The Term's End

I’m in week nine of a ten-week academic term. It’s this part of the term that really begins to drag. Students are tired. Faculty are tired. We’re there, but we’re not really there.

It’s now when pleas from failing students can arise. I’ve seen it happen. Someone doesn’t work the whole semester and all of a sudden they want to make up everything at the end. I’m now a seasoned teacher, so I no longer fall for the gambit. I enforce the late policies I established the first day.

While it may seem the worst students would be the most difficult, at this time of the term it’s often the best students. I’ve seen students with high A’s who are so tense and worried about their grade. They scratch and claw as if they are losing grip, when in reality they have nothing to worry about.

I think one of the things that has brought me success as a teacher is that I feel students. It’s like I have a sixth sense. Whatever mood they’re in—happy, sad, frustrated, exhausted or whatever—I feel it. At times the mood hangs in the air. There’s a palpable exhaustion and infuriation that wanders the halls. Unfortunately, it penetrates me. But, I’m the teacher and I have to be the one to supply energy and positivity. I know if I didn’t care, I’d be far less effective; yet, I also firmly believe if I didn’t care, the job would be far less stressful.

Lately teaching has become both more stressful and easier at the same time. It’s hard to explain, but I know I’m burnt out and I question how much good general education classes (which is what I primarily teach) do for students. Most students just do what is necessary to make it through. Without vibrant emotional engagement, little learning occurs. I also ponder how different academia is from the real world and also how incongruent it is with how we learn. In academia we package information, but that information can only be packaged after it has been slaughtered, dissected and sterilized. If the whole system is a flop, does the efforts of one instructor really make that much difference? And, if I don’t make that much difference, why put in the effort? This makes it more stressful, because it’s harder to keep my motivation up; but, it also makes it less stressful, because I’m not giving the same effort. In truth, I’ve grown burnt out.

It’s about this time in the semester that I’m really figuring out how to teach my students. Each student has a unique set of needs, wants, personality traits and learning styles. Each classroom is a unique mixture of individuals and develops it’s own personality and needs. It takes a while to figure out how to adapt what I know to their needs. But, these ten-week terms are too short. I’m just figuring them out when we’re entering the downward spiral of the final weeks. I somewhat envy those that teach elementary students. At least they have time to really develop the needed relationship with students. They actually have the chance to know their students. Of course, I also think this could be a real stressor. There are certain students I only want for ten weeks.

So, this is where I find myself this Monday morning. It’s probably the same place many teachers find themselves—questioning not just themselves, but also the system they exist within.

The Neophyte

            The Neophyte sat in the chair looking across the desk at the Bishop. The chair was well padded, but had one spring poking the Neophyte in the left buttock. The Neophyte didn’t give it a second thought, but the chair was trying his best to give him a warning. “Beware of the Bishop. He’ll bite you in the ass.”

            The Neophyte scanned the large, cedar desk. On one corner were a mouse, keyboard and monitor. On the other corner was a large Bible. It was nearly 6 inches thick and was covered in red leather. It sat upon a small pile of handwritten notes. The heft seemed the sole justification for the imposing pulpit sitting a few hundred yards away in the sanctuary.

            Behind the desk was shelving containing several thousand books. The books knew it was just a sham. The Bishop wasn’t a man of letters. When he did occasionally consume a book, it wasn’t for knowledge. He was merely analyzing its form for techniques to use to communicate his messages, which were more showmanship than substance.

            Behind the imposing desk sat the Bishop, rocking back and forth in his black leather chair. The Neophyte casually glanced at the Bishop’s stern face and gold glasses, but then his eyes were fixed for several seconds on the Bishop’s suit. The sheen of the fine silk glimmered in the light beaming through the office window. The light hit the Bishop’s ring—solid gold with diamonds surrounding a ruby.

            The ring emanated a rainbow. The Neophyte was beguiled by its gaze. He peered at the ring and the ring appeared to stare back.

            The Neophyte’s concentration was broken by the booming voice of the Bishop. “So, you’re the one.”

            “Um, . . . ah, I-I-I don’t know.” The Neophyte felt sure the tremors in his stomach were a moving of the Holy Spirit. After watching the Bishop for years from a distance, the Neophyte was sure every aspect of the Bishop’s ministry emanated from the Holy Spirit.

            The Bishop sat up in his chair and proclaimed in a slightly louder voice, “So, you’re the one.”

            “I’m, . . . n-not sure what you mean by that.”

            “The Elders have told me about you. You’re quite a charismatic young men.”

            “Well, thanks.”

            “Yes, yes. You have the look. You have the voice. You have the strut. You have what it takes to increase my ministry.”

            The Neophyte wasn’t sure what to say. He sat frozen.

            “Do you know what I’m offering you?”

            “I’m not sure.”

            “You’ll be my anointed. You’ll help to shepherd the flock. With you in my stable, we will build the fold—bigger and grander. You’ll be my right hand man.”

            The Neophyte wasn’t sure what to say. He stared at the Bishop.

            The Bishop stared back. “Are you in?”

            “Huh? I’m, . . . um, . . .”

            “Take a breath young man and listen.” The Bishop stared him in the eyes. “I’m offering you the role of being my right hand man. Are you in?”

            “I, I, I guess so.”

            “No guessing. I need a firm commitment. Are you in?”

            The Neophyte sat up in his chair. The chair tried its best to give one last warning, digging deep into his backside. By this time the Neophyte was too beguiled to even notice. He stiffened his spine, looked the Bishop straight in the eyes and forcefully said, “Yes!”

            “Good, good. Now, before we go any further, I have to tell you a secret.”

