What is Introvert-Friendly Learning? Reflections For Coaches, Conference Organizers and Seminar Leaders
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Marcia Yudkin
Apr 23, 2013, 11:50:02 AM4/23/13
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Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
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Article Title: What is Introvert-Friendly Learning? Reflections For Coaches, Conference Organizers and Seminar Leaders
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 806
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=947264&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=947264
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=947264
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Recently on the ABC TV show �Shark Tank,� on which entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of multi-million-dollar investors, there was a scene of gratuitous cruelty that lived up to the �shark� metaphor in the show�s title.
(If you�re British or Australian, you may be familiar with the show �Dragon�s Den� on which the American show was modeled.)
A woman whose pitch did not fly with the investors and who was visibly upset about having failed offered a strained smile and said �Thank you� before turning to take her leave.
�Don�t say �Thank you,�� admonished one of the investors, a man whose motto is that nothing counts except money. He argued that she certainly didn�t feel grateful and shouldn�t say it. Two of the other panelists stuck up for the woman as being appropriately polite, but the man insisted that thanking the ones who had all turned her down was wrong.
The contestant couldn�t manage any words in reply. It seemed to me that she found his attitude revolting, but she was much too well brought up to disagree with him or insult him back. And in the man�s expression I saw self-righteousness, superiority and an egotistical pleasure in seeing her squirm. I know he felt he was teaching her a lesson, but it was vicious and power-hungry of him to use that tone in that moment.
Introverts are especially sensitive about being put down in public, and particularly so when the criticism has nothing to do with the official purpose of the occasion. Losing is not fun for anyone, but to have to deal with mockery of one�s appearance or background or manners on top of that is unbearable to an introvert, because we need time to process an attack that comes out of left field. Only much later can we think of an eloquent retort that would have exposed the attacker as being in the wrong.
This incident got me thinking about learning environments that are not safe or productive for introverts. More than 30 years ago, I experienced humiliation like the Shark Tank contestant�s at a prestigious writer�s conference. In front of 100 other writers, an award-winning nonfiction writer asked me to come up front and read the first page of my novel-in-progress. After I did so, he belittled my writing skill, disparaged the intent of my story and told all the others in the room that he saw no redeeming qualities in what I had done.
Years later, when I was able to look back at this incident apart from the torrent of tears it brought on, I concluded that no valid educational points were made to me and no learning about writing took place in me or anybody else that day. As with the Shark Tank exchange, the so-called expert and some listeners in the room expressed superiority, but not in terms that showed me how to improve.
There�s an echo of this atmosphere in the �hot seats� at some marketing conferences, where an aspiring entrepreneur describes what he or she wants to achieve and what he or she has done to try to get there. The reigning experts then comment. When the experts play to the peanut gallery, show off their knowledge or shake their heads disparagingly without explaining the principles underlying their scorn, they are not helping the one in the hot seat to learn.
What kind of seminar or conference is conducive to learning for introverts, then?
* It�s small � 15 people or fewer. If it�s larger, criticism is delivered one-on-one rather than in front of everyone.
* It�s confidential. Interchanges where participants talk about themselves, share their work or make themselves vulnerable are not preserved for posterity.
* Steps have been taken to make the setting less intimidating for participants. For example, the expert sits or walks around at the same level as participants, rather than on stage or in a director�s chair.
* Someone who doesn�t feel comfortable sharing or participating can take a pass.
* Criticism is couched not in absolute, take-it-or-leave-it pronouncements but in terms of options, experiences and �If you want to do X, then Y is a good way to get there.�
* The discussion stays on topic.
* Instead of simply shoving ideas at participants, the learning structure provides an opportunity for introverts to absorb and integrate the information so it relates to their aims.
Use these guidelines to design a learning environment that�s comfortable for introverts, and chances are, extroverts will appreciate it also. Your reward: long-term allegiance from those who thrive with your instruction and guidance!
About The Author: A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and marketing strategies. Download her free Marketing for Introverts manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=947264
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
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Message delivered directly to members of the group:
publish-the...@googlegroups.com
*****************************************************************
Please consider this free-reprint article written by:
Marcia Yudkin
*****************************
IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms
- You have permission to publish this article electronically in free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as the bylines are included.
- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.
- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence, porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.
- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in an opt-in email list only.
- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that contains the article to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=947264
- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of the URL where the article is posted to http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=947264
- We request that you ask permission from the author if you want to publish this article in print.
