Charles Handy Learning by writing 160515
Summary
TLDRThe speaker emphasizes the importance of writing one's life story for personal growth and sharing wisdom with future generations. They highlight the limited retention of information from lectures, advocating for an interactive learning approach where students teach each other, as practiced in their teaching career at the London Business School. The speaker also underscores the value of listening and asking questions, as illustrated by their experience with a top oil company executive and a theatrical director, to foster learning and leadership. The talk concludes with the speaker's personal quest to understand Peter Drucker's impact on them through dialogue.
Takeaways
- ๐ Writing your life story is beneficial for self-reflection and learning, as it can be a gift to future generations.
- ๐ง The human brain retains a limited amount of information from lectures, with significant forgetting occurring shortly after the event.
- ๐ฃ๏ธ Active participation in teaching and discussion enhances learning more than passive listening.
- ๐ซ The speaker's teaching method at the London Business School involved students in active research and teaching their peers, rather than traditional lecturing.
- ๐ Students were tasked with investigating real-world topics and reporting their findings, which contributed to a deeper learning experience.
- ๐ค Asking questions is a powerful tool for learning and understanding, as it encourages critical thinking and exploration.
- ๐ข In leadership roles, listening and asking questions are more valuable than simply dictating or pontificating.
- ๐ Active listening is crucial in all aspects of life, including business, education, and personal relationships.
- ๐ญ The essence of acting, according to a distinguished director, is paying attention to all elements of the performance.
- ๐จโ๐ง Encouraging children to express their ideas and listen to them can foster their learning and independence.
- ๐ฃ๏ธ Speaking publicly, such as in this lecture, is a way for the speaker to learn about the impact of their work and ideas on others.
Q & A
Why is writing the story of one's life recommended?
-Writing the story of one's life is recommended because it allows individuals to learn an enormous amount from the process, both by writing and talking about their experiences.
What percentage of the content will the audience remember after leaving the room?
-According to the script, the audience will only remember 18 percent of what has been said after leaving the room at twelve thirty.
How much of the content will the audience recall by the time they go back to bed that night?
-By the time they go back to bed that night, the audience will likely only recall 5 percent of the content, possibly just one or two of the new pictures shown.
What teaching method did the speaker adopt in their last two years at the London Business School?
-In the speaker's last two years at the London Business School, they gave no lectures and spoke minimally in class, instead assigning students to conduct active research and teach the rest of the class what they learned.
What was the assignment given to the students by the speaker at the London Business School?
-The students were assigned to investigate different organizations and explore topics such as motivation and creativity, and then teach the rest of the class what they discovered.
What was the final requirement for the students after their class presentations?
-After their class presentations, each student had to write an individual 3000-word essay on what they learned and how it would change their life.
What did the speaker learn about leadership from a chairman of a large oil company?
-The speaker learned that a key part of leadership is asking questions and listening to the answers, as it encourages others to think and act on the questions posed.
What advice does the speaker give to parents regarding their children's future?
-The speaker advises parents to ask their children what they want to do and to listen to their ideas, rather than telling them what to do.
What is the secret of acting according to a distinguished theatrical director in London?
-The secret of acting, as told by a distinguished theatrical director in London, is paying attention to the other actors on stage and to the words they have learned.
What did the speaker do to understand the impact Peter Drucker had on them?
-The speaker persuaded the Drucker Institute to invite them to talk to the audience in order to learn about the impact Peter Drucker had on them through the process of talking.
Why did the speaker choose to stand up and talk to the audience despite the benefits of listening?
-The speaker chose to stand up and talk to the audience to learn about the impact of Peter Drucker, as they believed that persuading others to listen to them was a way to gain insights through the act of speaking.
Outlines
๐ The Power of Writing Your Life Story
The speaker encourages the audience to write their life story, emphasizing the personal growth that comes from the process. They mention that by writing and discussing one's experiences, one can learn a significant amount, as supported by statistics showing the percentage of information retained over time. The speaker shares their teaching experience at the London Business School, where they facilitated learning by having students conduct research and teach their findings to the class, which was more effective than traditional lecturing. This approach led to deep learning experiences, even if it was unconventional and initially met with skepticism.
๐ The Art of Listening and Paying Attention
This paragraph focuses on the importance of listening and paying attention, both to oneself and to others, as a key to learning and leadership. The speaker shares anecdotes from a theatrical director in London and a conversation with a chairman of a major oil company, both highlighting the value of attentive questioning over dictating. The speaker also reflects on their own experience, using the platform to understand the impact of Peter Drucker's teachings on them, and concludes by thanking the audience for allowing them the opportunity to learn from the interaction.
