Speaking, Learning and How I got in the Way

Well I was down in London over the weekend.  I was speaking at an international class at a consulting firm.  Loads of students from all over Scandinavia and Britain.  My talk was well received.  Does this sound boastful?  I am a good and entertaining speaker able to bring out new ideas about learning and management.  I tell reasonable jokes and can get an audience intrigued, stimulated and laughing.  Several of the students (all post graduate students who are in managerial or professional jobs) flattered me with how good they thought my lecture..

and yet...

there was too much of me, too much 'song and dance' and I wondered how much learning.

Yes, stimulating talk can be helpful but at the end, as I reflected on the day, I wasn't sure.. one obvious point; with so many of the students listening in a second or third language, would they have followed me?  Was there a chance that I was so wrapped up in what I wanted to say that I missed what they wanted and needed to learn?  I fear so..

So how can I learn from this?  How can I do such sessions better?  I had agreed an agenda with the tutorial staff and I think it was a good agenda but how could I give space to the students to shape what I said?  Next year, assuming they ask me back(!) I will organise the session into more of a dialogue, giving the students the chance to set the agenda and then seeing me wrestle with difficult issues, modelling the process of thinking my way through complex ideas, struggling, generating action and ideas that maybe won't be perfect but will give space for doubting, questioning and challenging.

and I think that will be a session of much deeper and more helpful learning.

Comments

[Colin Darling]

Hi Caroline

Great to see you at the international event. The members of my 3rd year course group loved your input and thought it was really well placed int he "making connections between learning and practice spectrum". So that maybe separate from the ones in the "Several of the students (all post graduate students who are in managerial or professional jobs) flattered me with how good they thought my lecture.. and yet... there was too much of me, too much 'song and dance' and I wondered how much learning." - group which I suspect also included me.

Firstly we were able to hear you because you made it possible to start listening - "I tell reasonable jokes and can get an audience intrigued, stimulated and laughing." I reckon that's right.
Secondly, the energy levels raise the ability of the group to listen.
Thirdly, content was pitched at about right academic/theoretical level - for us anyway.
Fourthly, the "calling a systemic consultancy process a workshop" story about connecting to how people can hear you was helpful.
Fifthly, you gave us papers and references to go further with.
Sixthly, I suspect a lot of the internationals with ESL missed a lot of the jokes.
Seventhly, I think you are too hard on yourself.
Eightly, I'm knackered and thoroughly fed up and all I meant to do was log on and make a connection.