Building Blocks Class + Communication Rant!

I just started the Building Blocks class offered on www.seeitsewit.com. I am very impressed with the site and the format of the classes. The information is straight forward and easy to comprehend. I love it.

It may seem silly for someone who is an Engineer to aplaud the simplicity and clarity of someone's communication (people tell me that oh, you're smart, you should easily understand everything. Not true people! Some things take me some time) , but let me tell you! Just because people teach, does not mean they know how to educate someone. Nothing matters unless you have been able to reach your student. When the student is able to quickly and easily comprehend what is being taught, especially via the web, then boy do we have ourselves a fantastic instructor and communicator.

One of my biggest rants and nits is how people communicate when providing instructions. I am very picky when it comes to ensuring the clarity of what is being communicated. Can you look at something and understand in a matter of seconds. Maybe that stems from my short span of attention. More likely, it stems from attempting to provide massive amounts of detail by a mere sentence to an executive who truely doesn't care about what I ate for breakfast or for that matter, why supplier A isn't the right choice. This exec only wants to know why they should make the decision. Why should we pick A over B. Why should this exec even care about supplier A?

Ah, now here we get to the meat of the matter. Very few people seem to understand the point that they don't really matter in the equation of communicating to another person. The person who matters is the person to which you are attempting to communicate. If they grasp the point you are making, then you are successful. If you as the communicator can bear that in mind, then you will find yourself much more successful.

My most successful communication has been when I:
a) considered the end user and audience
b) provided such clarity and simplicity such that if my audience wasn't an expert, nor were they familiar with the topic at hand, then they could still comprehend my meaning.

So, I must say that though my writing skills are far from perfect, great consideration should be taken when writing instructions, teaching a class, or attempting to communicate an idea be it verbal or written. I believe that Heather and her team at See It! Sew It! have taken the time and consideration. Their work is stellar, simple and straight forward. It is pleasing to find such a refreshing change in the world of education. Thanks Heather!