            The Neophyte felt God’s hand must be moving. “A secret from the Bishop”, he thought. “It must be a message from God.”

            “I want you to listen closely. Everything you see, I mean everything, is an illusion. My preaching, my ministry, the miracles are all an illusion.”

            The Neophyte was stunned. He sat listening in silence.

            “It’s all about control and power. It’s made me a wealthy man.”

            “I, I-I’m, . . . not sure.”

            The Bishop reached his burly paw across the desk and grabbed the Neophyte by the collar. “You tell this secret and you’ll be ostracized. If I disown you, your family and friends will disown you. You will be all alone—no connection, no help and no guidance in this world.”

            The Neophyte grimaced as the Bishop’s paw tightened his collar. The Bishop let go and sat back in his chair. The two stared at each other for several minutes, like two prizefighters measuring up their opponent.

            The Bishop broke the silence. “I know what you’re thinking. How could this all be a lie? Well, it’s not a lie. It’s a reality that I’ve created. There’s nothing like power, son. Nothing!”

            The Neophyte was again beguiled by the Bishop’s ring.

            “That’s twenty-four karat. And, the ruby is real. Feel it.” The Bishop took off the ring and handed it to the Neophyte.

            The Neophyte was shocked by the heft of the ring. The ring glimmered—a prize to be had, an object to be coveted.

            The Bishop chuckled. “Oh, there’s more. There’s so much more to power than just things. Power is erotic.”

            The Neophyte sat in silent contemplation.

            The Bishop leaned back in his chair. He cocked his head and peered quizzically at the Neophyte for several minutes. He was measuring him up.

            The Neophyte was bewildered. “Could this all be a lie?” he thought to himself. “I couldn’t be that easily deceived.”

            The Bishop broke the silence. “I know what you’re thinking. I couldn’t possibly be that deceived!”

            The Neophyte was shocked and a little scared. Could the Bishop read his mind? He continued to sit there, motionless and in utter silence.

            The Bishop again broke the silence. “That’s the secret of control. Yes, yes. The secret is people won’t admit they’re deceived.”

            That last statement was so shocking, it broke the Neophyte’s silent contemplation. He had to engage the Bishop at this point. Curiosity was pushing him to find his voice. “No? How can that be?”

            The Bishop chuckled. “Son, you need to understand human nature if you want to control them. It’s really quite simple. People are prideful. And, people are self-serving slackers. But, people don’t want to admit to those things. So, it allows one to control others. You just have to learn a few techniques.”

            The Neophyte forcefully responded. “So, you’re just, . . . a performer!”

            “Well, that’s one way to look at it. Let me just begin with the statement that people won’t admit they’re wrong. What’s at the root of that?”

            “Um, . . Pride? Pride is the root of that.”

            “Right. And, what does the Bible say about pride?”

            “Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

            “Exactly. And, what do they fall for?”

            “Well, I don’t know.”

            “I’ll give you a hint. You’re holding it.”

            The Neophyte had completely forgotten the ring in his hand. He held up the ring and looked at it. The ring, in the most beguiling way, looked back at him chuckling.

            “It’s all about the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.”

            The Neophyte was confused. “But, all those things are in the Bible.”

            The Bishop peered at him for a few seconds. “Yes, it’s all in the Bible. Why does that surprise you?”

            “Aren’t we supposed to use the Bible for good? To help people? It’s not a manual about how to manipulate others!”

            “Well, it depends on your perspective, now doesn’t it? There are all kinds of commands for people to do good. And, you can use that to control people as well.”

            “That’s not my point. The Bible isn’t about controlling others. It’s about loving our neighbors.”

            The Bishop stared the Neophyte in the eyes for a few moments. It was the beguiling gaze of a serpent before it delivers its deathblow. “You don’t understand young man. The Bible is both. It can be used either way. It can be used to serve others. There are many that do that. Just look at all the small churches in the area. Lesser men with lesser ministries may use it that way. But, the Bible teaches us about human nature. And, when you understand the nature of man, you can control him. You can harness him, just like a farmer harnesses a mule. Or, a jockey harnesses a horse. Or, a butcher leads cattle to slaughter. You can turn him left or right. And, you can do it all for your own glory.”

            “But, that’s not right!”

            “Put on the ring!”

            The Neophyte stared back at the Bishop incredulously.

            The Bishop rose, slamming both hands forcefully on his desk and uttered in a shattering voice, “PUT ON THE RING!”

            The Neophyte put on the ring and stared at it. The ring gleamed back, smiling like a beguiling serpent. The cool metal caressed his skin. The heft spoke of power. The Neophyte was intoxicated.

            “You may keep the ring.”

            The Neophyte was taken by surprise. “Oh, no, . . . I-I-I couldn’t possibly . . .”

            “Keep the ring!” The Bishop sat back down and watched the Neophyte stare at the ring. “Can you see why I call power erotic?”

            “This is a nice ring!”

            “Now, see that picture on my wall?” The Bishop pointed at a picture of the Politician.

            “Yeah, I see it. What about it?”

            “Do you know who that is?”

            “Well, sure, that’s the Politician.”

            “What do you think of his policies?”

            “Well, I don’t know. Good and bad I guess?”

            “Good and bad.” The Bishop chuckled. “Okay, are you happy about the war the Politician started.”

            “Well, no, not really. It all seems to be about oil and power.”

            “Are you happy the Politician gave all that money to the banks.”

            “Well, no. I mean, we really needed that money and he gave it to the rich.”

            “Are you happy about the scandal?”

            The Neophyte was a little confused. “Which one?”

            “How about the one where he gave arms to the Terrorist.”

