We have a message. We know this message can change lives. But how can this message be as engaging as possible?

Here’s the problem: when we know a lot about something we tend to share too much. The result is that the people who could benefit most from the message disengage from it, or don’t engage deeply enough for the message to shape their behavior.

With this conundrum in mind, I designed and implemented with a group of teens an unconventional approach to engagement. I imposed the following limits on myself:

1. My notes had to fit on one side of a single sheet of paper.
2. I could only make two points during the hour and ten minute class period. The rest of the content had to come from the teens.
3. I couldn’t use any other resources (slides, books, etc.).

This is good time to emphasize just how frightening it can be to challenge the far reaches of our comfort zone. I knew that what transpired would be either dynamic or awkward and clunky. I had no idea which. What happened surprised everyone in the room. Especially me.

I filmed the demonstration and will post the footage in short segments throughout the summer. For now, I wanted to share the development process so that you can experiment and interact with it.

So here is what I did:

Step 1: Answer the following question with a single statement:

Question: What do I want to do?

At the top of the paper I put a summary statement: “Demonstrate tools of engagement.”

Step 2: Answer the question:

How am I going to accomplish step 1?

I wrote down all of the skills and practices that make up this engagement model which I had been collecting on 3” x 5” cards: Use of divergent questions, reflective listening, synthesis, curiosity, etc. These I wrote down on mini-sticky notes.

Step 3: In what sequence will I do these things?

I arranged the sticky notes in a progression that I thought would flow best.

Step 4: I transcribed the sequence into my single sheet of paper with one column for each of the two days I would be there.

With my single sheet in hand I was ready to put my engagement model to the test. What would you put on your single sheet of paper?

A reporter from the local paper observed the presentation. Click here to read the article.

Few tools are more critical to learning than the ability to ask good questions. Unfortunately, most people believe that a good question is open-ended and a bad question is closed-ended. Not true.

This traditional standard is grossly inaccurate. Exceptional questions can be open and closed-ended. My daughter asked me, “Can dogs see better than humans at night?” This is an excellent question. The fact that it is closed-ended doesn’t matter.

Abandon the old definition of a good question. Don’t worry about whether a question begins with who, what, where, when, why , or how.

Consider a new standard for good questions:

1) Was the question’s origin authentic curiosity?

2) Did the question awaken curiosity in others?

3) Did the question generate additional good questions?

Promote learning and engage students at a deeper level by asking excellent questions. Better yet, teach students how to recognize and ask good questions for themselves. Few skills are more important for life-long learning.

The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens—Andrew F. Robinson Eugene, Oregon— Who is the person who touched your life when you were a teenager? Isn’t that the person you want to be to the teens in your life? That’s the person they need you to be says Author Andrew F. Robinson.

Robinson just released his new book The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating with Teens. Robinson’s book is not another self-help manual it’s a well researched, proven look at how each of us can better communicate with teenagers. Readers will find a clear, engaging and reliable roadmap to connecting with teens in ways that will positively impact them for life.

In reading The Teen Age you will also rediscover the things that stood out in your life and will find those same magic moments can impact the teen age around us. “Residing within each of us are resources that, when fully expressed, can make a world of difference in the life of a teen,” asserts Robinson, an educational coach who translates adolescent brain research into relevant applications for organizations throughout the U.S. In this collection of keen, compassionate and disarming essays Robinson both amplifies and models his thesis that the requisite for creating positive change is to risk bringing our full, authentic selves to relationships.

Throughout this highly accessible book Robinson paints memorable word pictures to illuminate both the complexities of the teen psyche, and the ways in which we may succeed—or fail—to secure a trusting, transformative relationship with the teens we care about. “I hope this book will both challenge our assumptions and affirm our deepest intuitions as we reach out to teens,” says Robinson. “I know the sea change that can occur in teens when they experience us as whole, vulnerable individuals who genuinely get them. This can literally save their lives.”

“The Teen Age is an invitation to think beyond our original boundaries—it encourages us to come along side teens, to come alongside one another, respectfully, with an eager curiosity,” says Christine Barber, a counselor with over 30 years of clinical experience, “I find myself fully absorbed in this book, and like a good meal, it lingers with me, naturally continuing to ask questions, to reflect on what I have read.”

