How do we reach people who receive information differently?
It’s a constant source of existential second-guessing, for me at least. Yesterday (when you read this), I ran a session on assessing investment risk for the investment teams and compliance folks at a large sovereign wealth fund. As I write this (on Tuesday), I have yet to meet the audience (potentially hundreds). I don’t know how they like to learn (or engage with information). The image below is a very rough approximation of how we learn. So, how should one best balance visual, audio, and kinesthetic (by doing) learners? 65% visual, 30% talking, and 5% practicing doesn’t help much. That would create needless artificiality.
Perhaps the solution is to think beyond the session alone. Now, when I speak publicly, I’ll have backup resources catering to those different audiences. This approach also helps arrest the Forgetting Curve (forgetting 90% of what we learn within 1 month without reminders).
It’s the same challenge when the output is written. We need to include signposts, including those for:
🤔 Skim-readers: bold, bullets, colours, headers, etc. 🤔 Data devourers: numbers, stats, all highlighted. 🤔 Visual types: graphics, imagery, page design. 🤔 Testers: checklists, toolkits, boxes, etc.
Gathering feedback is essential here. For instance, I’m learning that many investor organisations like ‘actions’ to fit onto one page, with colour (🚦) coding. Third-sector organisations, by contrast, value the appendixes and raw data (many are, by definition, researchers).
One of my major frustrations in previous roles was the lack of knowledge management. Trying to find something, anything, can sap precious minutes in already frantic days. Now, I have the luxury of designing the knowledge management framework. Every project, post, article, speaking session, etc., is analysed. Lessons, repeatable content, and summaries are tagged and logged. This discipline-driven-by-laziness takes a while to bear fruit, but it’s worth it.
Back to this session tomorrow. After reviewing the library of past content, we drafted three documents to augment the existing roster.
💡 One digs deep into the 10-15 questions that have unlocked hundreds of truths in risk assessment and due diligence (surveys, forms, and interviews). 💡 Another guide picks out common ways we give ourselves away; behavioural analysis and deception detection have been staggeringly useful during interviews with prospective investment management teams. 💡 The final resource summarises the solutions to the six most recurrent compliance challenges for investees (fraud, conflicts of interest, gifts and hospitality, etc.).
I’ve no idea how these labours of Canva-love will be received. However, experience suggests that when speaking to varied audiences, we need to be able to broadcast across different frequencies (quickly) simultaneously. We may still fail to resonate, but that, too, becomes usable data!
If those resources sound helpful, you know where to find me!
A sea of red for seasonal blues
I have a Kanban whiteboard in the office (similar to the image 👆). I use traffic light🚦magnetic rectangles that you can write on to describe each task. I add to this colour assault with four magnetic buttons (two red, two orange). Those circles are next to the four tasks I aim to complete daily.
Each Sunday, I plan for the week. I wipe the text from all those rectangles in the “done” column and scribble the new tasks before lining them solemnly in the “to do” or “to be tasked” columns.
Last Sunday, my son saw me do this, and I explained the process. You could see he thought I was nuts. He’s not wrong.
On Monday morning, that chest-crushing feeling of doom lingered as I scanned the 18 tasks for this week. It seems that the battle between discipline and defeatism is unending.
But, on Tuesday evening, ten tasks are done (ahead of target). My sea of red shifting to the right is helping banish the seasonal blues. At this rate, I should be able to sneak a cheeky date lunch with my wife on Friday.
If you’re dealing with motivational or seasonal demons, you’re not alone. Take small victories, measure them, record them, and repeat them.