Training Gen Y Employees - 7 Techniques For Teaching Gen Y Workers
It seems only yesterday I was stepping nervously into my first computer class, teaching a roomful of expectant, docile students how to make rectangles and change a font or two on the then-hot Macintosh platform.
Those days, you could spend 20 minutes imparting the difficult concept of how to create a perfect square using a drawing program, or how to move text around on a page.
Students were quiet, attentive, and eager to master the machines in front of them.
Nowadays, you're lucky if it takes 20 seconds to impart the same knowledge, or to even have student's attention for that long to begin with! Chalk it up to prior experience, or tech on the brain, but people are learning new things faster than ever before, and it's quite a challenge to keep the course moving along at a decent rate for everyone.
Something has definitely changed over the last 15 years in the classroom, and it ain't just the technology.
It's the mouse pushers.
Mouse pushers these days have quite a different outlook from yesteryear's counterparts.
They are quicker to catch-on, quicker to turn-away, and impatient at the slightest drop in pace or topic that doesn't apply to them directly.
They expect information at the speed of thought, or the click of a mouse.
They are, in short, the organic result of all the marvelous technological advances we have made in the last 20 years, and they have a name: Generation Y, Gen Y, Millennials, or my favorite, "Echo Boomers.
" So who are these impatient, perky young pups? You'll find this generation roughly comprising people born between 1980 and 2000, although sources differ with the exact dates.
They have some characteristics that make it very easy, and in other ways, very difficult, to teach anything.
So let's delve into a little background on Gen Y students, and what you and your instructors need to know to teach them any subject successfully.
Generation Y Characteristics & Teaching Techniques #1: They are Techno savvy Generation Y grew up with technology.
It was ubiquitous.
My generation was lucky to get a clunky computer the size of Montana to use for a few minutes in high school; these students grew up texting and IM'ing and using the latest software and hardware.
Generation Y is intimately familiar with technology, and, they're good at it! Whether their techno savviness is the result of simply having grown up with computers, or even the hundredth monkey syndrome, the simple fact is these students are tops when it comes to understanding, using, and integrating technology, in all forms, into their lives.
Therefore, the first key to teaching them effectively is...
Key #1: Don't Talk Down to Them It is incredibly insulting to these students to speak to them as if they are newbies, and often they will know more about certain aspects of your subject than you do.
It's a simple fact; they are already experts at broad swaths of technology, and you are not there to teach them huge chunks of new knowledge.
Rather, you are there to fill in what holes they may have from their own prior experimentation, and to show them how to do things they already expect the program to do or that they already know how to do in other programs.
In other words, you are a guide, a coach; you are not the Computer God in the classroom anymore.
#2: They Have Short Attention Spans In one of my early courses, I had a 90+ year old man in the room.
I explained that sometimes when computers are slow, you might click an icon and it might take a "whole second" for the computer to respond and show you the drop-down menu or perform its function.
The man looked at me incredulously and said, loudly and with obvious shock, "A SECOND?" I realized that to a 90+ year old man, a second is quite short indeed.
Yet when using a computer, of course this can seem like an eternity and really slow down your work.
And if a second seems long to Gen Xer's and Baby Boomers, imagine how long it seems to Gen Yers! Key #2: K.
I.
S.
S.
(Keep it Short and Sweet.
) These people grew up with the attention span of a gnat.
I don't mean this unkindly.
But these people are truly the product of the 30-second sound-byte, coupled with the instant click of the mouse for results.
They want it, and they want it now, or you've lost them.
I once read a book on communication that stated, if you can't make your point in 30 seconds or less, you probably can't make it at all.
Never is this truer with Gen Y; you will be lucky to have their attention this long.
So keep your topics short, to the point, and use relevant examples or you will lose them.
#3: They Filter Out Data Quickly Gen Y students are expert consumers of information.
If they don't think the information you are about to present will apply to them, immediately, they will turn off and you will lose their attention.
This characteristic makes it especially difficult to teach new concepts to your Gen Y students.
You can't blame them, really.
They, and all of us, are confronted and inundated with huge volumes of information from many sources, at every turn.
From computer screens to TV ads, billboards, cell phones and even advertisements while on hold on the phone, it is a natural human reaction to shield ourselves from the constant onslaught.
We do this by tuning out what is not of immediate interest, and Gen Yers do this with elegant alacrity.
This leads to Key #3...
Key #3: Make Your Topic Introductions Sizzle You've got to make your case for a topic quickly, and compellingly, and show them how it's going to apply to them up-front or you will not have their attention.
