Getting better

The Learning Circuits Blog Big Question of the month is: “What would you like to do better as a Learning Professional?” Certainly a question bound to spark some introspection. Certainly, I know my weaknesses, though not all are things I’d want to change.

Some might argue I’m *too* conceptual, and I certainly do err on talking concepts rather than concrete examples. I believe being conceptual is good, in that it gives me tools for problem-solving, and I’ve demonstrated that on behalf of clients and others (I like coming up with innovative approaches to tough problems). However, I do need to recognize that I should use more examples in my presentations (and have made that a conscious act in the last few presentations I’ve created, though my legacy ones may lack a bit).

Similarly, I tend to use diagrams to communicate, and I think that’s good, but I sometimes err on not including enough context (via photos). And for someone who’s quite visually oriented, I don’t do enough with video. However, that’s at least partly due to lack of facility with the tools rather than a fundamental blindspot. I wish I was more capable of creating animations to communicate visually as well.

And I wish I could cartoon! It’s such a powerful, and underused, communication and learning medium. It’s got great value in examples in particular, and comics in particular could be valuable in helping motivate in the beginning (humorously exaggerating the consequences of not having the skills being presented is one way I recommend).

So I guess my answer is that I would like to augment my conceptual approach with visual context more effectively, for better communication. And I’m working on it!