Start Writing Now: Overcome your fears
May 29, 2009
One of the biggest barriers for people writing is the dreaded writer’s block. With blogging, twitter and status feeds the illness strikes just as hard and just as often. Unfortunately the added pressure of immediate feedback and putting what you write out there in the wild only compounds the problem. So in the end new bloggers and posters end up having to confront the other demons of writing, self doubt and fear, much sooner than those that write in secret.
There are a few ways these canny little beasts surface, but the main ones I see are:
- What if someone criticises my work
- What if someone criticises me
- What do I have that is worth sharing
- I’m not an expert
- How will I come up with new ideas to write about
Let’s confront number 1 and 2 straight up. I saw a fantastic Tweet of a quote by Bill Cosby today, ”I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” I’d agree. If what you are saying is worth saying, you with attract people who will disagree with you. Don’t be worried by that people can only affect you if you let them. Listen to the people you respect and value and let their feedback be your guide. Even then, if they disagree you don’t need to change your posts, but you may need to think through their arguments. Best case scenario, the people who don’t agree with you may force you to clarify and refine your position and may be the source for your next writing expedition.
Don’t take critisim personally, most times it won’t be personal. People are just responding to something on the page. If THEY want to make it personal by attacking you, they DON’T count as critics and can be ignored. If they argue against your IDEAs, think through what they are saying and respond when you have enough distance to reply in a constructive manner.
So rejoice when you attract critics, you will be attracting others too!
Fear of criticism stops some. Fear of not having something to share, not having something worthy to share and not being able to continue to share stops many, many more. Here are my thoughts on how to overcome these obstacles.
“I have nothing worthwhile”
Well, yes you do. Unless you are lying entombed beneath the earth, you are doing things everyday that you can record. Of course if you are into caving, being entombed in the earth would be something worth writing about. There are people in your type of situation the would like to know how you face it. This statement is true for the educator or the fitness fanatic. It is true for a depressive and an entrepreneur.
We like to know we are not alone. We like to know that some people think deep thoughts for us to ponder and we like to know that the dog next door bothers you as much as it does me. People are people are people everywhere. And people everywhere need people in order to feel like a we rather than a me all alone.
You have in you something to write. Recently at my work I was chatting with a colleague about the news a trainee that was to be nominated for a trainee award. It’s really exciting for the people involved, but I didn’t realise the amount of paperwork and legwork involved in the nomination. It was interesting. I’ve suggested that the colleague blog the entire process, because I know others would be similarly interested. Before the suggestion my colleague thought that they had nothing to write about. It turns out they have some great content material. Chances are so do you.
“Why should someone listen to me?”
This one is the rehash of the “I’m not an expert” files. Let’s just address that fear with some great quotes on experts:
- “An Ex-Spurt is just a drip under pressure”
- “Expert: a man who makes three correct guesses consecutively.” Dr. Laurence J. Peter
- “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made, in a narrow field.” Niels Bohr
- “An expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less, until eventually he knows everything about nothing.”
- “An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides.” Edwin Meese III
Let’s not be too worried about being an expert. I’m not an expert, guru or wonderkid. I’m someone who is happy to learn everyday and will continue to learn everyday. Expert isn’t a title you should EVER give yourself. If you have it applied to you, accept it with grace and don’t be too quick to believe it lest you get lost in your belief.
What you are is someone who has an interest in a field. Even if that field is the dog next door, you have the right to write about it. Defend your ideas and engage others, wax lyrical about the things that interest you. Find opportunities to ask others their opinions and have fun. That is all you need to do. If you are wrong or get a fact wrong, fix it up and keep writing. The trick is don’t take yourself too seriously and keep writing. You have something in you to write, write it.
“I can’t find new stuff to write about”
Material to write about comes into the inspiration area and it’s a little harder. Some of the advice I have tried to follow is to write everyday regardless. I admit I probably write more coal then diamonds. I still try to write and I’m not worried if it is one paragraph in a journal or an article. It does not matter.
Remember what you write doesn’t have be online for the world to see, you can keep this offline. I recommend there are certain things you keep to yourself including:
- Personal details that identify specific people and situations. If it is a private matter, keep it private.
- every single bit of your thoughts and letting it “all hang out” – some things you don’t want out there
- Public feuds with the rest of the world though these can be interesting to watch
- Anything that will damage you now and in the future unless ethics, conviction or faith compel you to speak up. Even then pause first.
It’s your call and write what you will, but write. Quantity will turn into quality if you keep at it. Your writing style will improve with time and the topics you write about will become more varied. Don’t doubt yourself. Write about the small things in your life or the big things in the world. Write about the news articles that grab your attention or the scout hall down the road that is run down and saddens you. Just write about anything that hits you and you will find new and good stuff. If you can’t start a blog, start responding to others. Start writing and keep writing.
It’s a journey that you can grow to love, because what you write about is less important than the journey itself. What will you write about? I can’t tell you and I shouldn’t because it’s your journey to live.
If you don’t write, start. If you need a place to start, let me know what you think as comment or catch me on Twitter. I want to hear what you have to say.
Five ways to find context in training
May 8, 2009
I heard it recently said that learning is not about the content, but the conversation. I understand the sentiment, but think it misses the point. Learning is about context. The content and the conversation are but parts of this. The best of content delivered to in a format that is unable to be interpreted by its receiver is useless. Likewise a fantastic conversation can be had with out a scarric of useful information changing hands.
To say that learning is about the conversation is to confuse the medium with end goal, learning. It comes back to the idea of right place, right person, right time, right information and right tools. There are many different things to get right for the learner to be engaged and for real learning to take place. Valuable learning occurs with the information being given has relevance and meaning to the one it is being given. The context of the overall learning scenario determines how a learner is connected to learning they are attempting to embark upon. Below I look at 5 ways to find the context of learning environment and how to connect to your learners when training.