            “Well, no. Those people want to kill us.”

            “How about the one where the Corporate Head poured toxins in the river?”

            “Well, no. People drink that water.”

            “What about the one where they lost all those files on the government computers?”

            “Well, no. That was a huge security breach.”

            “So, what has he done that you’ve liked?”

            The Neophyte sat silent for several seconds. He then boldly proclaimed, “Yeah, but he’s still better than the other guy!”

            The Bishop laughed maniacally.

            “What’s so funny?”

            “You voted for the Politicians, didn’t you?”

            “Of course I did. We all voted for the Politician.”

            “So, why did you vote for him?”

            “I told you. He was better than the other guy?”

            “Why?”

            “Why? I don’t know. The other guy was an idiot.”

            “See, see, here’s my point. The Politician has done nothing but evil. Yet, you still defend him. Why don’t you just admit you were duped?”

            “I wasn’t duped!”

            “You weren’t?”

            “No!”

            “And that, my young friend, is a huge part of controlling people. You won’t admit you were duped. You were, but you won’t admit it. You’re too prideful.” The Bishop rocked back and forth in his chair for several seconds and smiled at the Neophyte. “So, how did he dupe you?”

            “I wasn’t duped!”

            “Okay, okay. You weren’t duped. So, how did he dupe all those other people?”

            “Well, he told lies.”

            “Okay, he told lies. But, what kind of lies?”

            “I’m not sure what you’re getting at. What do you mean what kind of lies?”

            “What exact lies did the Politicians tell?”

            “Well, he promised us jobs.”

            “Okay.”

            “And, he promised us wealth.”

            “Good, good. What else did he promise?”

            “Healthcare. And, um, . . . a return to national pride?”

            “Anything else?”

            “Safety from our enemies.”

            “Anything else?”

            “I’m sure there’s more, but that’s all I can remember right now.”

            “Okay, think about that list: jobs, wealth, health, national pride and safety. Does that sound a lot like the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life?”

            “I guess so. What are you getting at?”

            “He told lies, but not just any lies. He told the lies everyone wanted to hear. That’s where the self-serving part comes in. Promise people what they want and you’ll hook them. You don’t have to hook them for long. So many people out there are just like you. They won’t admit they were duped, but they were. And, the only real commitment they made to the Politician was one or two votes. Just a few seconds in a voter’s both and that commitment is enough to make them defend the man.”

            “That can’t be true!”

            “Oh, it is. Get people to believe a lie they already want to believe in. Once they make the smallest of commitments, their pride stops them from admitting they were duped. Pride and self-centeredness work in tandem. You work one side, you’ll fail. But, when you work them both you can lead people around by the nose. That’s what the Politician did.”

            “This all seems so unreal.”

            “Yes, but there’s another part to it.”

            “So, it is more complex.”

            “Well, yes and no. This next part really isn’t all that complex. Remember what I told you about people?”

            “Um, . . . which part?”

            “Well, they aren’t just self-serving, but they are self-serving . . . ?”

            “They’re self-serving slackers.”

            “Right. People are slackers. They’re lazy. They don’t want to be responsible for their own actions. They want the easy way out.”

            “What’s that got to do with power?”

            “People hand over the reins?”

            “I’m not sure I get you. Hand over the reins?”

            “Okay, let’s say we were to drive across the entire country—from New York to Los Angeles.”

            “That’s a long drive.”

            The Bishop chuckled. “Sure is. So, if you had the choice between doing the driving or kicking back as a passenger, which would you choose?”

            “I suppose I’d be a passenger. That driving is a lotta work.”

            “Right. There you have it.”

            “Have what?”

            “Driving is a lotta work.”

            “What? I’m not following. How does this apply to controlling people?”

            “People don’t want to be behind the wheel. They want someone else to do the driving.”

            “You mean, they hand over control of their lives, because being in charge is too much work?”

            The Bishop glimmered at the Neophyte. “Now, you got it.”

            “So, wait, it’s all about manipulating pride, self-centeredness and laziness.”

            “Those three are the trinity of control. And, here’s another dirty little secret.”

            The Neophyte leaned in close to hear.

            The Bishop whispered. “Deep down, people know they are being prideful. They know they are being self-serving. They know they are lazy. And, all those things make them feel guilt. And, guilty people are far easier to neuter.”

            The Neophyte sat in silent contemplation.

            The Bishop gave him several minutes to let the truth sink in. “Okay, here’s the biggest lie.” The Bishop took a long pause.

            The Neophyte held his breathe, waiting to here this.

            “I’m the biggest lie.”

            “What?”

            “I’m the biggest lie.”

            “Huh?”

            “You like that ring, don’t you.”

            The Neophyte stared at the beguiling serpent caressing his finger. “Yes!”

            “People look at me and they see the ring. They see the suit. They see the Mercedes. They see my lovely wife. Hell, that damn woman doesn’t even love me, but she’s a great piece of eye candy. And, they want what I got. It’s as simple as that. I can take what they have, because they want what I got. I control them through this lie I’ve created.”

            The Neophyte continued to stare at the beguiling serpent.

            “Do you know what that ring is worth?”

            “Um, . . . ah, . . . I have no idea.”

            “Easily fifty or sixty grand.”

            “Whoa!”

            “Now, young man, you have a choice to make. We’ll meet again in a week—same time, same office. If you take my offer, the ring is your. You can sell it, pawn it, wear it, it’s yours to do with whatever you want. That ring is a new car. That ring is a beautiful woman. That ring is fine clothes. That ring can be yours. Or, in a week you can reject my offer and return the ring.”

            “Wait, so if I keep the ring then I’ll be your assistant.”

