When it comes to learning - is it best to Tell, Teach or Train others?

A few weeks ago I posted a poll on LinkedIn asking, "When learning about a topic, which option offers you the best opportunity to retain the information and apply it going forward?"  

The options: 

~ Having someone Tell you

~ Having someone Teach you

~ Having someone Train you

The results: 

~ (0) Having someone Tell you

~ (2) Having someone Teach you

~ (8) Having someone Train you

While the results were not of great surprise, it did get my wheels turning.  Mostly wondering how many people believe they train others vs. Teach or Tell when it comes to learning about a topic. 

Self awareness is something that many don't have when it comes to how they engage others and the lack of that 1 thing can turn a great collaborative and engaging environment into a combative/toxic one that leads to lack of progress and increased animosity.

Let's take a look at the definitions for each of the 3 words along with other words that are similar as determined by a dictionary(well in this case google search :) 

~Tell: communicate information, facts, or news to someone in spoken or written words. 

When you Tell - You Inform or Notify

~Teach: show or explain to (someone) how to do something. 

When you Teach - You Educate, Coach, Instruct (even Train)

~Train: teach a particular skill or type of behavior through practice and instruction over a period of time.

When you Train - You Instruct, Teach, Coach and Educate

 

In my 20+ years engaging with others in a position of power, I have seen an overwhelming number of senior leaders in organizations and  administrators in schools Tell vs. Teach or Train, and the outcomes are often underwhelming. The audience walks away upset, confused, frustrated, perhaps it was wasted time, not listened to and/or overall defeated. 

I wasn't too surprised by the results since most professionals I have trained, educators I have partnered with and parents I have supported, learn through a blended approach. The same goes for myself and my kids. 

Lack of understanding/importance of a blended approach may stem from: 

~absence of emotional intelligence

~lack of self awareness and impact on others

~choosing not to believe the feedback given is accurate

~The person was never trained on the "how to" nor the "WIFM'"

Whatever the reason, hands down, Train won the most votes and - as shown above - when you train you simultaneously thread Tell and Teach into the conversation.  Those who go through "train the trainer" programs learn how to blend this combination to elicit the most from each of the audience members.   I suspect those with high emotional intelligence and self awareness do it inadvertently, because it just feels right.  

While there is a time and place to Tell others about a specific topic, in almost all situations, I find that when you take the opportunity to train - engaging, collaborating, summarizing and checking for understanding, retention and application of information is more consistently sustained.  

After all, isn't learning more fun when you get to engage and collaborate with others? 

#couragetofail #findingyourvoice #learningdifferences #inspireresilience #journey2bloom #parenting  #mentorcoaching #wordsmatter #diversity #neurodiverse #leadership #tellteachtrain #transformation