A headline for a newspaper or magazine advertisement is often considered the "ad for the ad.
" If people don't buy the headline, they won't read the article.
Tell me which headline sounds more enticing: "Computers Are Getting Faster Each Year" -- or -- "Can You Keep Up with Technology That May Replace Your Brain by 2012?" Now both articles could discuss the same data, yet the second headline is by far more compelling.
At one point, Reader's Digest used to send out lists of headlines to some of their readers and ask them what headline sounded interesting.
Based on reader response, whichever headline the readers liked the best, Reader's Digest wrote the article after the fact.
So important is the headline to the success of the article, that they would not even write the article unless their audience liked the headline first.
So too, you must introduce your topics so compellingly that your Gen Y students cannot help but be interested.
You need introductions that sizzle and command attention and interest.
#4: They Multitask Really Well Because Gen Y grew up with technology, they are quite adept at multitasking and will often email and/or text during class.
This doesn't necessarily mean you have lost them.
Key #4: Don't Get Offended At Other Activities So if you see your Gen Y employees texting and emailing as you present material to them, don't be offended.
They are doing what they do everywhere, as natural as breathing.
Although it could mean that you are either taking too long to make your point, or the information you are presenting does not apply to them (see above).
#5: They Consume Information Quickly As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Gen Y students are quick studies.
Because of the constantly changing technology around them, they are very used to learning new information quickly, and you will find the classroom no exception.
New concepts come easily to these students, and they expect information at the speed of thought.
This leads us to Key #5...
Key #5: Keep Up the Pace Because Gen Y picks up info so fast, you want to keep the classroom pace moving fairly quickly, always checking faces, body language, and of course direct questions for clues to your speed.
Often you will have a mix of Gen Y students, as well as older students in your classroom, which makes it quite a challenge to keep the pace up for the Gen Y students while honoring the slower pacing of other students.
Often I will simply ask the group, "How is this pace for you?" This is key to keeping the group alive, interested, and participating.
#6: Information Must Apply Directly To Them or You Lose Them Gen Y is really a generation that plays the radio station W.
I.
I.
F.
M.
, "What's In It For Me," more than any other.
They expect information and technology to cater to them, not the other way 'round.
It used to be you came to a computer course with the expectation that you would learn how to use a particular software; Gen Y comes to a computer class to learn how the software already caters to their way of working or meets their needs.
If it doesn't, some are genuinely surprised or even frustrated.
Gen Y also has a huge entitlement issue, expecting the world on a plate.
That means a lot of expectations for you as the teacher, and for the software or system you are about to teach.
Key #6: Customize the Presentation Directly to Students' Needs Therefore you must customize the information you are teaching directly to students' needs.
You may not know these needs ahead of time, and often I will ask the question, "What is it that you are hoping to learn today" and I get revealing answers.
This helps me steer the course and flow of information directly towards student's needs, instead of to my need to present a complete course.
With this technique, I can give more time or detail to topics that students are interested in, and sometimes even skip topics that students already know or are not interested in.
Ultimately, this technique allows me to give a more satisfying and useful presentation to my students.
#7: Challenge: Balancing Gen Y and Mixed Groups Often you will have a mix of Gen Y students, as well as older students in your classroom, which makes it quite a challenge to keep the pace up for the Gen Y students while honoring the slower pacing of other students.
This leads to our final key...
Key #7: Use Body Language and Other Clues to Balance Mixed Groups I mentioned this already in this article, but it bears repeating: watch your students' faces and body language to discover their level of involvement in the course.
This technique is even more important when you are presenting to a mixed group of Gen Y students and other generations.
Many times students will not voice their feelings of displeasure if you are going too slowly or are not giving enough detail.
You don't need a degree in psychology to know if your students are involved or are learning.
Yet this is not always true.
Sometimes the most quiet and uninvolved looking groups will rave about a course afterwards, so body language is not always the best indicator of your performance.
Often I will simply ask the group, "How is this pace for you?" Or, "Would you like to practice this concept?" Direct questions can also be helpful in keeping you aware of the group's involvement.
This is key to keeping the group alive, interested, and participating.
Your job is to keep everyone learning at a pace they like, which is not always possible in mixed groups.
But having awareness of Gen Y learning styles, and of the generational mix of your group, can help you to balance your students' needs and create the best learning experience for the whole group.
Summary In this article we have explored some key concepts for teaching Gen Y students effectively.
The main thing to keep in mind is their short attention spans and techno savvy.
Then use these techniques:
Until next time, we'll solve our problems Bit By Bit.