            “Not just assistant. You’ll be my anointed. You’ll share in all my wealth, all my power, all my influence. Everything the world has to offer will be yours.”

            “And, if I give back the ring I reject your offer.”

            “That’s right. If you reject the ring, you may be that do-gooder you see in the Bible. You can serve your fellow man. You can make the world a better place. You can feed the hungry and clothe the homeless. That’s the choice the Bible leaves you with. You can either serve God and your fellow man; or, you can use it as a tool to control others. You have a week to decide.”

            The Neophyte continued to stare at the beguiling serpent. He felt the Bishop’s large paw grasping his elbow and lifting him from his seat. He is escorted towards the door.

            As the door closed, the Bishop’s booming voice is heard. “One week. You decide.”

To Grow Go Nuclear

            I’m about to drop a bomb on your company, organization or ministry. In order to grow you may have to go nuclear. So, let’s begin by looking at how a nuclear bomb works. Hard to believe, isn’t it? That the secret to growth may be found in the Manhattan Project!

            A nuclear bomb is a device that causes an implosion. I know what you’re thinking. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mr. I’m-about-to-drop-a-bomb! I’ve seen the films. A nuclear bomb causes a massive EXplosion NOT IMplosion!” What you’re seeing is the final phase. The bomb itself begins with an implosion. The fuel of the bomb is compressed. Once the density becomes high enough an intense amount of energy is released. So, the whole process begins with compression and only works if enough density is achieved.

            This same principle of compression works in a business, organization or ministry. In order to become explosive one must compress effort. By that, I mean they do less, but with more vigor. By doing less, I'm not talking about less effort. I'm talking about setting priorities and only focusing on those few things that are important. So, there is compression as the same amount of effort goes into less tasks. All their intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual “mass” is compressed into less “space”—density increases! Only when there is high enough density does an explosion take place.

            I’ve worked for two dying for-profit colleges. In the first one I was unaware it was dying. In the second one I knew it was doomed as soon as it started implementing certain policies. One crippling policy was a compression of the academic term. I know what you’re thinking, “Um, didn’t Mr. I’m-about-to-drop-a-bomb just say compression was good?” This is a different type of compression than previously mentioned. Both students and faculty weren’t doing less, but with more vigor. They were doing more, but with less vigor. Both colleges went to five ten-week academic terms a year. So, a stretch of six months without any break from class was common. Both schools also had a large population of students who were working full-time, raising families as well as going to school. All their energy was as diluted as a drop of food coloring in the ocean.

            The fatheaded corporate suits, which had little understanding of education (or management for that matter), started to heap more and more responsibility on faculty. Their view of faculty was as a liability on a profit and loss statement, so they did what they were trained to do: cut liabilities when crisis hit. They were able to eek out short-term profits, but long-term the burnout of both students and faculty began to take its toll. The school became a revolving door of faculty and students. What they needed to do was hire more faculty while raising salaries and benefits. They also needed to do less academic terms, allowing students enough time to breathe in between semesters. In the short term this would hurt profits, but in the long term each faculty member would be able to teach less classes, but with more vigor. But, and this is a HUGE but, this strategy will only work if the compression is high enough to bring about an explosion—of energy, talent and creative vision in the classroom. Once that explosion happens the reputation of the school explodes and students are drawn towards a quality education delivered with the explosive dynamic of fervent instructors.

            There are several glitches that happen that hinder growth. First, there is growth to a certain point. So, there is a prevailing belief that if it’s worked in the past it should work in the present and future. Usually this initial growth is centered around someone with vision and passion. This person attracts the human fuel to cause the explosion, but rather than compressing that fuel, continues what in the past has gathered fuel. It becomes a revolving door, because people want to see the explosion. They wait, wait, wait and then leave out of frustration.

            Sometimes a highly toxic question is asked, “What do we need to do to grow?” I know what you’re thinking. “That doesn’t sound highly toxic! Why is a concern for growth toxic?” It’s how people interpret the question that is toxic. What people often hear is, “What ELSE do we need to do to grow?” Instead of compression this leads to dilution. People are doing more, but with less vigor. This interpretation also leads to a lack of examining what is currently being done. If the interpretation is, “what ELSE”, then the underlying assumption is that the things we’re doing are fine. After all, they’ve got us this far!

            Things begin to stagnate. The leader, because of their vision and passion, draws new people. But, people eventually leave when they don’t see the leader’s vision explode. The organization gains a few, but then loses a few. There are periods of growth, but no explosion to take things to the next level. New programs and efforts are tried, fade and are replaced by a different set of programs and efforts. A business, organization or ministry can exist in this cycle for years or even decades. But, without the explosion things will eventually die.

            If you’re a leader, this is where you need to consider a serious question concerning your business, organization or ministry. Do you always seem on the verge of an explosion, but it never seems to happen? If so, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is you’re a poor leader. You’re giving people hopes and dreams that are never fulfilled. You’re wasting people’s time and energy. You’re a key contributor to burnout and likely you aren’t even aware of it.

            Here’s some more bad news. In order for you to do less, you’re going to have to allow other people to take over things you’re holding on to. You’re ego is going to have to take a bruising as you accept that in many areas, even areas where you have talent, there are those who can do it better. The good news is if you give it to them (not hover over them and try to control things) they often WILL do it better. You’re going to have to give up control in exchange for influence. It’s reciprocal—if you trust others, they are more likely to trust you. If you try to control everything, people around you are more likely to be controlling. A little more good news—influence is far more powerful than control!

