4 A's in 10 Minutes
W. Clayton Rowe
National Manager, World Vision Canadian Programs
In a busy work place we are sometimes called upon to do last minute
jobs. One day as I walked into the office I was told that the presenter from our group was
sick and I was to lead a 30-minute presentation. I realized I had about 10 minutes to prepare
for this. After disentangling from my winter clothes I took a deep breath and grabbed a pad of
paper. In the left column I wrote four words: Anchor, Add, Apply and Away.
Looking at the page, I thought about the topic to be discussed and
wrote down the three most salient points to teach under “Add”.
Knowing the context of the group I thought of a quick case study
where the new teaching could be applied to the work of our
organization – the “Apply”.
Then, on a piece of paper I constructed a simple action plan for
them to complete and take away with them. I would give them 3 – 5
minutes to construct it in class. This action plan was the “Away”
that prompted them to reflect on how they could apply the new
learning in the coming week.
Sometimes for me the creative “Anchor” is the most difficult so I
always leave it to the last.
After reviewing the “Add”, “Apply” and “Away”, I remembered a funny
story where this new teaching would have been helpful to know. I
would have the group share a couple of like experiences in the same
way.
With 2 minutes to spare, I grabbed a mug of tea and headed into the
conference room. From that day forward, regardless of the length of
my presentation, the preparation starts with a pad of paper and
writing four large A’s down the left side of the page.
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