That’s more than just a line from a method actor. In business it’s the customer’s unspoken question. In writing it’s the reader’s “Why should I care?” In training it’s the audience’s “How does this apply to me?”
As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, educators in California are experiencing remarkable results from addressing this question with a “Linked Learning” program. When math, writing, science, and so on are taught within the context of students’ career interests, those students perk up, pay attention, and more easily grasp what is being taught. The U.S. Department of Education’s new Elementary and Secondary Education Act parallels this idea with its own call for “college/career ready programs.”
UpWrite Press’s Write for Work takes that same common-sense approach, asking trainees to practice writing within the context of their own jobs. (Career-path students are asked to write for a company where they wish to be employed.) Workplace forms, e-mails, memos, business letters, summaries, instructions, reports, and proposals are all covered in this fashion.
If you’re a trainer, we highly recommend tailoring your presentations and exercises to each audience in this way. Instead of showing hypothetical examples of memos and instructions, get your audience involved by presenting them with real-world situations. Write for Work provides plenty of direction in that regard, and for a limited time, trainers can apply for a free review copy.
- Lester Smith
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