Most of you know that I used to be an academic. Or, maybe I should say that I used to be a professor first and an entrepreneur/consultant second- because I’ve been accused of being an academic forever. Because I want to study everything. And, I tend to lecture (or get on my soap box) often.
So, reading the Wall Street Journal recently, I burst out laughing. Because this was the question posed to a columnist…
I attended a lecture by a well-know academic, and I was amazed and baffled by his
Inability to communicate…
You know, you’ve been to those lectures, too. Having never liked them myself, I have strived to keep things lively when I have lectured. Sometimes that meant I amused my students with what I said (if they were paying attention), other times I scared the bejesus out of one sleeping in the back of the lecture hall, but the students were always pretty engaged.
That does not mean I always communicated well. Oh, I thought I gave them the proper information, but that does not mean I communicated it. Because it is critical to provide information in a way it can be understood by the student (or the one attending the lecture).
Dan Ariely (the Wall Street Journal columnist to whom the italicized question was posed) explained that when we know something backwards and forwards, we assume others will get “it”, too. He termed this the “curse of knowledge”. And, it’s why we sometimes fail to communicate the key points we need to convey.
Now, I am not saying I solved this problem all the time. But, I did have some ground rules to make the knowledge transfer process cleaner. Like making sure anyone could ask a question anytime by raising their hand. No, I didn’t stop each and every time I saw a hand rise, because that would not make me lose my train of thought. But, I did get to those questions fairly quickly (the hand-raiser was always recognized).
When I really got on a roll, I could speak about 300-450 words a minute. (I still can and do. Yes, we are supposed to use the normal range of about 125 wpm.) The rule in my classrooms (and lecture halls) has always been for any student to raise both hands- so I would recognize that I fell into that speed trap.
OK, wise guy. Put your hands down. You can read this at your own pace- it’s not me that’s speeding through it…
Yes, knowing something so well that we fail to explain all the tiny details because we believe our loyal subjects already know that much can be a problem. I have done that more than once when I told a cook what I wanted cooked, only to find out later that they lacked some of the skills I take for granted.
Chef William recently posted..Lazy In Mexico
It is hard to know the “level” of everyone with whom we speak.
It’s also one of the biggest problems with eMail- because we think and speak one way and another person uses a completely different intonation for our words.
Thanks for the visit and comment, Chef William.
Good system!
If it works for the students, it’s the perfect system.
Thanks for the visit, Marie!!!
I’m trying to remember if you talk fast or not. Maybe I’m a fast listener, 😀
Could be a little of both, Elise…
Thanks for the visit.
Once an academic, always an academic. I am not sure if it’s the curse of knowledge, but it is perhaps forgetfulness as to the goal of communication.
David recently posted..How to beat the dreaded winter blues even while buried under a ton of snow.
Not sure it’s forgetfulness, though.. I certainly expect my students to be able to add 25 and 45 in their heads 🙂
This is a drone of another sort | http://t.co/3KkjYth55m via @Adjuvancy