            The best news is there is a solution! For both yourself and your team you need to do less. Isn’t that a relief! You’re doing a hundred things when in reality you only need to do three. Isn’t that liberating! Of course, you’re going to have to figure out those few things you need to focus on. If you don’t know, just ask wise counsel. More than likely others see what you’re good at as well as the things you’re doing that are a waste of time. Be sure to ask those who have the spine to tell you the things you don’t want to hear! It’s time for you to do a few things, but to do them extremely well. Commit yourself to that task. If you don’t see the explosion, you’re still doing too much. Eventually, with enough compression, the explosion will occur.

Why Johnny Can't Do Math

            This is an interesting blog I wrote in 2013. I'm not going to make huge changes, but in the intervening years, I did teach some basic college math courses. As I look over this blog, I'm still in complete agreement in terms of why college students struggle with math.

            Having taught both basic writing and basic math classes, I can say for certainty that teaching writing is exponentially harder. If you're a math instructor and find that a bitter pill to swallow, sorry, but that's my experience. With writing it's important to teach creativity. There is a multitude of ways to write a story, essay, or research paper. With math, I found there was always some sort of step-by-step process to find the right answer. There was far less ambiguity. And, the grading end of things for math is far more objective than writing.

            Now, realize I'm am talking teaching basic math—the type of math that would be found in a general education requirement. And, I'm comparing it to a basic, general education writing or composition class. I do realize a great deal of creativity and critical thinking is needed when teaching upper level math and delving into topics like geometric proofs and the type of math that theoretical physicists are involved with. Growing up I was a math whiz until I hit Calculus. I then hit a wall. So, those that have mastered upper level mathematics are smarter than I in that arena. But, what I'm dealing with in this essay is why people struggle with foundational math skills. So, let's look at my blog...

            I’ve been teaching college for about a decade and I can tell you—college students can’t do math. I don’t even teach math. But, I do give out grades and when it comes time to update students on their progress, I’ll have the following conversation innumerable times:

            “Mr. Tipton, why am I failing your class?”

            “Well, you didn’t turn in this assignment and this assignment.”

            “Yeah, but I got hundreds on these five assignments.”

            “Yes, but your grade is weighted.”

            “Weighted? Look, if I add up all these grades I have five hundred points. Divide that by seven and I’m getting an eighty-three percent.”

            “Actually, five hundred divided by seven is more like a seventy-one.”
            “Okay, but that’s still a C!”

            “But, you don’t just add them up and divide. Your grade is weighted.”
            “I don’t get it?”

            “Look, those five hundreds are worth three percent each. The two assignments you’re missing are worth ten and twenty percent.”
            “So, what’s your point?”

            “That zero on the twenty percent assignment is worth more than those five hundreds combined.”

            “Nuh-huh?”

            “What is five times three?”

            “Fifteen!”

            “Good, now put away your calculator. Is fifteen more than twenty or less?”

            “So, why am I failing your class?”

            At this point I just want to grab the nearest math instructor and choke him to death!

            When I first started teaching, I thought this was an isolated incident. I felt sorry for the poor student. “Well, she’ll never be an engineer. Tough break she’s also failing my writing class.” After having this discussion thousands of times and killing a few math instructors, I came to realize—college students can’t do math.

            So, I’ve identified the problem, but what’s the cause? Talking to students (or anyone that hates math) it becomes quite apparent there’s a huge mental block when dealing with math. I’ve met bright, articulate people whose heads fill with cement as soon as the word “math” is uttered. “MATH! I HATE MATH!” The eyeballs cross and steam begins pouring out the ears. When students have a mental block it’s so often math. Why?

            Imagine you’re back in school. The Arithmetic Nazi has you at the board. She has that scowl across her face. In her right hand is a pneumatically loaded chalk holder. In her left hand is a book of evil spells (also sometimes called an Algebra textbook). You’re scribbling on the blackboard, while your mind furiously tries to form an answer: x=4.

            “No, no, no! What are you doing? X does not equal four. X equals eleven!”

            You stare at the blackboard in bewilderment. “How does X equal eleven?” you think to yourself.

            Math—it’s so black and white, cut and dry, right or wrong. There is no discussion. There is no wiggle room for a difference of opinion. You’re either right or wrong—and, quite frequently you’re WRONG! Good thing that pneumatic chalk holder doesn’t have pepper spray!

            Imagine for a moment a child learning to walk. If you’re thinking, “What does this have to do with math?” then quit thinking that. Just shut up and allow yourself to take a vacation from math. Can you see the child?

            The first time the poor kid stands up, he wobbles and falls. The second time—wobbles and falls. He wobbles and falls many times. Then, he begins to fall forward and puts out his right foot to catch himself. Yes, he still does a face plant, but not before taking his first step. There’s a great deal of wobbling and toddling before he can finally stand and walk as well as you or I.

            Now, think about his parents for a moment. As he wobbles and toddles, what are they doing? They are encouraging his every attempt. Think about his brain. It’s not just his body that’s wobbling and toddling. His brain is doing the same thing—trying to make connections to control his steps and gain his balance.

            Let’s suppose rather than being supportive, his parents were to smack him across the forehead every time he stood up and didn’t walk perfectly? What do you think would happen? Well, he would stand up and then SMACK! Stand up and SMACK! Stand up and SMACK! Then, he would just crawl around too afraid to try to walk. He has now developed a mental block to walking.

            So, there are two different approaches being illustrated in terms of walking. One is a positive approach that encourages the wobbling, toddling process of learning to walk. The other is a negative approach that punishes an attempt to walk that does not produce the perfect gait.

