Do you "Teach" or just give answers?

Learning is a vital part of life and provides opportunities that would otherwise not arise.

In my Home Town it has always concerned me that poor standards of teaching have let young people down and it appears to be a national problem.

Is it just in education though or does the problem extend to business?

My view is that the methods of teaching have lost its way.

Too many people have come to view giving answers, the Information, as rated as teaching.

This is entirely wrong and a misplaced approach is doing great harm.

“Teaching” is about helping people to think, not just have the answer to a specific question.

Good teachers use “effective” questions to find out what a person thinks or believes before they impart what is needed by the student.

Some time ago I was asked to teach a group of sales people how to sell products “outside their comfort zone”.

The challenge was to prepare them for selling products 7 to 10 times higher than standard products but with hugely higher margins which would also effectively leave competitors behind.

The company Directors were stunned when I began the session.

I knew I could never move people forward to new Ideas unless I could be assured their knowledge of what they already did was sound, like a building block.

To everyone’s surprise, when I probed with “effective” questions to allow them to express their existing awareness and skills – it did not exist!

If staff don’t understand what, why or how to perform in their existing role the challenge of giving them new, specialised skills is remote.

I like to think I get the best from people but without understanding how to explain or think things through, what we had was a group that admitted (in the end) they just sold on price.

Least effort for least return was not a formula or mindset that was required.

I scrapped my session in favour of filling in the gaps of renewing understanding of basic principles before we could go on to “deeper” things.

You would never build a house on a poor foundation.

With patience the outcomes were satisfying and remarkable in equal measure.

Good teachers engage peoples thinking, make their audience work and produce an ability to process answers on a personal level, not just relying on an answer that they cannot explain the basis of.

Sales people more than any are neglected in this regard but when taught skills which allow them to be successful and enjoy what they do, it becomes like a new freedom.

The student will never improve unless they are matched to a good teacher.

It’s important to get this balance right – so give it proper thought and preparation.