The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as part of its Article Distribution feature ( http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT own this article, please respect the author's copyright and this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.
*****************************
Article Title: What is Introvert-Friendly Learning? Reflections For Coaches, Conference Organizers and Seminar Leaders
Author: Marcia Yudkin
Word Count: 806
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=947264&ca=Marketing
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=947264
Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=947264
*********************** ARTICLE START ***********************
Recently on the ABC TV show �Shark Tank,� on which entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of multi-million-dollar investors, there was a scene of gratuitous cruelty that lived up to the �shark� metaphor in the show�s title.
(If you�re British or Australian, you may be familiar with the show �Dragon�s Den� on which the American show was modeled.)
A woman whose pitch did not fly with the investors and who was visibly upset about having failed offered a strained smile and said �Thank you� before turning to take her leave.
�Don�t say �Thank you,�� admonished one of the investors, a man whose motto is that nothing counts except money. He argued that she certainly didn�t feel grateful and shouldn�t say it. Two of the other panelists stuck up for the woman as being appropriately polite, but the man insisted that thanking the ones who had all turned her down was wrong.
The contestant couldn�t manage any words in reply. It seemed to me that she found his attitude revolting, but she was much too well brought up to disagree with him or insult him back. And in the man�s expression I saw self-righteousness, superiority and an egotistical pleasure in seeing her squirm. I know he felt he was teaching her a lesson, but it was vicious and power-hungry of him to use that tone in that moment.
Introverts are especially sensitive about being put down in public, and particularly so when the criticism has nothing to do with the official purpose of the occasion. Losing is not fun for anyone, but to have to deal with mockery of one�s appearance or background or manners on top of that is unbearable to an introvert, because we need time to process an attack that comes out of left field. Only much later can we think of an eloquent retort that would have exposed the attacker as being in the wrong.
This incident got me thinking about learning environments that are not safe or productive for introverts. More than 30 years ago, I experienced humiliation like the Shark Tank contestant�s at a prestigious writer�s conference. In front of 100 other writers, an award-winning nonfiction writer asked me to come up front and read the first page of my novel-in-progress. After I did so, he belittled my writing skill, disparaged the intent of my story and told all the others in the room that he saw no redeeming qualities in what I had done.
Years later, when I was able to look back at this incident apart from the torrent of tears it brought on, I concluded that no valid educational points were made to me and no learning about writing took place in me or anybody else that day. As with the Shark Tank exchange, the so-called expert and some listeners in the room expressed superiority, but not in terms that showed me how to improve.
There�s an echo of this atmosphere in the �hot seats� at some marketing conferences, where an aspiring entrepreneur describes what he or she wants to achieve and what he or she has done to try to get there. The reigning experts then comment. When the experts play to the peanut gallery, show off their knowledge or shake their heads disparagingly without explaining the principles underlying their scorn, they are not helping the one in the hot seat to learn.
What kind of seminar or conference is conducive to learning for introverts, then?
* It�s small � 15 people or fewer. If it�s larger, criticism is delivered one-on-one rather than in front of everyone.
* It�s confidential. Interchanges where participants talk about themselves, share their work or make themselves vulnerable are not preserved for posterity.
* Steps have been taken to make the setting less intimidating for participants. For example, the expert sits or walks around at the same level as participants, rather than on stage or in a director�s chair.
* Someone who doesn�t feel comfortable sharing or participating can take a pass.
* Criticism is couched not in absolute, take-it-or-leave-it pronouncements but in terms of options, experiences and �If you want to do X, then Y is a good way to get there.�
* The discussion stays on topic.
* Instead of simply shoving ideas at participants, the learning structure provides an opportunity for introverts to absorb and integrate the information so it relates to their aims.
Use these guidelines to design a learning environment that�s comfortable for introverts, and chances are, extroverts will appreciate it also. Your reward: long-term allegiance from those who thrive with your instruction and guidance!
About The Author: A bookworm as a child, Marcia Yudkin grew up to discover she had a surprising talent for creative marketing. She mentors introverts so they discover their uniquely powerful branding and marketing strategies. Download her free Marketing for Introverts manifesto: http://www.yudkin.com/introverts.htm
Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=947264
*********************** ARTICLE END ***********************
- To distribute your articles go to http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php
- For more free-reprint articles go to http://www.isnare.com
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