time we receive information using just our eyes: "It's a nice day. The sun is bright. The sky is blue and clear."
We also use our hearing extensively to receive information. "The creek is gurgling. The wind is whispering through the trees".
How about messages received by feeling? "The sun is hot on my back. The log under me is smooth and flat."
To vividly demonstrate this use of our senses, the manager of learning (MOL) might, for instance, have the learners smell the envelopes of two letters. One is from Laverne and is scented wit perfume. The other is from Sally and is scented with disinfectant. (Or, for the girls, the first letter would be scented with after shave.) Which girl or boy would you want to date when you get home?
Taste the contents of these two paper cups (soft drink and cold tea)--which do you prefer?
The session began with the statement, "It's a nice day." Information was only on the basis of "hearing." Now I will give the same message using all the senses. "It's a nice day. The sun is shining (point to sun), the wind is blowing (hand to ear), I'm sitting comfortably (sit), drinking a soft drink (drink), dreaming of Laverne (smell perfume)."
Now you have a better idea of what I mean by "a nice day." So it's effective to use as many senses as possible when communicating to others.
As we receive information--obviously the first step required before we can pass it on to someone else--there are some things we can pay attention to that will improve our chances of accurately recalling what we were told. Retrieving Information
Information received may have to be recalled at a later time. For example, how many of you can remember the names of the director and assistant advisors of this course? (Ask for show of hands.) How many can remember the name of another Patrol Counselor from White Stag? (Ask for show of hands again.)
Pick a learner to describe the "model camp" (or other item) on the orientation trail as they arrived in camp, if used. Or put ten items on a table and give one individual 30 seconds to memorize the contents without using notes. Review what he described; he will not remember everything, which will help demonstrate the value of having a retrieval system.
Ask the participants, "What are some retrieval systems?" Write their answers on the flip chart. They should include at least the following: note-taking; repeat back; memorization; mnemonic devices.
How many have done this? (Show of hands.) Does it work? (Probably.) What are some of the problems with this method?
What are these? ("Ways to remember.")
Does it work? (Probably.) What are some of the problems with this method?
"Mnemonic device is a mnemonic device!" (You can tie only so many knots around your finger...)
By repeating the information received, you check your understanding and attentiveness. You are actively listening, which may help you retrieve. But it still has the weaknesses of remembering a lot of information over a long period of time.
The most effective retrieval system.
Overcomes the problems of trying to remember a lot of things--a permanent record. However--it can be on no value if not done in a way that's useful to you.
Here are a few ideas.
When giving information, use the five senses. This has already been discussed. You can't always use all of them, but if you recognize their value, you might find ways to use as many as possible.
In addition:
It's possible that despite all your efforts at getting and giving information, communication may not happen. Somewhere in the process, as shown in Figure 8-1 below, the message was lost. Additional feedback from both the sender and recipient is required to clarify where the communication problem is occurring.
Feedback1 is a way of helping another person or group consider changing behavior. It is communication which gives information about how others are affected. Feedback helps people keep behavior "on target" and more in line with current goals.
Some criteria for useful feedback:
Feedback then, is a way of giving help; it is a corrective mechanism for people who want to match behavior to intentions; and it is a means for establishing one's identity.
Assertiveness has been oversold as the right to inflict your opinion on someone else. Speaking directly form the heart, however, can be very effective in getting our message across and being heard. Assertiveness is responding under otherwise stressful circumstances to another's behavior in neither a submissive nor aggressive fashion so that the content of your message is clearly communicated.
Typically, in a situation that an individual finds annoying (or worse), we respond forthrightly in one of two fashions:
How to avoid both of these? We practice.
In Bo's ear, out of anyone else's hearing: "Bo, I'm not sure you realize this, but when you kissed the Contessa on the cheek you nearly put her eye out with your toothpick."
The advantages of the last form or response are many:
A reflective response lets the individual know that you accurately heard what they said.
Reflecting feelings means the listener reflects the speaker's statements about the speaker's condition or being. Reflecting helps people understand their thoughts and emotions, assisting them in moving towards a solution for their own problem. You're checking with the sender for confirmation of your understanding. To be effective, reflecting is:
Pay attention to the individual giving you information to encourage him or her to continue speaking feelings. Guidelines for attending behavior include:
There are probably many reasons for interpretation, or people's "filtering system."
The ability to communicate effectively is one of the most important skills of leadership--not only what you communicate, but how. The success or failure of your patrol may be the result of getting and giving information--during the next six days we hope to see continuous improvement in this patrol. Be ready at all times; you never know when you'll be called on to get or give information. Your personal recall system may make the difference.
Notes are important. They are the only dependable way to be sure that you will remember the many valuable ideas you will hear. Failure to take notes seems to imply that what you are hearing is not worth remembering.
Don't try to take down all that the speaker says. You cannot keep up. Fill in only as much detail as you can without losing what the speaker is saying.
