I don't know about you, but since 2020 I have not stopped taking online courses, listening to podcasts and/or watching webinars. I feel that I have lived in a perpetual state of information gluttony facilitated by the pandemic, but that was forcibly stopped for several months because of my burnout (and also propitiated by it, to be honest.) Today, I am back to resume my fascination for learning (with more caution, because my brain is still sensitive), and that has led me to select much more to whom I give my attention, time and money. Because this is energy, let's not forget. And while I'm still looking for my sweet-spot between consuming and creating (I talked about this in my article here), I ask myself the following question: those entities or people who are currently generating content, do they really teach, or just communicate?
Why my question? Because I listen to a lot of content, but I don't always learn. That is, sometimes I still have doubts, or I just simply don't understand. However, several of my sources of information state that they like to teach, but can you really teach if you don't get feedback from the listener?
There is soooo much online content available, so much; however, how many creators care to capture how their material is being received? Ok, social media allow you to leave comments and you can always send emails, but believe me: there is a reason why the most useful feedback is obtained when it is collected through surveys designed with a clear objective in mind. Spontaneous comments are useful, of course, but they are subjective and, therefore, not always representative.
For me, what happens online or in social media today is that you communicate primarily. Information is delivered. But it is not always taught. That I manage to learn from it speaks more about my learning style than anything else. There are many people who learn by listening, while others need to imagine things, write them down, practice or read them to really digest the information. And social media (or online courses, podcasts, YouTube, etc.) offer a bit of everything. But the one that communicates more doesn't mean it teaches more. That's just volume, not quality. When you teach, you help to move forward. You build on it. However, most of us don't do that. Most of us just consume, without really digesting the information delivered well. Therefore, it's more about communicating, than really teaching.
Even here, I communicate, but if I teach it will be because something I wrote clicked for you, brought you something new or opened your mind a little bit to see this topic from another perspective. Do I explain myself? [Asking this question - using "do I explain myself" instead of "do you understand me" - was emphasized to me by a professor in college because it really changes the dynamics of the teaching process. When I ask if I explain myself, it is because I am trying to get something across, it is my responsibility to use the right words and concepts for my audience so that the message is understood. However, when someone says, "do you understand me", they put the responsibility outside, the message is indistinct from the listener, therefore, it is not necessarily delivered to teach. Hence, it's not the same thing. 😉 ]
Anyway, that's my reflection for the moment. How has the learning experience been lately for you? Do you feel like you learn, or do you rather consume information? I read you.
Photo: Image from Freepik.