            Which approach seems closer to the Arithmetic Nazi? It seems she is taking the negative approach. Should she? Or, is learning math just like learning walking—where the brain goes through a wobbling, toddling stage? Doesn’t the brain go through a wobbling, toddling phase anytime it’s learning something new?

            X equals thirteen—SMACK! X equals two—SMACK! X equals forty-seven—SMACK! And, the brain develops a cement block anytime math is brought up. When someone is learning math (or any subject) their brain will come up with wrong answers when the brain is in that wobbling, toddling stage of learning. However, the brain must go through that wobbling, toddling stage. Keep whacking a brain when it’s going through the process of learning and the learning factory shuts down. That’s the mental block that happens with math.

            I know someone is out there thinking, “Well, we can’t just accept wobbly, toddling answers. Two plus two cannot equal five. X must equal eleven. The square root of two-hundred-fifty-six is sixteen, not seventeen or twenty-nine!” Let’s consider the parents of that toddler. They certainly embrace the wobbling, toddling phase. But, would they find it acceptable if their child was six and had a gimpy gait? Certainly not! If the wobbly, toddling phase didn’t work as it should, they would take corrective actions—but, even then it wouldn’t be done with a SMACK! It would be done in a nurturing way.

            The reason college students can’t do math is quite simple—the education system kept smacking their brain as it went through the wobbling, toddling phase of learning. Once someone has a mental block, they can still learn—but, the block must first be removed! Removing a block that is the result of hundreds or thousands of mental smacks is a laborious task. Perhaps we need to evaluate our education system so we don’t put that block there in the first place. 

Five Keys to Great Speaking

So, you want to become a great speaker, but that huge speech textbook is daunting! As a college speech teacher I can tell you that book is probably worthless. I’ve seen so many different ones and they’re all the same—a huge collection of facts and concepts that give you an overview of the field of public speaking. Truth be told, these eggheads don’t understand speaking. All they’ve done is give you a boring museum of facts and ideas from people far more intelligent than they. What you’ll find is an amateur teaches by looking at everything in a field. A true expert can boil down a field to those few points that make an impact. If you want to become an expert work on these five things:

1) Find your purpose. Who are you? What is it that you truly understand? What lessons has life taught you? Why are you on this earth? Once you know the answers to those questions you know what to talk about. And, you’ll talk about those topics with wisdom and passion. This is often called your voice—your unique perspective, insight and wisdom about life. No one else has your voice. It’s what sets you apart from every other speaker.

2) Overcome stage fright. Now, by that I don’t mean you won’t have some jitters. Some of the best speakers have jitters before taking the stage. But, you can’t be scared of getting up front and letting it fly. When you’re afraid your heart and spirit doesn’t come through. When you’re scared, your voice is muffled. Fear hinders everything—from your preparation all the way through the delivery of your speech.

3) Learn to use stories. I’ve seen it over and over—vibrant storytellers captivate audiences. This is true for preachers, teachers, motivational speaker, trainers and even standup comedians. Many of the stories will simply be stories of your life. The power of story cannot be underestimated!

4) Learn to use analogies. Study great speakers and you will see analogies over and over. Dr. King was a master at using analogies and the analogy’s little brother—the metaphor. Jesus taught through parables—analogies in the form of stories. Start paying attention anytime you have that aha-moment, “Oh, now I understand!” You’ll be amazed at how many times these aha-moments are connected to either a story or analogy.

5) Get in tune with your inner rhythm. One thing that separates exceptional language (both written and spoken) is it has a beat to it. We’re wired to connect to a beat. There’s a rhythm center in our brain. In music we call it beat. In poetry we call it meter. In comedy it’s called timing. Great language has a beat to it. You need to develop your ear and find your own inner rhythm if you want to become a great speaker.

Certainly there is a great deal more to learn about public speaking. But, if you watch great speakers you’ll see these five things over and over. Master these five and you’re well on your way to captivating your audience!

How to Develop a Speech

            I’ve spent about a decade teaching college speech. I’ve dealt with numerous college textbooks. In general a textbook will recommend an approach to speech development that revolves around choosing a topic, developing a thesis and organizing support for that thesis. A student following such a textbook may progress along the following points: 1) choose a topic, 2) do some research, 3) develop a thesis, 4) do some more research, and 5) organize the research to support their thesis, which general involves following some sample outline or pattern given in a book. What they often produce is devoid of passion and mechanical.

            Why would such a process produce a lifeless presentation? For the most part they don’t own the ideas. They have collected and organized the ideas of others. I have never seen a great speaker who doesn’t have their own unique ideas and perspectives on things. In order to teach people how to become great speakers, we must find a process that begins with their own ideas. We must teach a person how to develop ideas.

            A second problem with the academic approach is one is relying primarily on book knowledge as opposed to experiential knowledge. Book knowledge lacks understanding. How can one develop unique ideas without understanding? There is a useful test for the ideas you want to communicate. If you can’t support your ideas with specific examples from your own life, you don’t know those ideas well enough to talk about them.

            A third problem is book knowledge is devoid of passion. If you’ve experienced something, it’s made you angry, sad, happy or frustrated. Experiential knowledge is connected to passion and every audience member deserves a heart-to-heart connection with the speaker.

            I have seen great speakers use statistics, quotes, newspaper stories and other forms of research in their speech. So, incorporating book knowledge is not bad. What is bad is when the main ideas come from others as opposed to coming from your own experiences. The main ideas must come from the thought processes and experiences of the speaker. The use of research is to complement and reinforce those ideas. Research and book knowledge is a servant; your own thinking ability is the master. College often turns secondary concerns into the master and destroys the learning process.