“Like missives from a battlefield, The Teen Age gives you the sense that the author, Andrew Robinson, has been there and wants to help you in the work you do with young people,” says John Santin, a Project Coordinator with Oregon Research Institute.

The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens is available at www.peoplechangepeople.com and on Amazon (click here). This is the author’s first book. About Andrew Robinson: Andrew Robinson is writer, trainer, and speaker who’s received enthusiastic reviews for his energetic and provocative presentations. Through his website, newsletter, blog and podcasts he advocates for effecting positive change by availing ourselves of our creativity and compassion. Robinson’s interest in the dynamics of change and relationships led him to pursue a master’s in education, with a marriage and family therapy specialization, at the University of Oregon. He earned his M.A. in 2001, and in the years following directed a youth development program, which grew to reach more than 50,000 students annually. He is now honored to partner with groups from all parts of the U.S.

On the first Tuesday of each month I host a ten minute conference call entitled, Ten-on-Tuesday: An hour’s worth of information in ten minutes. It’s an alternative to hour-long webinars that—let’s be honest—aren’t always the best use of time.

During the last call I asked participants to ask a question of students for which they had no pre-determined answer. I appreciated the follow-up question I received and thought I would share the exchange.

Participant question:

The last item you discussed yesterday was asking a question of a student that we don’t have the answer, I was a little confused regarding that. Could you please give me an example?

My response:

Too often we ask questions for which we have prepackaged answers. Our goal in such cases is to transfer our answers to students. This process has more in common with bluetooth data-transfer than learning.

When you ask a question for which you have no answer, you level the learning field. You and the student are learning collaboratively to find the answer(s). For instance, you may ask a student you work with, “How is it that the media influences people?” This doesn’t mean you don’t have your own ideas. You do. But what if the student with whom you are working could add clarity to your existing understanding of this topic? Asking this question allows for this opportunity. It also encourages the student to arrive at a new, fresh understanding of the topic.

The University of Oregon’s Substance Abuse Prevention Program sponsored the production of this video on making prevention education—all education, for that matter—personal.  These videos walk you through each of the three phases of the personalized prevention process: Crystallize, Personalize, and Relationalize (C.P.R.).

For learning to be powerful and life-changing it must be personal. These videos walk you through three ingredients that must be in place to move educational approaches from abstract and impersonal to concrete, personal, and life-changing.

I want to thank the University of Oregon’s Substance Abuse Prevention Program for this opportunity. Bryan and Sabine, thank you for your help planning, filming, and formatting the footage.

Part 1: Introduction to Personalized Prevention Education

Part 2: C.P.R. A Meta-Curriculum for Personalized Prevention Education

Part 3: Crystallize Your Message

Part 4: Personalize Your Methods

Part 5: Relationalize Your Approach

Part 6: Get Away from Group-think

Last month I launched a new twist on webinars called, Ten-on-Tuesday: A webinar’s worth of important information in ten minutes. Take a walk, relax at your desk, or carve our a corner in your local coffee shop. You can join the call from just about anywhere.

CLICK HERE to listen to the last Ten-on-Tuesday conversation, “What might evidence-based approaches be missing?“

Would you like to join our next call? CLICK HERE to receive updates on future Ten-on-Tuesday calls (You’ll also receive 3 free gifts).

Our next call will be next Tuesday, March 1st at 10:00 PST. The theme will be, “Take it personally: The key ingredient for transforming education.”

Author of The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens, Andrew F. Robinson, M.Ed is the founder of People Change People and creator of Epic Training. He provides coalitions and organizations with breakaway, uncommonly powerful approaches to working with teens. We had the privilege of interviewing Andrew to get his insights on reaching teens.

EBB: What needs to change in environments where adults work with teens (schools, programs) to make relationships stronger and healthier?

AFR: Few things are nearer to my heart than this question and few things grieve me more than what I see happening under the auspices of education. If, like Rip Van Winkle, I could fall asleep for twenty years, here’s what I would long to see when I awoke:

1. Schools employing interactive, relationship-based approaches that engage and captivate teens at a personal level.

2. Teachers who fuel the learning process by enflaming a student’s natural curiosity.

3. Learning environments that have shed teach-to-the-test tactics in favor of unbounded creativity, divergent thinking, and regard for human ingenuity.

