• About
    • History & Mission
    • Meet our Board
    • Get Involved
  • Membership
    • Why Join?
    • Power Membership
    • Membership Application
    • Professional Development Fund
  • Programs
    • Program Overview
    • Calendar of Events
    • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Community
    • Our Partners
  • Blog
  • |
  • MY MEMBERSHIP
    • My Account / Sign In
    • My Benefits
    • Sign Out
  • Newsletter Sign-up
Vermont ATD
  • About
    • History & Mission
    • Meet our Board
    • Get Involved
  • Membership
    • Why Join?
    • Power Membership
    • Membership Application
    • Professional Development Fund
  • Programs
    • Program Overview
    • Calendar of Events
    • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Community
    • Our Partners
  • Blog
  • |
  • MY MEMBERSHIP
    • My Account / Sign In
    • My Benefits
    • Sign Out
  • Newsletter Sign-up

don't drop the mic! by kate larose

11/18/2015

0 Comments

 
Fourteen years ago, I graduated college and moved to a small, rural village in Burkina Faso, West Africa as a community health Peace Corps Volunteer.  Thus began my quite accidental career in the learning and development profession.  Little did I know at the time, but I would also be forging relationships that would endure time and space across oceans. ​
My daily routine for those two years consisted of a mix of the following: reading books, swatting mosquitos, attempting to carry water on my head and do laundry by hand, exploring the area with my dog Daisy, stumbling my way through facilitating workshops in foreign languages and cultures, and learning how to appreciate the joys of village living from a cool seven year old kid named Jonas.
Flash forward to 2015 and my summer and autumn found me—like so many other Vermont parents—doing the college visit circuit.  An exciting rite of passage to begin with, I especially cherished this experience as I was accompanying Jonas—now an even cooler young man of 20!
Now maybe it was because I was especially attuned to the cultural differences, or that I was translating portions of the presentations into French.  But more than likely it was due to my INTP tendencies to analyze and critique, and the professional hazard that causes many of us to simultaneously redesign any presentation we attend.  In any case, one thing became very obvious to me after four college visits and their accompanying “education sessions”.  And that is this: one simple question can make all the difference.  Allow me to explain.
Imagine you’re a high school student, wondering what your life holds for you next year.  You’re in the midst of sorting through some big decisions.  (You know the kind—the Where will I live?  What should I become?, How will I do my laundry? variety…)  Or maybe you’re a parent anxiously attempting to comprehend the impacts of such a large investment.  Schools know this about their target audience and roll out the red carpet in their attempts to make people feel welcomed, comfortable, and part of a community.  This includes small tour groups, one-on-one interactions with professors, dining with admissions and financial aid directors, and dorm room overnight visits. 
It’s a laudable effort and yet, without fail, the end of these sometimes multi-day productions go something like this:
            Any questions?
            [2 second pause filled with awkward collective silence.]
            Great!  We hope to see you around campus next fall!
The closed-question mic drop moment.  Unintentional consequences include the bursting of the welcoming bubble that everyone was just getting so cozy in.  What difference might it make for students and parents if an open-ended question were employed instead?  One that authentically invited in questions and dialogue?  
And taking this a step further, how might this one small tweak make in a difference in our work as learning and development professionals?  Instead of “Any questions?” we might ask:
  • What difference do you see this making in your work and life?
  • What questions do you need answered before you can make a decision?
  • What was most useful here for me today? 
Jonas and I attended four college visits, three of which dropped the mic.  He looks forward to attending the fourth school next fall. ​

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2020
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    Appreciative Inquiry
    Coaching
    Emotional Intelligence
    Mentoring
    Mindfulness
    Relationships
    Time Management
    Training

Contact
PO Box 5142
Essex, VT 05453​
​Email: info@vermontatd.org
Founded in 1990, the Vermont Chapter of the Association for Talent Development (formerly the American Society for Training & Development) has provided over twenty years of service to Vermont's dedicated organizational training and development professionals. Thanks to the on-going support of our volunteers, presenters and Chapter Board, our local ATD Chapter remains vital and growing.

Stay connected with us:

Join our Newsletter!

Board Intranet
Quick Links
  • About
    • History & Mission
    • Meet our Board
    • Get Involved
  • Membership
    • Why Join?
    • Power Membership
    • Membership Application
    • Professional Development Fund
  • Programs
    • Program Overview
    • Calendar of Events
    • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Community
    • Our Partners
  • Blog
  • |
  • MY MEMBERSHIP
    • My Account / Sign In
    • My Benefits
    • Sign Out
  • Newsletter Sign-up