We Need to Talk

Recent research reveals that human interaction is an essential knowledge source for expert performance. In fact, top performers identified conversations with colleagues and experts from outside their field as the best source for new information and innovation.

Few people understand the occupational problems and challenges we face better than our colleagues. From their experiences in situations similar to our own, colleagues represent a fountain of fresh perspectives, original ideas, and problem solving insights in practical settings we know and understand.  

Participant access to outside experts can be another training benefit. As human resource professionals understand well, training programs offering contemporary and advanced content through conversational interactions with successful people from external organizations and disciplines are a terrific method for infusing new knowledge into the organization.

Having training participants talking benefits not only the participants, but also you, the trainer. Only when participants talk can we know what they are thinking, how much they understand, and their proclivity to apply principles learned in training to workplace practices.  

Strategies that promote colleague conversations include: topical roundtable discussions, job shadowing, group planning strategies focused on a common problem, organized debates during training programs, and colleague-led seminars and demonstrations.  

Strategies that promote conversations with outside experts include: question and answer sessions, informal socials, email exchange, topical dialogues with consultants, and in-house discussions of how other organizations are dealing with similar challenges. 

People represent a tremendous source of knowledge. To maximize that resource in training programs, we need to talk. 

Dr. Paul G. Schempp is an expert on developing expertise and is author of Where Experts Find Answers. His website is www.PerformanceMattersInc.com. Copyright 2007 by Performance Matters, Inc. All rights reserved. 

This article was re-uploaded from our internal archive.

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