“Life is the cruelest of teachers: it tests us first and then teaches us the lesson.” The ultimate early school exercise of show and tell! When I first read this, I agreed—but then I had another thought…
“Life is the kindest of teachers…here is the test, now let’s learn…another test is around the corner…and then we will learn some more.”
What if your meetings were like that?
Instead of starting with input, spreadsheets, or documents…what if you began with a demo, a question (not just a hypothetical one), or anything that could replicate show and tell?
Let’s say you are teaching good patient service. Have the participants see it, brainstorm it, or talk in small groups about what good—and not so good—patient service looks like. Let them see it, participate in it, and have time to talk about it. Then comes the training, the education, the skill-building.
If we don’t feel it, it’s likely to pass from one ear to the other. Ditch the PowerPoint lecture and engage the group in the doing first.