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Locate and use content from multiple sources
This is a complimentary extract from the Process Chapter of the Memletics Accelerated Learning Manual. Attentiveness is one part of sixteen parts of Memletic State - the optimum state for learning.
The locate step involves gathering the content you need for learning. Sometimes this may be easy. The course may prescribe texts and materials for you. At other times, you may be learning something that few others have, so you have to forge your own way. You may be somewhere in the middle, with some texts prescribed for you and some further research to do.
Let's look at some typical content sources, as well as some general tips for locating content.
Content sources
There are many sources of content for learning. You may find some materials already well organized like well-written books or course manuals. You may also find unstructured content. For example, content may be inside someone else's head. It's your job to locate this content and prepare it for the next stage of the learning process.
Some common sources for content include:
- Books, texts and manuals. Books are still the most common source for content. Look beyond the standard references though. What other references may be useful? Where can you get them? Which should you buy yourself, versus which should you borrow? I recommend you buy at least the core set of texts or references. You should then have no hesitation to write notes or highlight text in them.
- Instructors or lecturers. Often, you gain content from a knowledgeable person. You may have one-to-one access to an instructor. For other courses, you may need to spend time in lectures. Either way, make sure your note taking skills are good and you have a system for organizing and referencing them later (some tips are on page 76).
- The Internet. Over the past decade, the Internet has made more and more information available to us. Often, you can find further information related to your training topics. Be mindful of the source though. Not everything you find is legitimate.
- Computer-Based Training. Computer-based training courses, or CBTs, have become more popular recently. However, many are ineffective. Sitting in front of the computer doing a CBT is not usually enough to learn the content well. You still need to go through the process of exploring, arranging, reinforcing and reviewing. After doing many CBTs myself, I recommend using them mainly as a source of content. Treat them like a lecture or book, and write your own notes. After completing the CBT, continue with the Memletic Process to explore, reinforce and memorize the content. It's also easier to refer to your notes later, rather than trying to restart the course to find what you are looking for.
- Other students. Often you can gain good content by talking to other students. They may have helpful references you haven't come across. They also have tips and techniques they've learned from different sources. Share some of your own experiences as well.
- Others already in the field. Those who've already learned what you are learning often have useful information. Don't just limit yourself to those immediately around you either. Biographies of famous people from your field may also hold many lessons. Some of these stay in your mind longer because of the emotional content.
- Video. The prevalence and availability of domestic video cameras and PC editing software make it easy to capture your own learning content on video. It's a great way to help you visualize and review the skills you are learning.
- Other references. Be sure to have a good dictionary so you can quickly check unfamiliar terms. An encyclopedia can also provide related or extra information on a topic not covered well in your training material.
What to look for while searching for content
Later in this chapter, I introduce you to two ways to classify content by the way you use it. Once you understand these two ways, you start to realize that many books and courses out there contain little practical content. This is especially true of many self-help and business books. They contain supporting facts, ideas and principles, rather than practical content. Of the ones that do, even fewer contain specific steps or ideas on how to learn that content.
I want to give you a feel for what information you may find while gathering content for training purposes. I'm going to give you some examples of the content you may find in a book on presentation skills, specifically on making eye contact during a presentation. In some of these books, you may find this information:
Example A: The why it's important book
Good eye contact with the audience is important. It helps the presenter connect with the audience. It also helps the presenter gauge the audience's reaction to the material. The presenter appears more confident and "in control."
That's interesting information. What does good eye contact mean though? It doesn't tell you! I've read some books that go on for pages about why some particular skill is important, citing many examples and research. A better presentation book gives you specific details about what good eye contact means:
Example B: The here's how to do it book
To develop good eye contact, you first have to stop reading your presentations word for word. It's difficult to keep good eye contact while you are reading directly from notes. See [some other part of the book] to learn how to do this.
Once you have your notes under control, you then need to get your eyes up and looking at the audience. It's not just a matter of looking at the back of the room. You need to search out individuals and make eye contact with them.
Hold their attention for two to three seconds, and then move to someone else or back to your notes for the next point. Spread your attention to various parts of the audience. Be sure not to focus in one part of the room, or on one individual, for too long either. This alienates others or makes the individual feel uncomfortable.
If you are presenting to a much larger audience, sometimes it's difficult to make eye contact with a single individual. The audience may seem more of a blur, especially those in the back and in low light conditions. Don't avoid these areas, as there are still people there. Hold your focus in a particular area for a few seconds, before moving to another.
Can you see the difference between these two examples? Example A doesn't tell you much about what the skill is, whereas example B does. I'd have even more respect for a presentation book that then went further with information like this:
Example C: The here's how to learn it book.
Here are some suggestions on how you can learn to make eye contact in your own presentations:
Practice reading a point from your notes and then physically looking up. Put together some meaningless points, and then stand up in your kitchen or other room and practice. Put a mark at the end of each line, for example an up arrow like, to remind you to look up. When you do look up, look at different parts of the room. If you are in the kitchen, visualize the microwave, stove, sink and refrigerator as members of your audience. Make your point directly to one of these audience members, and then move on to the next point.
Better yet, if you have access to computer image projection equipment, get a picture of an audience from the speaker's perspective and project it on the wall. Stand facing the screen and practice making eye contact with your captive audience.
Before your next presentation, ask a friend or colleague who will be in the audience to help you out. Have them stand behind the audience and give you gestures to remind you to look around. They may also give you signals to slow down your speaking, stop fidgeting, or to relax your posture. Also, ask them to give you some comments and suggestions after the presentation.
Consider whether the content you find is more like example A, B or C above. Are you getting the "why it's important," "here's how to do it," or "here's how to learn it"? This doesn't just apply to books either. Some training courses and presentations also focus on "why it is important," rather than covering practical and useful information you can use to build your skills. Memorizing ten points about why good eye contact is important doesn't necessarily help you improve your own eye contact.
Keep these three examples in mind while you locate content for learning. If the content you find is like example A, you need to find more information to understand what "making eye contact" involves. If it's example B, that's fine. You then use Memletics to learn the material. If it's example C, they are giving you a shortcut!
Next: Specific content collection tips
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