Well well well…
A session where the audience is hooked, there’s smiles and laughter, they’re participating in your activities, they’re engaged well, you’ve probably “motivated/inspired” some of them, there is perhaps some music/dance/ hoots and the likes of it, there’s a loud applause at the end of it, you’ve transmitted a tsunami of facts, figures, statistics and data of information off of search engines; you’ve shared an exhaustive list of all the framework and tools for greatness and excellence- all woven up together in an inspiring, gripping story. Even the feedback’s good.
—- that’s a good session, noh?
Exactly, it’s a session.
A learning intervention goes deeper than just the delivery and execution. Allow me to explain.
A learning journey is a process. It’s a literal “journey” that you embark on with the client.
Putting in the efforts (and patience) to do a thorough diagnosis to understand the client’s challenges, instead of jumping in with assumptions and conclusions at the very surface level; to explore the WH questions; to set desired learning outcomes for the day- that’s only one part of it.
In today’s world, participants don’t lack information. There’s no dearth of knowledge freely accessible out there. However, that bridge of reflection between the knowledge and the application is amiss. Being realistically aware enough to admit (and accept) that the participants already know more than you; and to tactfully leverage their knowledge and wisdom to drive out reflections and application-based learnings is where the magic begins. – that’s the second part.
How we engineer the session is where things come to a boil. (Time distribution, group dynamics, group wisdom harvesting, cross-pollination, divergence, convergence, reflection, application, etc).
And while the desired learning outcomes are at the forefront; being present and fluid enough to make room for emergent needs and incidental outcomes; being non-dependent on your plan and adapting to the group and environment, reading the room, creating a safe space; is what congeals the whole experience together.
And the most overlooked part:
Every session will have results and outcomes because every action has an equal and opposite reaction. BUT- is it the DESIRED result and outcome? Sure there was engagement and participation, sure there was fun, but did it yield the DESIRED results? That’s your success measure.
In short- creating experiences which are not googleable is what makes for a “great” learning intervention.
What differentiates a “good” session from a “great” learning intervention?
