There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception ~ Aldous Huxley
Perceiving
The first paragraph of Chapter 3 of the Sparks book starts with the bold declaration that “all knowledge begins in observation (30).” When I think of observation in such a manner, I recall the “Where’s Waldo” books that challenged its readers to find the fictional character of Waldo among the multitude of objects on a single page.
Finding Waldo among all the activity in the pictures requires more than just looking them over once or twice. It requires patience and determination. As the Root-Bernsteins astutely stated, “the patience to look and look again is therefore a trait that characterizes great artists (33).” Martin Handford, the creator of the Where’s Waldo books certainly must have possessed that particular quality. Likewise, he seemed to be equally adept at imaging.
Although Mr. Handford’s version of imaging is visual, there are other methods of imaging in a creative form. The Sparks book adds that, “many writers of fiction are visualizers. Charles Dickens declared that he simply “saw” his stories and then wrote them down (55).” It may seem odd but in this instance I find that a clear difference between observing and imaging in my practice is that observing is often a cognitive skill that is passive, while imaging is active.
From a personal and creative standpoint I would like to apply observation in my practice through on site evaluations. For example, I can sit in on a training session that I created and watch how the trainer delivers the content and how the students respond to it. After the evaluation, I can take what I witnessed in the classroom and subsequently use imaging to improve or develop new and innovative training programs. As it relates to my content area I can further determine if a webinar would be more useful to teach certain types of content.
And speaking of webinars, I believe that using my observing and imaging skills will help me to decide what kind of webinars are appropriate for the type of training that is needed. For example, would a live webinar be the most cost effective way to deliver training or would a pre-recorded version provide more flexibility for a particular business environment (e.g. 9 to 5 or 24x Contact Center employees)?
Also to expand the boundaries of teaching/training to promote creativity among students, I am going to develop exercises and learning modules that focus on the cognitive skills of observing and imaging. This approach will be implemented to encourage creativity on the job. I believe that if employees tap into their own creative powers they will bring more enthusiasm and effectiveness to their jobs.
I can definitely see how observation and imaging will play a significant role in the way I develop future training programs. Furthermore I can see how it can help me become a more creative individual both professionally “and” personally.
Reference:
Where's Waldo. Candlewick Press. Retrieved from:
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