Summarising is tough. Extracting the main points and leaving everything else, all without the changing the message? That's hard work.
The alternative? Walls of impenetrable text, endless ramblings, confusing information, all seemingly intent on making you space out.
What's even tougher, though, is simplifying.
Not only do you have to emphasise the main points, you have to make them easier to grasp. Often, you have to use a different vocabulary and sentence structure to do this.
Which means that, not only do you need to be good at summary, you have to own a certain finesse and elegance in the language, understand the audience, and be ruthless in your quest for clarity.
These aren't skills you can pick up in a couple of days, hence the rarity of good editors and communicators.
So, the next time you see or hear a well-crafted, polished, easy-to-grasp message, thank these precious individuals.
Even if you only do so in your heart.
Why I Won't Write a Book About Other People's Expertise, Experiences, and/or Stories
Writing a book that is a collection of other people's expertise / experiences / stories doesn't make you an expert.
Oh, it will certainly allow you to be perceived as an expert.
And it makes you a good collator of information, and, if you've been paying attention, a good student of your interviewees.
But you're not really an expert.
Not yet, anyway.
This isn't to say that you shouldn't write a book.
I'm just saying that it may make more sense to write a book about something you are personally good at, even if it's not necessarily a "marketable" or "popular" book.
If I want to learn from a known expert about their expertise, why would I learn it second hand from someone else?
Unless that person has something valuable to add.
Why I Grant Autonomy to My Students, Part Three
[Granting Autonomy, Part Three]
I’m typically a hands-off kind of person. Maybe that’s why I find such appeal in autonomy and freedom of expression.
However, I’ve learned that not everyone is comfortable with so much space. Some of my students need structure and others need assurance and validation.
This makes it my job to be around for them when they feel uncertain or lost.
I’ve had students constantly asking if what they are doing is correct.
After a few times of me telling them, “there is no wrong answer to this”, and there really isn’t because their activities (at least the ones I design) are open-ended and exploratory, they start to get it and start tentatively trying things out on their own.
It may be tempting to skip the reassurances and do the experiment steps for them, but this doesn’t help anyone to learn, least of all me.
Take that time and spend that energy to be present for your students. It’ll pay off in spades, even if you don’t get to see it immediately.
Why I Grant Autonomy to My Students, Part Two
[Granting Autonomy, Part Two)
In my classroom, just because I grant autonomy, it doesn’t mean that it’s a free-for-all.
Guidelines still have to be followed.
For example, when I allow my learners to name their groups or their projects, the only guideline I lay down is: “As long as you can repeat it to your mother and not get into trouble, you can use it”.
For presentations, I allow them to do it in any style they want, as long as it won’t result in injury or distress.
The point I try to get across to them is that they have the freedom to express themselves, but that freedom cannot and should not result in harm to others or themselves.