Avoid Assumption
I’ve always loved the saying, “Never assume anything. It makes an ass out of u & me!” and it is true. Unfortunately, like most people, it is one I can very easily fall foul to.
The easiest way to have meaningless conversations and provide ineffective training is to be on a completely different wavelength to the people with which you are trying to communicate. Nothing makes this quite so easy as assuming that I know where the person is coming from. It makes it too easy to sprout information, and provide a whole heap of advice that completely misses the mark at best or totally confuses and agitates at worst. One sure fire way to alienate a person is to have them think you are not listening or understanding their needs. Assumption will mean you miss the context of the training everytime be it f2f, online or distance training.
One of the common misassumptions is that current school leaders are computer literate and completely at home on the Internet and by extension should be completely able to operate in the online world. It simply is not true. Most will know how to check their facebook and send an email. They will probably be able to send and receive MMS messages. They will likely be under the assumption that Google knows all. However, you will also find kids that can’t turn on a computer. That wouldn’t know how to use the Internet. Kids that still can’t read properly and have trouble with writing. That are happy working on an engine or helping care for a sick person, but would happily condemn all computers to be thrown by trebuchets. Engaging these people online would probably be disastrous and the context of their situation will determine how we learn together. Stopping to check your assumptions saves a great deal of angst for all.
Make assumptions at your own peril.
Find the right time
Sometimes this very much defined for you, especially in a face to face institutional environment where classes are 2-4 on Thursdays. In the workplace or in a flexible environment – online or otherwise – there is more scope for movement. There will be certain times during the days and weeks you can engage the learners fully and others that just won’t work. Finding what works for you and them will be part of the negotiations. For road transport workers, you may find that after hours on a Wednesday works, but certain days are shot because everybody is in every direction. Mondays and Fridays in an office can be a bad time to engage someone as the pressure of starting a new week or ending it with all tasks completed will drive the concentration from the minds of those you wish to train.
In every case it will be slightly different and the only way to find what works is to open the lines of communication and be aware of your students actions and what they are telling you. When you pick the right time, the learner will be alert and ready to engage with where they are about to travel. Sometimes though, there is no right time. In these cases any time is right and making it work will be about separating the individual from the rest of their environment for the period of the learning sessions. In these cases you as a trainer may need to take the lead.
Finding the right time is about what works and when it works. Be flexible and alert to your learners and you will find it.
Find the right medium
What works best with the student for them to learn. If a student learns better face to face, classes or group sessions may work best. If the learner is time poor and wishes to study from home a distance or blended model might be better for them. Even further if they are studying at home, the might want to operate online or feel more comfortable with paper. Finding the right tool for the job is about removing barriers to learning and empowering a person to learn in their way that suits them.
But what tool should I use? There may be dozens of tools that work for the situation and and example is online conferencing: four fantastic web conferencing tools are Elluminate, Wimba, DimDim and Adobe Connect. They all do approximately the same thing. They look a little different and have different pricing models and structures, but when push comes to shove they all work. The question becomes not what works, but which is going to work best for me and my student. It may even be a case of use whichever is your preference and if that doesn’t work move onto to another tool. There are no right answers here.
The big trick to finding the right tools for the job are to use the ones you have at hand. If they don’t work, don’t clasp them tight. Find another tool that works. If text chat isn’t working, use Skype or VOIP and if that doesn’t work pick up the phone. The tools to use are the ones that work.
Bring the right information and know when to bring others into the conversation
Your learner knows what they want to learn and in most case you will know what they will need to learn. The best thing you can do is prepare adequately and be ready to give of what you have. The old adage of preparation being the most important thing you can do still holds true in the modern training environment. The most flexible trainers are those prepared for most eventualities. Prepare early and move as you need to when your train. Your learners will be better for it.
It goes without saying that one person can’t know everything. You will have gaps in your knowledge, and if you don’t you are not human. When you hit something that you can’t answer, bring in the help you need to address the issue. Most successful people aim to surround themselves with smarter people then they are, why should trainers be any different? Hubris is the fortitude of the week and humbleness the refuge of the strong. Admitting to a knowledge gap doesn’t diminish a person, nothing robs credibility faster than trying to bluff through a topic you know little about. Finding the right person or information for a student when they need it, even if that person isn’t you, increases your connection to the learner and meets them where they need to be met.
Listen
It’s been said that we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that ratio. Funnily enough in training one of the hardest things to learn is when to shut the one tool we are used to using. One of the things I’ve observed is that the most effective trainers help learners train, tutor and teach each other. The knack they have is hearing exactly what they are being asked then drawing it out of those around them. Context is gained from the subtext of the conversation. Reading between the lines and finding the story behind the questions.
One of the most effective tools here is the art of reflective listening. For the uninitiated reflective listening is where you reflect your learners statements back to them slightly paraphrased to determine that you understand what they are saying eg “So you mean…” or “He made you feel…” You can then employ a series of questions to get the learner thinking in the right direction or to find the heart of the matter and address the real questions being asked. Finding the real context of the conversation helps you as a trainer connect with your learners and help them make real behaviour change.
Admittedly the context might be “I’m confused and what you are saying doesn’t make much sense to me”, listening and obtaining feed back from your learners will help you find when you’ve got it right, got it wrong and when it is time to move the conversation along.
Finally…
We’ve moved from the teacher centric model of past, where an esteemed wise man stood on an elevated platform and espoused the wisdom he held. The main problem with throwing information at people is most of it bounces. For a learner to engage with information and behaviour to start to change, a facilitator and trainer must meet the student where they stand now. The trainer has to find the context of where the student is coming from and fit the learning to them. In the end, a learner centric system means context is everything…
Let us know what you think, by posting your comments below.
