In the midst of holiday merry making and Christmas cleanup I was able to take a bite out of my podcast backlog; including several episodes of the “Innovator’s Mindset” MOOCseries currently being chewed on by teachers and administrators in Burlington. And while the word “innovation” can be defined as “a new method, idea, or product,” synonymous with buzzwords like “breakthrough” it was episode 4’s guest and Burlington’s own Patrick Larkin who bluntly admitted, “I don’t think I’ve ever had an original idea.”
That said, author and podcast host, George Couros’s 12 minute #thoughtsfromthecar episode “The Ability to Share a Message” kept reverberating in the back of my mind, connecting with the work that I do as a science specialist and professional development facilitator and leading me to reflect on ideas not originally my own…
Unoriginal Idea #1: Learn how to present by watching other presenters
We can become better presenters of anything we venture to share our thinking on by watching excellent presenters share their own. For me this has included over 100 TED Talks on ideas not necessarily of high intrigue to me, but shared by those who are passionate about it themselves and often excellent at sharing that passion with others. The ones I came to appreciate the most often displayed only pictures (or sound) while they shared their message in the form of a story. Participating in local #edcamps and becoming acquainted with teacher-famous PD innovators like MTA’s Dan Callahan didn’t hurt either. I’ve also stolen my fair share of analogies to better communicate the paradigm-shifting Next Generation Science Standards from presenters at national and regional NSTA conferences featuring cutting edge science education researchers and lead standard-writers.
Unoriginal Idea #2: Recognize and be able to respond to multiple perspectives on your message
Format matters but just as important is to develop what Couros calls, “a 360 view” of what it is you’re presenting. In my field that includes knowing and being able to respond to the “sticking points” preventing others from acting on the shifts NGSS requires to clear the bar they have set. Having an understanding of the several perspectives one might be examining our messages through leaves us prepared to respond to them while further refining our own understanding and message. Fellow science education PD designer, Eric Brunsell outlines several of these sticking points in Chapter 3 of his Facilitators Guide, which guided me early on in sharing the Massachusetts revised Science Standards. Equally important to developing my message was listening to my fellow Burlington educators and their own classroom or school level concerns, bringing us to…
Unoriginal Idea #3: Take the time to build repoir and connect with your audience
Whether a room of teachers at the Boxboro Regency or reflecting on a lesson with a teacher in the hall, talking in ways that build rapport can be the difference between our message planting root or being lost among many other messages rushing past our educators via email, intercom, or broader initiatives. At national and regional conferences, it can be easy for presenters to want to launch forward, fearful that they may not have enough time to deliver everything they want to share or possibly losing their audience’ engagement. But failing to first connect with one’s audience means we don’t know where our audience is and what they hope to gain from us. Making efforts to get to know our audience pay dividends when we can connect our message with common experiences that we share.
Talk that puts our audience on the defensive can also leave our audience disconnected and our message unheard. Couros’s separation between “arguments vs. discussions” stuck with me most, laying out how arguments suggest an inevitable winner and loser with the idea or message going no further. Discussions on the other hand “go back and forth,” in which case the “idea is the winner” as perspectives are shared, the idea or message becomes more deeply understood by both parties, and the idea and its potential for implementation moves forward. Staying open-minded to others perspectives and empathetic to their experiences keeps our audience open to our message, and respects the often shared but not always genuine, “we are all here learning together.”
I am a believer in the ideas (100% not my own) I deliver to audiences and understand the power they can have, particularly on pre-service teachers and others willing to adapt their craft and classroom. Keeping these ideas in mind and putting them into practice will help me continue to improve my craft as a professional developer and move our community and country toward an increasingly scientifically literate society.
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