Imagine this scenario for a moment. You’ve just cooked a big pot of spaghetti noodles.
Then you do something really crazy with it…
You pick up the pot and toss all the spaghetti against the wall — splat!
How much do you think will stick?
Probably not much. After all, there are an awful lot of noodles in that pot…
On the other hand, what if you pull one noodle out of the pot at a time, throw it against the wall, and wait to see if it sticks before throwing the next one against the wall?
By the time you get even half way down toward the bottom of the pot, chances are most of the spaghetti will have stuck.
It’s the same with the content you provide in your workshops, talks, and retreat sessions…
Throwing a lot of information at your participants without waiting to see if any of it sticks doesn’t do them any favors.
People are overwhelmed with information. They don’t need more.
They won’t remember it all or even know what to do with it.
What they do need are the right pieces to solve the problems that brought them to you in the first place…
As with the spaghetti, if you throw fewer ideas or less information at your learners and then check for “stickiness”, they will feel less overwhelmed and actually learn more.
You can focus on just the need-to-know learning — asking questions and providing exercises that will help your workshop attendees understand it, remember it, and use it.
So don’t equate quantity of information (or spaghetti) with value.
You’ll provide a much more valuable learning experience if your participants leave impressed with what they remember and can do when they walk out the door.
Need help in figuring out the right information for your talk or workshop?
When you design a solid foundation, you have the road map you need for including the right information and activities in your talk, workshop, or retreat session.
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