On being a novice – again

18 August 2014 0 By Viv McWaters

edge.001There’s an activity I sometimes use with groups to find out what expertise is lurking amongst the participants: it asks people to nominate themselves as a novice, practitioner, expert or ninja for a particular skill or knowledge of a particular topic.

There’s a lot of kudos given to being an expert yet for me I revel in being a novice. That’s because it means I’m learning something new. It also reminds me what it feels like to be a novice. I’ve written before about the Curse of Knowledge here and you can read/see an explanation here. When I’m training people in facilitation skills, it’s worth remembering what it’s like to be a learner, to be unsure, and a bit tentative.

I’m learning a new way of facilitating ‘inhabitable’ games. I’ve read a lot, I’ve taken part in the games, I’ve attended training, I’ve spoken with others, I’ve gathered my materials, written my own notes. I’m now ready to do it – the only way I know to really learn something new.

It’s both exciting and daunting to be a novice – again. And I love that feeling of being on my learning edge. That’s where all the greatest discoveries happen.

Onward!