            With that background, I’m going to share a method of speech development that begins with experiential knowledge. Although I will communicate this in a step-by-step fashion (which is often helpful to the rookie) realize that public speaking is an art form. Speech development is not linear. You may find you work better following a different order. And, you may find certain parts of the process are circular, where you end up back tracking to an earlier step. So, the step-by-step approach is merely a starting point. To become a great speaker you will need to find your own process.

            The first step is to find a story. Just think through the stories of your life. The ones most vivid in your mind represent your strongest experiential knowledge. Which stories do you end up telling people over-and-over? Which stories represent life lessons that you keep revisiting? Which stories make you laugh, cry or feel the deepest emotions? The collection of these stories is the heart of your experiential knowledge. Take some time to explore them.

            Of course, what happens when you are not free to pick the topic? Maybe you’ve been given an assignment at work or school. In most cases if you take some time to think, you’ll have some stories that relate to the topic at hand. If you spend a great deal of thought and you don’t have such experiences, then what I am suggesting may not work for you. In such cases, you’ll likely have to follow the more academic approach. It’s not the best way, but at times may be necessary.

            Second, pick a story. I know what you’re thinking. How do I know which story to pick? Simply ask yourself which story you most want to talk about. Often your gut will know which one if you don’t think about it too much. You need to trust your gut. Your gut knowledge is based on experiential knowledge. Often gut feelings are your brain tying things together behind the scenes. It often means there is a deep lesson just below the surface and if you learn to follow your gut you’ll find ideas flow much easier. The commitment to follow your gut will help bring that about-to-surface wisdom into focus.

            Third, find the life lesson in the story. There might be many lessons. Find the one your gut tells you is most important. This life lesson is the theme you will develop for your speech.

            Fourth, you need to translate that life lesson into the big idea you’re going to communicate. In the world of academia this would be called developing your thesis. I recently had a student of mine whose thesis was sixty-three words long. It was a single sentence and was grammatically accurate, but imagine if you’re sitting in the audience and your brain is trying to absorb such a long, complex sentence. By about word twenty your eyes begin to cross. I suggested an eleven-word thesis that communicated the same idea. It’s much easier for the mind to grasp a shorter, simpler sentence.

            So, don’t allow your mind to slip into academic-writing mode when you figure out your main idea. Instead, think of finding a marketing slogan for your life lesson. Consider what commercials do. They communicate ideas in short, vivid and memorable ways. Even a week or month later the jingle is stuck in your head. I will give you some general rules for your marketing slogan: 1) Keep it to fifteen words or less. 2) It must be memorable. 3) It should have a natural beat to it. By that I mean it has a rhythm to it that is musical in nature. Of course, remember that all these rules are merely guidelines. At times the greatest artistic expressions break the rules. So, what I am giving you is a starting point. The rules and step-by-step process are merely training tools. The tools are a means to helping you achieve the ends of understanding how to communicate. Once you gain that understanding, you should move beyond the rules and begin to develop your own tools.

            Fifth, develop support for that main idea. You already have one story. So, you’ve already started that process. If you’re only giving a short speech, this may be enough. If it’s not, then how do you support ideas? If you read a speech or English composition textbook you might be thoroughly confused. Textbooks often try to be comprehensive in their coverage of a topic, so a textbook will likely give you innumerable ways to support ideas. However, there are only a few go-to ways great speakers use over-and-over. Three are primary: stories, analogies and demonstrations. Since you’ve already thought through your life stories, you might find there are more stories that strongly support your marketing slogan. You might have two, three or fifteen stories. You may likely have more stories than time will allow you to communicate. So, you might need to ask your gut which are most important. Generally you want to start and end strong. So, as you’re organizing your speech think about what will have the greatest impact and put those things on the two ends.

            You might be wondering, “Does this mean I can give a speech that is merely a collection of stories that support a marketing slogan?” Yes. I have seen great speakers do that. Having a simple, vivid idea and telling stories are so powerful that in many cases this is not only sufficient, but the best way to communicate. If you’re a rookie speaker, I would recommend learning how to develop your big idea and telling stories as the starting point. These two skills are so fundamental and so powerful that until you master them, you don’t need to worry about anything else.

            Another strong way to support ideas is through the use of analogies. Basically an analogy is using one thing to explain something else. Consider how I used the idea of marketing to explain developing a thesis. I’m using one thing to explain something else. Or, to put it another way, I’m using life experiences to explain a concept. With an analogy there are two things in play. First is the thing you’re trying to explain. In general this is something the audience doesn’t know or understand. The second is the thing you’re using to explain the unknown. So, basically an analogy is using something the audience knows at an experiential level to explain an unknown concept. Analogies are extremely powerful, but it will take a while before you master their use.

            Another way to support ideas is through demonstration. If you want to teach someone how to cook a steak, sometimes the easiest way to do that is to bring in a Porterhouse and a grill. If you want to teach someone how to block a punch, you can’t do it through lecture. They have to see and experience blocking a punch. Demonstrations don’t work for every topic and I think if you use common sense you can figure out when they apply.

            There is one big problem with demonstrations. They take time. You can’t rush them for them to be effective. You need to take your audience through the process at the pace they can absorb it. Often their ability to absorb is far slower than your ability to demonstrate. For example, say a professional baseball player was to teach a group of Tee Ball players how to hit a baseball. They could demonstrate a bat swing in a matter of second. To fully explain it, might take days as they break the swing down into it’s various components, explain each in detail, give kids time to practice each step and give feedback along the way.

            At this point you have a marketing slogan and have developed stories, analogies and/or demonstrations to support that slogan. If you develop things following this method, you will likely have more material than you can cover in the time you have to speak. So, again you may need to listen to your gut as to what is most important. If you don’t have enough material, you now know the primary ways to support ideas. So, at least you know what to look for. You can also do some research to help fill out your speech.