The speaker will usually tip you off by announcing main points. "There are three major reasons why.... The first is..."
Don't hesitate to ask a speaker to repeat. "Ms. Jones, I am not sure I caught the last point. Would you please state it again?"
I. Let the outline show the relation of ideas. Here is a standard outline pattern:
A. Capital letters are subheads under Roman numerals.1. Arabic numerals are subheads under capitals.a. Small letters are subheads under Arabic numerals.
Use key words and partial sentences. Don't try to write statements in full. On the other hand, don't be so sketchy that it doesn't mean anything later. Brief, accurate, notes are better than lengthy, confused ones.
Random notes scribbled on loose scraps of paper are seldom satisfactory. They are usually too sketchy and soon lost. Keep good notes, in a good notebook, and keep them.
Before those notes get too cold, probably within 24 hours, take time to look them over and make sure you understand them. Then you won't be wondering several months from now what you meant by some of these abbreviations. Spend a few profitable minutes fixing the main points of a discussion in your mind and perhaps jotting down what you intend to do about it. These discussions are wasted time unless they result in action on your part. You won't do much about a discussion unless you can remember what the speaker said. You may not remember what he said unless you keep notes.
Collect notebooks each day at Taps prior to the staff meeting. Patrol Leaders/Counselors must write positive comments in each notebook. All other staff members may select notebooks at random to evaluate. All ought to sign their name to their comments.
 |
You are responsible for presenting the information your possess in an effective, interesting manner. This means getting the participants' attention and then engaging their minds so they retain the information.
Many people have great storehouses of knowledge and skill but are not able to effectively teach what they know to others because they are not acquainted with the typical learner we'll call "Chris." Chris is a composite of all women and men and is a simplified representation of the human learning mechanism. Get acquainted with Chris and how he functions.
Chris learns about the world through the five senses, i.e., seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. Of these five, the first two, the eye and ear, represent the most important inputs of information for our purposes.
Information pouring in through the eye and ear flows to the brain and then may come out the mouth in oral form or through the hands as manual expression. Information an individual receives is changed as it enters their mind, and it also changes them. Each Chris will be better or worse by what and how you teach him or her. Chris will never be the same again.
Let's look at Chris' input channels, the ears and eyes. Just because Chris has ears and you told him something doesn't mean he heard, let alone learned it. From babyhood, experience has taught Chris not to listen rather than how to listen. Chris has learned to select the sounds he wants to hear and interpret and cut out or ignore others. He has conditioned himself to become so absorbed in a book that he will not hear a blaring radio, passing traffic or a dog barking.
No wonder Chris can look right at you, listen to you talk, and think about something entirely different. Unfortunately, it is impossible to tell by looking his eyes or even his facial expression and know whether Chris is tuned in, turned off, or turned down so low you can't be heard.
Chris' eyes are much more selective about the information coming into them. They look in only one direction at a time and they will focus on a specific spot in that one direction.
Use actual demonstrations with defined objectives. Chris can follow the sequential steps with ease and when audible instruction through the ear supplement and direct the eye, he can store in the brain vivid pictures which can be readily recalled when needed. What has been put in the brain through one of the inlets can be sampled by using the mouth as an outlet to check on how successful the teaching has been. If it comes back mutilated and unrecognizable, nothing has been learned. The tell-back system which is using the mouth as means of learner participation is further imprinting the information upon Chris's mind.
Use body language to your advantage when teaching.
No matter how interesting the subject, nor how well prepared you may be, you are not really managing a teach-learning situation successfully unless your learners learn--that is, they absorb what you are presenting. The learners respond to your voice quality, your "body language," and your attitude, whether it's the way you wanted or not.
Through the skillful use of your voice, your body, and your "presence," you can project your ideas and feelings to the learners in a memorable and pleasant way. In other words, the learning outcomes of your efforts depend, in good part, on your manner and style. Some people just seem to radiate warmth, good humor, confidence, and pleasure at being able to help others learn. Often this is something they have learned to do--a technique, but a most useful technique for a manager of learning.
We "reach" each other through our eyes, and a listener feels gratified that the speaker has actually looked at him--but look also at your audience for reactions. The raised eyebrow, the puzzled expression, should warn you to clarify your position or settle any misunderstanding immediately. Sensitivity to audience reception is a real asset to a manager of learning-- you can increase your ability just by trying! You would answer a spoken question--try answering the unspoken ones too!
The manager of learning who is really trying to use several of the senses of communicate ideas and feeling must use some kind of body language deliberately, lest he use the wrong "language" unthinkingly. Absence of action will suggest three things: you have no feelings or convictions about your subject; you are sick; or you are afraid. On the other hand, stiff and mechanical "elocution" gestures can be laughable. Still, you want to engage your audience visually as well as by the force of your words, and spontaneous, coordinated body action can express your enthusiasm and feeling for your subject.