Those days, you could spend 20 minutes imparting the difficult concept of how to create a perfect square using a drawing program, or how to move text around on a page.
Students were quiet, attentive, and eager to master the machines in front of them.
Nowadays, you're lucky if it takes 20 seconds to impart the same knowledge, or to even have student's attention for that long to begin with! Chalk it up to prior experience, or tech on the brain, but people are learning new things faster than ever before, and it's quite a challenge to keep the course moving along at a decent rate for everyone.
Something has definitely changed over the last 15 years in the classroom, and it ain't just the technology.
It's the mouse pushers.
Mouse pushers these days have quite a different outlook from yesteryear's counterparts.
They are quicker to catch-on, quicker to turn-away, and impatient at the slightest drop in pace or topic that doesn't apply to them directly.
They expect information at the speed of thought, or the click of a mouse.
They are, in short, the organic result of all the marvelous technological advances we have made in the last 20 years, and they have a name: Generation Y, Gen Y, Millennials, or my favorite, "Echo Boomers.
" So who are these impatient, perky young pups? You'll find this generation roughly comprising people born between 1980 and 2000, although sources differ with the exact dates.
They have some characteristics that make it very easy, and in other ways, very difficult, to teach anything.
So let's delve into a little background on Gen Y students, and what you and your instructors need to know to teach them any subject successfully.
Generation Y Characteristics & Teaching Techniques #1: They are Techno savvy Generation Y grew up with technology.
It was ubiquitous.
My generation was lucky to get a clunky computer the size of Montana to use for a few minutes in high school; these students grew up texting and IM'ing and using the latest software and hardware.
Generation Y is intimately familiar with technology, and, they're good at it! Whether their techno savviness is the result of simply having grown up with computers, or even the hundredth monkey syndrome, the simple fact is these students are tops when it comes to understanding, using, and integrating technology, in all forms, into their lives.
Therefore, the first key to teaching them effectively is...
Key #1: Don't Talk Down to Them It is incredibly insulting to these students to speak to them as if they are newbies, and often they will know more about certain aspects of your subject than you do.
It's a simple fact; they are already experts at broad swaths of technology, and you are not there to teach them huge chunks of new knowledge.
Rather, you are there to fill in what holes they may have from their own prior experimentation, and to show them how to do things they already expect the program to do or that they already know how to do in other programs.
In other words, you are a guide, a coach; you are not the Computer God in the classroom anymore.
#2: They Have Short Attention Spans In one of my early courses, I had a 90+ year old man in the room.
I explained that sometimes when computers are slow, you might click an icon and it might take a "whole second" for the computer to respond and show you the drop-down menu or perform its function.
The man looked at me incredulously and said, loudly and with obvious shock, "A SECOND?" I realized that to a 90+ year old man, a second is quite short indeed.
Yet when using a computer, of course this can seem like an eternity and really slow down your work.
And if a second seems long to Gen Xer's and Baby Boomers, imagine how long it seems to Gen Yers! Key #2: K.
I.
S.
S.
(Keep it Short and Sweet.
) These people grew up with the attention span of a gnat.
I don't mean this unkindly.
But these people are truly the product of the 30-second sound-byte, coupled with the instant click of the mouse for results.
They want it, and they want it now, or you've lost them.
I once read a book on communication that stated, if you can't make your point in 30 seconds or less, you probably can't make it at all.
Never is this truer with Gen Y; you will be lucky to have their attention this long.
So keep your topics short, to the point, and use relevant examples or you will lose them.
#3: They Filter Out Data Quickly Gen Y students are expert consumers of information.
If they don't think the information you are about to present will apply to them, immediately, they will turn off and you will lose their attention.
This characteristic makes it especially difficult to teach new concepts to your Gen Y students.
You can't blame them, really.
They, and all of us, are confronted and inundated with huge volumes of information from many sources, at every turn.
From computer screens to TV ads, billboards, cell phones and even advertisements while on hold on the phone, it is a natural human reaction to shield ourselves from the constant onslaught.
We do this by tuning out what is not of immediate interest, and Gen Yers do this with elegant alacrity.
This leads to Key #3...
Key #3: Make Your Topic Introductions Sizzle You've got to make your case for a topic quickly, and compellingly, and show them how it's going to apply to them up-front or you will not have their attention.
A headline for a newspaper or magazine advertisement is often considered the "ad for the ad.
" If people don't buy the headline, they won't read the article.
Tell me which headline sounds more enticing: "Computers Are Getting Faster Each Year" -- or -- "Can You Keep Up with Technology That May Replace Your Brain by 2012?" Now both articles could discuss the same data, yet the second headline is by far more compelling.
