The speaker was not engaging, entertaining or dynamic at all. He was talking about the work of the education department in Washington, D.C. to a large room full of Michigan superintendents.

I looked around the room and saw many, if not most, of my colleagues with iPads out or looking at their cell phones, checking and sending messages.

I felt sorry for the speaker and somewhat ashamed, so I put my own device down and tried my best to focus on his talk. Some people might have said we were “multi-tasking,” but to be honest, his delivery was boring and our attention strayed.

This scene happens in meeting rooms, conferences, lectures and even sports and entertainment events every single day. What is on the screen is somehow more important to people than the real life person talking to them. I’ve even seen couples in restaurants, each looking at their phones, too absorbed to talk to each other. That’s a sad sight.

Those same superintendents would not be pleased if they were chairing a meeting and talking, and the other staff members at the meeting all were texting, reading postings or otherwise off topic with some electronic device. Nor would teachers tolerate classrooms where students all pulled out their phones instead of working on the day’s lesson.

In the old days, daydreaming was the common way people tuned a speaker out. Some people were so good at it; they could look, and with eyes focused right on the speaker, not take in a single word. Another creative way to get off task was the old trick of reading a comic book or paperback behind the big upright history textbook. If it was in a place where there were no consequences for doing it, some folks even would fall asleep.

A couple solutions come to mind.

First, speakers and leaders should go to work on their delivery and make sure it is engaging enough to hold people’s attention. Having discussions and assigning small group work along with the lecture definitely helps get people involved. The second way to help on this is tougher; it involves teaching people to be more polite and to put away the phone or distracting device until the meeting is over.

They can get it out and check it during a break or when they leave.

Thanks again if you’ve read this far. It’s OK to go check that device now.

 

John Jarpe is the superintendent of Brandywine Community Schools. He can be reached at (269) 684- 7150.