You have something to say, you want to say it, your whole being should help you say it. "Suit the action to the word, and the word to the action" would be a good rule--we do not nod our head while saying "no!" nor shake our heads while saying "yes!" (Try it--it's confusing even to the one doing it.) Your gestures ought to arise from a normal, spontaneous desire to clarify or give emphasis. Your gestures should not call attention to themselves, but to your ideas--whatever you want people to learn or to feel.
Your voice has a variety of qualities you can use to enhance your delivery.
A "good" voice has an interesting range of pitch. Try to start sentences on a pitch high enough to permit you to lower it for contrast, but low enough that you can raise it for contrast, also. Use the whole range of your voice by thinking--or feeling--what you are saying at that instant--not what you're going to say next.
Don't speak so slowly that the learners jump ahead of you or drift away or so rapidly that they're worn out trying to keep up. As with walking, variety is the key to interest-- pauses permit appreciation. Pauses can be used as punctuation marks in speech--they are attention-getters. Don't panic at a few seconds of silence--it can allow ideas to be absorbed, if that's the way you intend it.
If possible, check out in advance how much volume you must use to reach the farthest learner--he has the right to hear too. If in doubt, in informal circumstances, ask, especially if he looks quizzical or drowsy. Don't forget that many bodies in a hall tend to absorb some of the noise and you may have to talk louder than you expected. However, most people are not impressed with volume alone, and actors know the value of dropping their voices until the listeners really participate by listening intently. Again, variety...!
You must be instantly intelligible to everyone in your audience. This means work. Laziness is the curse--lazy lips, lazy jaws, and lazy tongues. You may have to overcome a lifetime of habit if you would be a good speaker to an audience of more than a few, where conversational custom permits "eye-balling" reactions and instant demands for clarity. Muffled and indistinct words suggest fuzzy thinking or mental slovenliness to some. Part of what people hear is what you seem to be as you talk.
"What you are thunders so loud I cannot hear what you are saying!" (Don't club someone with the truth.) This has real meat for the public speaker. Many listeners will not know you for what you are, of course, but for what you seem to be...or what you seem to feel and think about your topic, at least.
Your attitude toward your role as a manager of learning will creep through what you say. If you are timid or fearful or unprepared, be sure the learners will sense this. Bluster cannot conceal it. On the other hand, mere sincerity may seem merely pitiable unless enthusiasm and energy project it to your listener's consciousness. A positive attitude toward your job of helping people learn will help them learn.
Acronyms (the forming of a word from the initial letters or phrases of a group of words) can be a lot of trouble. Convenient as they are to shorten laborious, often used phrases, they also turn people off and exclude nonmembers. They create a "we/they" mentality; those who belong, those who don't. They are a crutch. Have you ever picked up a publication and found an often used expression or jargon that is never, ever defined? (TLC does mean Tender Loving Care, right? Unless you are a Patrol Leader, when it means Troop Leadership Council.)
Beware of how you use abbreviations and jargon that others new to the organization or program might not readily understand.
Abbreviation and acronyms can be stimulating and helpful as mnemonic device. For example, IEDAS (Introduction, Explanation, Demonstration, Application, Summary); KISS (Keep it Simple Sweetheart); KISMIF (Keep It Simple, Make It Fun), and so forth, are good examples, as long as they are not abused.
Some people can't believe they've participated in a training session or meeting unless they have been subjected to at least one chart. Some trainers also feel this way. This is insufficient reason for making even one chart.
There are two kinds and uses for charts, flip charts and wall charts,
Use flip charts primarily during training sessions. They are a visual aid meant to assist in transmitting information, much like an overhead projector might be used. Only one page at a time is exposed to the learners. Flip charts are usually prepared in advance, their content at least outlined.
Flip charts are inexpensive, can be made rapidly, can be improvised, will work with individuals or groups, don't require electricity or screens, and can be very effective. These virtues suggest using them often as a mechanical aid to learning and discussion.
Flip charts can be abused, though. Often they are too small, too crowded, badly lettered, a monotonous color, and overused. They can straitjacket a discussion or become a crutch on which the unsure presenter hobbles on to his allotted time. Flip charts get unruly in winds, tear instead of turn, topple instead of tear, and fight the unwary and innocent.
Don't worship at the shrine of flip charts--bad ones are distracting, boring, or confusing. If you feel the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, consider these suggestions in making your chart (in preparation for a session).
Use wall charts primarily as a "group memory." It captures ideas and records individual thoughts in full view of the entire group. They are particularly suited to problem solving and similar meetings.
Wall charts can also be abused. They can be small, crowded, badly written, and a monotonous color. You must have a suitable wall, and almost certainly an indoor location.
Wall charts can be tremendously helpful in certain situations. As the group memory it:2
Managing learning requires a whole lot more than just teaching. Knowing a skill does not mean you automatically can pass it on to others with ease. There is a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to create the group and weld them into a whole who can constructively engage in leadership development.
|
|