At one point, Reader's Digest used to send out lists of headlines to some of their readers and ask them what headline sounded interesting.
Based on reader response, whichever headline the readers liked the best, Reader's Digest wrote the article after the fact.
So important is the headline to the success of the article, that they would not even write the article unless their audience liked the headline first.
So too, you must introduce your topics so compellingly that your Gen Y students cannot help but be interested.
You need introductions that sizzle and command attention and interest.
#4: They Multitask Really Well Because Gen Y grew up with technology, they are quite adept at multitasking and will often email and/or text during class.
This doesn't necessarily mean you have lost them.
Key #4: Don't Get Offended At Other Activities So if you see your Gen Y employees texting and emailing as you present material to them, don't be offended.
They are doing what they do everywhere, as natural as breathing.
Although it could mean that you are either taking too long to make your point, or the information you are presenting does not apply to them (see above).
#5: They Consume Information Quickly As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Gen Y students are quick studies.
Because of the constantly changing technology around them, they are very used to learning new information quickly, and you will find the classroom no exception.
New concepts come easily to these students, and they expect information at the speed of thought.
This leads us to Key #5...
Key #5: Keep Up the Pace Because Gen Y picks up info so fast, you want to keep the classroom pace moving fairly quickly, always checking faces, body language, and of course direct questions for clues to your speed.
Often you will have a mix of Gen Y students, as well as older students in your classroom, which makes it quite a challenge to keep the pace up for the Gen Y students while honoring the slower pacing of other students.
Often I will simply ask the group, "How is this pace for you?" This is key to keeping the group alive, interested, and participating.
#6: Information Must Apply Directly To Them or You Lose Them Gen Y is really a generation that plays the radio station W.
I.
I.
F.
M.
, "What's In It For Me," more than any other.
They expect information and technology to cater to them, not the other way 'round.
It used to be you came to a computer course with the expectation that you would learn how to use a particular software; Gen Y comes to a computer class to learn how the software already caters to their way of working or meets their needs.
If it doesn't, some are genuinely surprised or even frustrated.
Gen Y also has a huge entitlement issue, expecting the world on a plate.
That means a lot of expectations for you as the teacher, and for the software or system you are about to teach.
Key #6: Customize the Presentation Directly to Students' Needs Therefore you must customize the information you are teaching directly to students' needs.
You may not know these needs ahead of time, and often I will ask the question, "What is it that you are hoping to learn today" and I get revealing answers.
This helps me steer the course and flow of information directly towards student's needs, instead of to my need to present a complete course.
With this technique, I can give more time or detail to topics that students are interested in, and sometimes even skip topics that students already know or are not interested in.
Ultimately, this technique allows me to give a more satisfying and useful presentation to my students.
#7: Challenge: Balancing Gen Y and Mixed Groups Often you will have a mix of Gen Y students, as well as older students in your classroom, which makes it quite a challenge to keep the pace up for the Gen Y students while honoring the slower pacing of other students.
This leads to our final key...
Key #7: Use Body Language and Other Clues to Balance Mixed Groups I mentioned this already in this article, but it bears repeating: watch your students' faces and body language to discover their level of involvement in the course.
This technique is even more important when you are presenting to a mixed group of Gen Y students and other generations.
Many times students will not voice their feelings of displeasure if you are going too slowly or are not giving enough detail.
You don't need a degree in psychology to know if your students are involved or are learning.
Yet this is not always true.
Sometimes the most quiet and uninvolved looking groups will rave about a course afterwards, so body language is not always the best indicator of your performance.
Often I will simply ask the group, "How is this pace for you?" Or, "Would you like to practice this concept?" Direct questions can also be helpful in keeping you aware of the group's involvement.
This is key to keeping the group alive, interested, and participating.
Your job is to keep everyone learning at a pace they like, which is not always possible in mixed groups.
But having awareness of Gen Y learning styles, and of the generational mix of your group, can help you to balance your students' needs and create the best learning experience for the whole group.
Summary In this article we have explored some key concepts for teaching Gen Y students effectively.
The main thing to keep in mind is their short attention spans and techno savvy.
Then use these techniques:
- Don't Talk Down To Them
- Keep It Short and Sweet (K.
I.
S.
S.
) - Make Your Topic Introductions Sizzle
- Don't Get Offended at Other Activities
- Keep Up The Pace
- Customize the Presentation Directly To Students' Needs
- Use Body Language and Other Clues to Balance Mixed Groups
Until next time, we'll solve our problems Bit By Bit.
Source...