turn the classroom upside down
getty
One of my early articles was “Following the “Flipped Classroom” Model in Business Presentations.” The key takeaway is that it's time to transform your business meeting model.
I noted that the norms for how information is taught and presented in the classroom have undergone a 180-degree shift, and this shift has had and continues to have profound implications for business leaders. When Gen Z entered the workforce, their expectations for business presentations were very different from those of previous generations. If you didn't and didn't change with them, no one would pay attention to you anymore.
flipped classroom
Robert Heitmeyer, general manager of education and learning technology company PolyVision, explained to me that the old standard for education was:wise man on stage” Afterwards, students will work on the idea as homework.
The old standard for business presentations was “death by powerpoint”, the presenter stands in front of a dark room and shares information (or reads slide by slide). His typical one-hour meeting is scheduled for a 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of questions. Unfortunately, these meetings usually start 5 minutes late, leaving the presenter to squeeze out all the questions beyond her 10 minutes.
Easily accessible videos have changed the way people teach and learn. In what's called a “flipped classroom” model, students watch lectures at home before class and then reflect together in the classroom. This model has and will continue to change people's expectations of business presentations. Switch your bias towards pre-meeting information sharing so meetings can focus on meaningful conversations.
inverted business meeting
People do one of four things in meetings: learn, contribute, decide, or waste time. The first award is a decision, followed by a learning-based contribution. The flipped classroom model allows information sharing to occur outside of the meeting, allowing time for the group to understand, discuss, and apply that information to the meeting.
Of course learning is important. It's just that people learn differently. As Heitmeyer said,
“When the attention of auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile learners must be held simultaneously, no single presentation or teaching method is effective.Presenters must learn to embrace, rather than ignore, these different methods”
By allowing participants to absorb information on their own before the meeting, you free up meeting time for conversation, contribution, and decision-making.
Businesses continually evolve. We are all new leaders all the time, continuing to adapt and adapt to an evolving world. This change in the way we learn is important. Gen Z grew up with technology alongside sippy cups. This generation already learns differently in school and can't afford to sit through boring PowerPoint presentations. If you don't change the way you communicate with them, you have no chance of connecting and engaging with them.
current best thinking
This is where it gets scary. That article was written over 10 years ago. I could have written it yesterday. Few people have ever flipped a classroom. We still give large presentations that cover too many topics and use too many slides.
And the world has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Improved internet access and speed. During the pandemic, we've all learned to work remotely and via video. Most people can't sit through a long and boring presentation. Don't worry! The prescription is as follows.
1. Look ahead. Give people something to read before the meeting. Include a summary that explains the main points, what to expect from the meeting, and what you are being asked to do (decisions, contributions, learning). Bottom line. For those who want to go deeper, more detailed information is included in the appendix.
2. meeting. Never present it. Instead, lead the conversation. Highlight key points to start a conversation. Then, invite others to ask questions, learn, discuss, contribute, and reinforce current best thinking for making decisions.
3. follow up. Please provide other useful information to people. Do what you say you're going to do. Help others do what they need to do.
click here List of my Forbes articles (this is #876)
follow me twitter. check out my website.