Mindmap
Keywords
๐กCommend
๐กStatistics
๐กMemory Retention
๐กTeaching
๐กActive Research
๐กMotivation
๐กCreativity
๐กLeadership
๐กListening
๐กPaying Attention
๐กPontificate
Highlights
Writing the story of your life can provide enormous learning opportunities for both the writer and their audience.
People tend to forget most of what they hear, remembering only 18% immediately after and just 5% by the next day.
The speaker has internalized every word they say, learning more from the interaction than the audience.
Active learning through teaching others is more effective than passive listening.
At the London Business School, the speaker assigned students to conduct inquiries and teach their findings to the class.
Students were encouraged to explore real-world applications rather than just listening to lectures.
The speaker's unorthodox teaching method was not widely adopted by other faculty members.
Despite initial resistance, the speaker's approach led to significant learning outcomes for many students.
A former student who became chairman of a major oil company credits the speaker's teaching method for his success.
Asking questions is a powerful tool for learning and leadership, as demonstrated by the oil company chairman.
Active listening and paying attention to others is essential for effective leadership.
The speaker consulted a theatrical director who emphasized the importance of paying attention in acting.
Great leaders learn to listen and encourage others to share their thoughts and ideas.
The speaker's presentation style is a way to learn about the impact of Peter Drucker's teachings on himself.
The speaker values the opportunity to learn from the audience by sharing his experiences and insights.
The importance of engaging in dialogue and learning from each other rather than just lecturing.
Transcripts
did you commend to you that at some
stage in your life you write the story
of your life even if you only do it for
your children or your grandchildren
because you will learn an enormous
amount from it you learn by writing and
you learn by talking all the statistics
show that you leave this room at twelve
thirty this morning you will only
remember eighteen percent of what I have
said to you and by the time you get to
back bed tonight you will only recall
five percent probably one of the new
pictures are going to show you and one
or two of the story so you will forget
the point of the story and by the end of
the week you will just remember one idea
if if I'm lucky I on the other hand
remember every single word that I have
said because I have learned it by heart
before I came to meet you so I will
learn much more than you from this
morning interesting because if that
applies to me it applies to you and
their first also applies for instance to
my students in other words if they do
the talking and the teaching they will
learn more than myself who will listen
to them so by the time I had resolved
this in my teaching career at the London
Business School in my last two years I
gave no lectures I spoke not at all in
the class except at the very beginning
when I would assign to various groups
the students certain inquiries pieces of
active research out there in the world
saying to them for instance go in
investigate in different organizations
than I will list you five potential ones
what actually motivates people why is it
different in a hospital or in the bank
or what organizational structure
produces most creativity go look and
come back towards the end of the
semester and to teach the rest of the
class what you have learnt oh and right
at the end each of you write me an
individual 3000 word essay saying what
you have learnt and how it is going to
change your life and all that I did was
sit in the back of the class and asked
to rude questions from time to time the
rest of the faculty did not appreciate
what i was doing and indeed the japanese
students asked for the money back but i
have to tell you most people learnt a
lot i mean the rest of the faculty said
what what on earth is my job if I'm not
here to pontificate and tell them what
I'm doing and and the students were not
in the class they were outside in the
real world unheard of we want them there
sitting listening at my feet so it was
never imitated but it's through work I
said to an extent of mine who ended up
as chairman or one of the biggest oil
companies in the world and I said to him
John them what you do all day sitting up
there at the top of this enormous tower
and he said much as it doesn't sound
very exciting but actually what I do is
I sit in a chair up there or around the
world where we operate sometimes one or
two of my colleagues sometimes by myself
and I listen to endless people
presenting me with proposals ideas
presentations analyses and so on and all
I do is to ask questions and he said
it doesn't sound exciting but I think
it's the right thing to do my job is to
ask the questions there's is to answer
them because that's the only way they're
actually going to do anything about my
questions if they compose the answers
not mean listening listening not only to
yourself but to others is absolutely
essential don't tell your children what
to do ask them what they want to do and
get them to lecture you then they will
learn but you've got to pay attention
pay attention I asked a distinguished
theatrical directory in London what the
secret of acting was and he thought for
a moment and he said paying attention
paying attention to the other actors on
stage paying attention to the words that
were written that he had learnt or she
had been paying attention and I think
that all great leaders apart from
respect which is part of it learn to
listen to pay attention and get other
people to do the talking to them and
it's so tempting isn't it to do what I'm
doing now to stand up on a platform in
front of all the troops and pontificate
so why am I doing this because I wanted
to learn what impact peter drucker had
had on me and the only way to do that
was to persuade persuade the drukker
institute to invite me to come and talk
to you so that I could learn so thank
you very much for you doing the
listening so that I can actually learn
by talking to you
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