Have you ever noticed that the gap between what we learn and what we apply is often like the Grand Canyon?
Why is that? While you could easily argue that it’s impossible to do everything you learn, it is also true that most of us could do better at closing our knowing-doing gap. “Doing” is the great separator between people who learn and people who grow. Until learning translates into behavioral changes, the learning has done little to benefit you.
I believe one essential ingredient to apply what you learn is CLARITY.
If the road to application is coated with confusion, your attempts to apply what you’re learning will only result in frustration. In other words, if what you learn is not accompanied with clear application points, it will be lost in the wilderness of theory and philosophy.
Say, for example, you develop a personal growth plan with a goal to improve your communication skills. To help you reach this goal, you read a couple of books on communication, attend a communicator’s seminar, and hire a communication coach for six months. As you read, study, and learn, you are faced with an excess of communication strategies and ideas.
You quickly realize that every communicator is different and that what works for one will not necessarily work for another. So you organize your learning into two categories: big picture concepts and communication techniques. The concepts have broad appeal and can be used by any communicator. The communication techniques, on the other hand, are very specific ideas that focus primarily on delivery style.
At this moment, you’re faced with a decision–one that needs clarity. Which delivery styles match your personality?
This is an extremely important question and will undoubtedly influence how well you communicate. It needs to be made carefully, deliberately, and strategically.
