Fw: Re: Can someone learn to be detail-oriented?

Subject: Fw: Re: Can someone learn to be detail-oriented?
From: Kathi Jan Knill <Kathi -dot- Knill -at- TEMPLATE -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 13:51:58 -0400

I too have been staying out of this conversation, but as John
just said...I'm bored.
Has anyone stopped to ask themselves "what does to be
detail-oriented mean?"
Everyone is somewhat detail oriented, but in different ways. For
instance, how many people do you know who don't remember the
details of getting dressed in the morning,
and so go out with only their underwear on?
Of course that is a lot different from being detail-oriented in
the way you've been discussing...but I wanted to make a point.
You can't teach someone to "be detail-oriented" but you can teach
them to do a list of activities in order to perform a function.
You teach your child about how to get dressed in the morning.
For those of you who don't have children, understand that it
takes several years until your child can get the "details" of
dressing correct. And within that time, sometimes you might have
to change something that your child has done. And you keep
teaching them until they get it right. However, lately there
have been great tools for teaching these details. Posters that
have pictures and words that describe the details that must be
completed, so that your child can look at the poster and see if
he/she has remembered everything. It is a great tool for
teaching.
So, as I went off on a strange analogy, I think it still makes
the point. that you can teach anyone to follow directions, make
lists for them, etc. But unless there is someone around who is
willing to help them when they make mistakes (and not FLAME them
for their mistakes -- to use a list word), and work with them
towards getting all of it correct, I don't think it can work.
Gee, I started out thinking that of course you could teach
someone to be detail oriented, and here my last sentence says no.
To sum it up, people can be trained to do things only if:
1) they are open to learning and willing to work hard at it,
and
2) there is someone their to teach them what they need to know.
And to be understanding and helpful when mistakes are made, not
impatient.

That's just my $ .02 for a Wednesday afternoon.
Good luck to both of you, whatever you decide.

Kathi Jan Knill
Sr. Technical Writer
Template Software, Inc.
kathi -dot- knill -at- Template -dot- com
Life loves to be taken by
the lapel and told:
"I'm with you kid. Let's go."

----- Original Message -----
From: John Posada <jposada01 -at- YAHOO -dot- COM>
To: <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 1999 1:33 PM
Subject: Re: Can someone learn to be detail-oriented?

> I've been keeping out of this conversation, but...hey,
> it's lunch time and I'm bored :-)
>

>

From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=


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