So...what did you learn today?

In our recent Leaders’ Summit, during the sharing portion, Sir Dick mentioned that for him, it is when he is having fun that he is learning more. And everyone agreed. Was it Alfred Mercier who said that “What we learn with pleasure, we never forget”?

However, later on during the 2^nd day, when we were jotting down our major takeaways, I realized that it wasn't the same for me. What created an impact on me was not the fun I had, or the fun moments during the activity. It was from the serious topics where (and it was when I was serious that) I learned more, and got more.

Not that I am contradicting Sir Dick. It’s him. His opinion was valid. Maybe if the question was, "What did you enjoy most about or from the Summit?" It would have been different for me. I remember another colleague saying that sure, one of the speakers was hilarious, but how about the content? the substance? the lessons afterwards? Was it just as good? At the end of the day, I couldn't even remember what I was laughing about, and what I learned from that session. And perhaps, in a future talk, I would come across the same words, the same moments, and even the same antics. And as I look back now, evaluating my takeaways, I would rank the heavy stuff higher than the rest with lighter topics. Disclaimer: There are no wrong or right answers here. It's really up to you and your learning style.

I shared this with Alex this morning. I told him that I also remember a trainor-friend. I've watched this person a lot of times during training, and he is always serious. I forgot if I posed a question to him or I just asked myself and answered it myself, but I guess one has to be serious during training, regardless of the course or topic. Because that’s your job. You train people, you teach people, you transfer skills. You’re not out there to entertain the audience. If they are entertained or they like your style, then that’s a bonus. But they’re out there to learn. The risk is when you, as a trainor, crack a joke (like something not true about the topic, binaligtad mo or niloko mo nang konti, either gusto mong magpatawa or gusto mong hulihin if they are indeed listening) and everyone believes you. It’s hard to undo that. Yung tipong A-ha moment for them, ah ganun ba yun, and they were ready to believe you, then hindi naman pala totoo, joke lang po, mahirap yun, right? The downside is, this friend of mine sometimes forgets to drop his training hat outside the training room that even with a crazy bunch, serious siya. He would take everything seriously. When someone tells a joke, he goes, “Ha?” or “Ah ganun?”  Hindeee, we say, joke langggggg.

On another note, I asked Alex, what then does it really take to be a good or great speaker? When you are entertaining or funny, does it automatically follow that you’re a good speaker? Sometimes, Alex said, people would say, “Ang galing niya”, “Ok siya”, but what were they referring to? His delivery? His topic? Same as a literary piece, or a work of art – was it the style? Or the content? Good if you are able to possess both elements, but let’s say, the topic was interesting, it’s the speaker’s forte. But if in the eyes of the audience, the speaker failed in the delivery, then does it mean he is not a good speaker? Would you say, sayang ganda pa naman ng topic, kaya lang hindi sya magaling. But in saying “ganda ng topic,” weren’t you able to learn something from it just the same? Or you don’t remember, because you weren’t hooked to the speaker? Sometimes, you can confuse the two. There are people who really talk well. There are people who look good, some are wonderfully packaged or styled, that just by looking at them, you would want to listen to them. And just because they looked good, pwede na rin. Ok lang. But what if, sa totoo lang, wala namang kalatoy-latoy ang talk. Walang laman. Nakuha lang sa “presentation.” On the other hand, the speaker is the academe type, yung tipong professor mo sa Grad School, no nonsense. The topic may be technical, or it can be a light one. But just because ganun sya, ayaw mo na makinig? Boring na?  And then there are people who bloom on the stage. At first glance, parang hindi mo sya type. But when he starts to speak, oh shucks, kuhang-kuha ka. Kahit technical pa yan. He nailed it.

Just like “So how was the movie?” You go, “Ok lang.” Ok lang na ano? Cute yung story. Or cute yung actors. Never mind if the story is trash, you liked the actors anyway. Then there are movies that you don’t mind who’s in it because you liked the story or you were interested in the storyline.

Bottomline – you just got to pick up something. In one way or another. In any event, or activity, or anything in this world for that matter, the objective is to learn and to apply those lessons in real life. My husband hates the word “learnings”, mali daw yun. Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can. Learning is an experience. Everything else is just information. And that, folks, is from no less than Albert Einstein.

~TheGoodGirl