See what happened there? I have some, I think, useful, accurate, feedback for you, but en route to trying to catch your eye, I’ve actually turned you off to hearing it.

You’re correct that it’s more likely true than not that my (and others’) presentation template sucks. And this post includes some excellent, concrete feedback on how to rehab and improve it.

But…as someone whose presentation template *does* suck, I instead feel a little embarassed and turned off by the title, regardless of the quality and utility of the fixes you mention.

I think this actually speaks to two larger points about learning:

First, most adult learners do not want to be approached as receptacles for information, but rather as voluntary partners in the learning process. I think it’s important to recognize and incorporate that into your training style, regardless of the knowledge differential between instructor and learner.

Second, what role does a blog play in the learning process? I think that many organizations–private, public, and non-profit sector–have been quick to jump on blogs as a platform without a clear understanding of where they fit in the larger learning arc. Is a blog a mechanism for shortening the distance between customer/client/funder/etc. and the organization? Or are you using it as another form of e-learning? I ask that, beacuse I’ve seen too many blogs purposed as instructional tools that take a tone and strategy that I don’t think the individual trainer or organization would necessarily use in a formal training session.