How did I make it work in middle school…

Partly, I’m just invigorated by being on a stage. I have my public-speaker persona and it’s more energetic and quicker on the uptake than my normal persona.

Partly it was relationship-driven — they weren’t just an audience, they were the kids I knew. I was planning and delivering lessons with an eye toward specific people’s needs and reactions, which made it different every time. That doesn’t work for one-shot presentations, although you might be able to draw on it for repeated presentations in front of similar audiences (“there’s always this one kid who…”).

Partly I like Latin. A lot. I am genuinely and always excited about how awesome participles are.

Partly it was pacing. You can’t plan many activities that last more than 10ish minutes with a room full of middle school boys, so I was always switching gears, which meant I was always a bit adrenalin-fueled. It’s easy, I think, to lose steam if you’re giving a straight-up talk for 45 minutes (I wouldn’t know because you never get to do that in middle school!). But if you’re doing different things, involving the audience, there’s always some freshness there, if only the sheer terror that you might forget what you meant to do next, or have to ad lib around some forgotten prop.

And partly, yes, involving the audience. If you’re a performer your energy has to be partly their energy, so give them ways to show it…(Not a problem in middle school. Actually the opposite was more likely to be a problem. But once I learned to surf the chaos, to try to work with it rather than fight it, I felt better.)

I also keep in mind that I’m always learning new ways to instruct and deliver reference services. From time to time, I challenge myself to do better with each type or subject-area of reference, etc. in the course of a reference desk or virtual reference shift. I also experiment with adding new resources and techniques to my repertoire often after being inspired by a good article. It’s good to realize when you start treating all your users the same or sling out rote scripts that you should enjoy and engage users personally. I remind myself that each interaction, information need, etc. is unique and that you are effecting and improving someone’s individual life and goals. A laugh or smile are great rewards in our profession.

I agree that we can “create passionate users”, and that the initial apathetic, bored, or impatient read you get from a student (or other customer) can soon turn to engagement and confidence, if you infuse the interaction with your own energy, confidence, and respect. I find that an initially apathetic or impatient user is hindered by the negative assumption that the solution to their need (etc.) will be a “drag” or that the librarian won’t understand how to help. This anxiety and uncertainty (and even burnout) is alleviated only when I bring BOTH a solution to a need (logically speaking) and an engaged and positive delivery to the table. I’ve experienced when I cogently answer a reference question or instruct in sleepwalking mode and get a blasé or monotone “Thanks”. Body language and delivery really close the deal and instill confidence and engagement in our users.

I remembered this at the Intentional Teacher program last week [big plug: it was FANTASTIC!!!!] while in the midst of a discussion of a “stuck” place in my teaching, and realized how I could apply it. Don’t worry about what the students think of *me*; find the music of what I’m showing them and focus on that. If I’m bored with it, or dismissive of it, why shouldn’t they be as well?