If our country is serious about transforming education, these three ingredients must be at the heart of the transformation process.

EBB: Given all the risks and dangers presented to teens, what can educators and parents do to help teens make better choices?

AFR: Commit to finding points of entry into the relationship. This takes determination on the part of the adult. Study teens and you’ll discover these entry points. But you have to be intently focused and committed, like when you lock yourself out of your house. You check every door and window to see if one is unlocked. The same is true with teens.

I introduce groups to the following three phases to help them strengthen their positive influence in the life of teens—C.P.R.

1. Crystallize your message— Sharpen your focus to the essentials

2. Personalize your methods— Increase relevance and meaning for teens as they take ownership

3. Relationalize your approach and build trust with students— Teens will connect with your message as they connect with the messenger.

EBB: What do educators and parents need to know about the adolescent brain?

AFR: Can you imagine hosting Thanksgiving while remodeling your kitchen? You could get the job done, but it wouldn’t be pretty. A similar remodeling process is underway between the ears of every 12-25 year-old. Functions like logical, forward thinking and impulse control don’t perform as well as they will in adulthood. I devote several sections of my book to this remodeling process and what we can do about it.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Interview with the author of The Teen Age: 40 Reflections on Relating With Teens – Los Angeles Parenting Teens | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/parenting-teens-in-los-angeles/relating-with-teens-interview-with-the-author-of-the-teen-age-40-reflections-o#ixzz1ES7JQOHz

Dear friends, clients, and other acquaintances:

I am excited to announce The 6Teens Project, an ever-expanding trove of short, thematic videos in which teens discuss with candor the people and learning environments they find most helpful. Each video is designed to be a patch of a larger quilt which taken as a whole can help us better understand adolescents and how to serve them. The 6Teens Project is an opportunity for teens to help shape a conversation about what adults can do to better understand and connect with them. I trust you will find their responses as fascinating and inspiring as I do.

It’s simple and free to access The 6Teens Project videos:

1. Watch – Videos are available on The 6Teens Project Channel. You can also watch the videos on YouTube.

2. Subscribe – Receive new episodes as we post them. (Just click Subscribe on Vimeo or YouTube.)

3. Participate – Share this resource with others and let me know how it has informed your work.

In response to The 6Teens Project I have enhanced my training workshops to incorporate not only cutting-edge brain development research but also insights from teens themselves into how to build meaningful, lasting connections with them, as expressed in 6Teens discussions.  If you are interested in learning more about these workshops send me an email.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

“Now judge I had debts no honest man could pay

The bank was holdin’ my mortgage and they were gonna take my house away

Now I ain’t sayin’ that makes me an innocent man

But it was more `n all this that put that gun in my hand”

-Bruce Springsteen, Johnny 99

Why are so many people in America obese, depressed, addicted to drugs and pornography? From our mechanistic perspective we begin our explanation with, “Well, that’s because…” Be-CAUSE, or as the Middle English folks may have said, “by cause that.” Such statements tend to match a single phenomenon to a single cause. A poor diet causes obesity, for example. I’m a big fan of Jamie Oliver’s work to reduce childhood obesity and would be a fool not to recognize that a poor diet contributes to this national epidemic. But we need to openly consider other complexities that may exacerbate the problem per individual child. Human behavior is not mechanistic and is therefore not subject to the same laws of causality that govern the physical world. In light of this truth we need to take to heart the following:

1. People are not machines. We’re infinitely more capable and complicated. The adversity that caused Johnny 99 to go on a shooting spree could drive another person to start a software company.

2. Postulating causes for human behavior is natural. But postulating and attributing are two very different things. It is natural to form an educated guess. It is limiting to relationships to assume we know the source of another’s behavior.

3. Even if we could know with confidence why someone does something, this does not mean we now know what to do about it.

4. When human behavior persists despite an onslaught of effort and resources we may, in our disheartened state, concede that the problem surpasses our ability. Were we to be more inquisitive and less hasty to claim with conviction that we know the cause, I believe our efforts would prevail.

Best that we engage with people, behold and study them, serve their core needs to be seen, known, and empowered. Being authentically interested is the charge we must accept. Over time, with keen insight we may come to better understand be-cause.