            Sixth, you need to figure how to organize the material—what order to put it in. It is possible to overcomplicate things. So, consider what you have. Give it some thought and see if you can find a way that just makes sense. How can you present ideas in a way that your audience will remember your marketing slogan? Is there certain material that won’t make sense unless you cover some other material first? Is there a certain way to organize material that will give it the strongest emotional impact? Is there something that just naturally grabs people’s attention? If so, you may want to start with that. Is there something that will really leave the audience with something deep to ponder or show them how to apply what you’ve talked about? You might want to close on that. If there is something you have that is really strong, you might want to open with it and also refer back to it at end.

            This process I’m taking you through is the exact opposite way of how most students operate. Most students pick a pattern of organization from a textbook and then fill in the boxes. But, the patterns are merely a tool. Developing and supporting ideas is the prime goal. You want to begin by thinking through the how’s and why’s of organizing. Develop ideas first. Organize them second.

            Now, I realize you might think and think until your brain bursts open and a pattern doesn’t rise to the surface. At this point you might need to look outside your thought process to find something that works. I would suggest patterns that fit how the mind naturally thinks and processes information.

            So, how does the mind think and process information? Our mind is connected to our body and designed to process information from the body and output commands to the body. So, our thinking has a strong physical component to it. We exist in time and space. We are also emotional beings. This immediately suggests some patterns of arrangement.

            Stories contain time, space and emotional elements. So, it’s possible to arrange a speech around a story. If there is one story that vividly illustrates your marketing slogan, just organize your main points around the story. Now, you may wonder what happens if that single story is not enough material for the time you need to speak. You can use the structure of the story to organize the speech and then for the high points in the story, where the story really illustrates important life lessons, bring in shorter stories, analogies, demonstrations and/or outside research to help heighten those high peaks.

            Another way to organize things is to follow some sort of time arrangement: step-by-step or following the chronology of events. This is particularly true for speeches that are demonstration oriented, teach a specific skill or are historical in nature.

            Our brain also thinks spatially, so can you find a way to organize things spatially? If you’re teaching about the parts of an engine you might progress from front to back. If you’re talking about a castle, you might organize the speech around giving the audience a mental tour. If you’re explaining different weight lifting exercises, you might work from top-to-bottom: leg exercises, core exercises, upper torso exercises and arm exercises.

            Our emotions are closely linked to our thinking. So, you might want to think in terms of how to move an audience emotionally. Persuasive speeches often build the emotions of the audience to a high point. It’s like climbing an emotional mountain and leaving them at the peak.

            People absorb information better after you’ve connected to them emotionally. So, you might think of a speech as a series of grabbing their heart and giving the mind something to ponder, grabbing their heart and giving the mind something to ponder and so on.

            Sometimes your audience will have a series of emotional hurdles they need to overcome in order to absorb the message. For example, when I teach speech I know the first thing on everyone’s mind is the fear of getting in front of an audience. So, the first emotional hurdle is to deal with stage fright. After stage fright, their next biggest fear is, “What am I going to talk about”? So, the next topic I cover in class is choosing a topic. The next thing they are thinking is, “How am I going to put together a speech?” So, I talk about how to organize a speech. I organize my content based on their psychology—the set of emotional hurdles I need to overcome.

            If you’re an experienced speaker you will likely know what I mean by organizing a speech emotionally. If you’re not an experienced speaker, you may need to get some more experience before you thoroughly grasp these concepts.

            Sometimes what you are trying to communicate doesn’t fit one of these patterns. So, let me give you a few other patterns that make sense. One pattern is: 1) Grab their attention. 2) State your marketing slogan. 3) Support your marketing slogan. 4) Summarize and reinforce. This is a simplified version of what a textbook would call a deductive arrangement. One of the advantages of this is it’s easy to follow.

            You can also organize a speech like a murder mystery. Think about a murder mystery movie for a moment. It generally has the following points: 1) Grab the audience’s attention. 2) Introduce a question. For a murder mystery this is generally a who-done-it question or how-did-they-do-it question. A murder mystery revolves around having a compelling unknown. If you organize a speech in this fashion, you must have some interesting question that drives the curiosity of the audience. 3) Present information that helps to answer the question. In a murder mystery, this information is carefully doled out piece-by-piece. The movie producer must balance two conflicting challenges: giving the audience enough information to give a sense of direction, but withholding enough information to keep things suspenseful. This arrangement is compelling, but it can be difficult to pull off. 4) Answer the question. In the movie, this is where the killer is revealed. Sometimes the movie will end at this point. Sometimes there might be a few loose ends that need tied up, but once the question has been answered things must conclude rather quickly. In a textbook this pattern would be called an inductive arrangement.

            There are far more ways to organize a speech. These patterns will work in most cases. If you’re a novice speaker studying speech, it would be helpful to have a decent speech textbook in your library. In many cases textbooks are not a good tool for learning, but are a good reference source. You wouldn’t read a dictionary and thesaurus to learn how to write, but when you become stuck finding the right word the book may be extremely helpful. A speech textbook will catalog lists of ways to organize and support ideas. Nothing wrong with using a textbook when you’re stuck, but don’t blindly follow a pattern. There should be purpose and thought behind everything you do.

            If you follow my suggestions you have a starting point to developing a speech. The ideas I’m giving you are different than what I’ve seen (and often hate) in academia. Whereas a textbook or college class will likely begin with book knowledge, I’m suggesting it is far more powerful to begin the process of speech development with experiential knowledge.