Teaching

[Sugarpop]

I often feel that my ability to relate ideas verbally in a comprehensible way is quite limited. I can write texts that score high on clarity and structure, and make easy-to-follow presentations - if given time to prepare - but improvising explanations is difficult.​

An INTPnile thing?​

 

[spockguy]

Very much so. I can completely relate. I seem to be GREAT at intuitively explaining things that I assume the other knows the jist of (such as in a political debate, where the opponent initially knows and can comprehend my line of reasoning within the comparisons I make), but if I have to explain things from the beginning, to expose them to the material they need to know that precedes my point of view, it becomes quite confusing for me (as well as them). I typically never have any idea how to start to explain the whole entire concept in a compact period of time, and tend to rant on for way to long, and saying screw it in the middle of the explanation since I feel as if they don't care, or I come to the realization that I'm ranting on far to long without any comprehensive explanation that can be summarized in a minute or so

 

[zxc]

I seem to be good at teaching chess strategy to my friends. *shrug*

 

[Dissident]

I think the most problematic thing when you are teaching something is not knowing what is going through the other's mind. I tend to get it wrong and assume they didn't undestand and explain it again when they actually did undestand, or go too fast and leave them behind. The problem is that you usually cant trust people in this sense, they will nod or something as to not look stupid when they dont undestand so you have to guess. Whatever happens is usually akward.

 

[figaro_black]

I think it depends on what kind of idea you are trying to relate to the other person.

I'm surprisingly good at explaining rather complex, theoretical ideas that I've read about if I have to keep it short. I'm not as good at explaining my own ideas sufficiently, however. Mostly it is because if people do not ask me to explain something I assume they get what I mean. Which is of course seldom the case since people have a tendency to feign understanding. What I have started to do most of the time is simply to ask people if they know about 'insert name/theory here' before I present the idea I have in relation to that person/name/event. It works surprisingly well.

Though ideally, of course, I wish most people were as educated as my literature teacher. Then communicating an idea would never be a problem.

 

[Ermine]

I'm the same way. I'm good at helping people understand complex theoretical things, but I a;ways seem to make "simple" things look too complex.

 

[Sugarpop]

I'm the same way. I'm good at helping people understand complex theoretical things, but I a;ways seem to make "simple" things look too complex.

Exactly. I think INTPs find a lot of things intuitively obvious. When we fail at relating the seemingly obvious at the first try, our rather poor social skills won't allow us to see how others might think (wrong).

 

[loveofreason]

I'd be lost without text. I simply can't convey what I mean through speech.

I've been in few situations where I've had to attempt to teach something (lead workshops and the like), and it is just a painful embarrassment.

I ramble and wander off on tangents because I just want to follow my train of thought, and anyway, there aren't black and white answers for most things... I'll want to qualify answers, I'll want to try and explain the whole paradigm that underpins my point of view... and then people (quite fairly) glaze over.

Oddly though I can fairly summarise what is said to me by another. I can distill other people's thoughts but not my own.

And there's the problem also of my thoughts being structured in a way that seems to work for writing, but if I spoke the way I think... I hate dumbing my language down so that I don't sound like an alien in a monosyllabic culture.

I do think it's true that the problem has a lot to do with being unable to properly interpret cues as to whether the other has understood. I get this little internal panic that says Oh god - they haven't understood you - try something else, so begins the ramble trying to find just the phrase that makes sense to them.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm inclined to give weight to the poor social skills....

 

[DrSLudge]

"I hate dumbing my language down so that I don't sound like an alien in a monosyllabic culture."
"Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm inclined to give weight to the poor social skills...."

Soooo... I'm not the only person on the face of the earth who thinks that those other 99% of humans need to get with the program and use some smarts?
and I'm ALSO not the only person who looks like they need to get with the program when forced to interact with the sub humans?
IM HOME =D

 

[Anthile]

The only time I taught was when I was at school and had to teach other pupils. Don´t know if I was really good at it, but I wasn´t bad either.
The only notable thing I can say about teaching is that I´m completely lost when I don´t comprehend the issue completely.

 

[Ermine]

And it's a bit of a setback if people are repeatedly looking up words I say in a dictionary.

 

[Kidege]

I have the same problems, but it gets better with practice. It also helps when you learn the theories behind teaching. You stop feeling like you're dumbing it down because you focus not only on the subject at hand but on what the person who's listening is thinking. You can almost hear then think. The clearer you 'hear' them, the easier it is to figure out what step they're missing. Then you try to provide only that step. Not more, not less. And bam! Comprehension!

Edit:

In order to figure out the missing step you have to listen them first. It's a long, tiring process, but you learn a lot.

 

[sagewolf]

I wind up having to teach my classmates quite often. It's okay when it's a subject like Math or Tech Drawing, where it's practical and I can just SHOW them how to solve a question without explaining too much beyond "and I'm doing this because...". I get asked in English, too, though, where I just write what I think and come out with A's in most of our discursive essays. If I tell anyone that, they look at whatever we're working on in class at the minute and tell me I think too much ("a lot", if they're polite).

Of course, the one time I knew what I was doing (a short story assignment), the person who asked me ignored the one piece of advice I stressed the most: keep it simple and focus on ONE idea. I came back to her the day after I helped her brainstorm and got treated to hearing about five new ideas she'd had and had shoe-horned into her four-page story. (I'd already persuaded her to drop about seven such ideas the previous day.) Why did she want my advice anyway? Often I wonder why I would even want to teach at all. (Then I remember that I don't.)

 

[Da Blob]

I'd be lost without text. I simply can't convey what I mean through speech.

I've been in few situations where I've had to attempt to teach something (lead workshops and the like), and it is just a painful embarrassment.

I ramble and wander off on tangents because I just want to follow my train of thought, and anyway, there aren't black and white answers for most things... I'll want to qualify answers, I'll want to try and explain the whole paradigm that underpins my point of view... and then people (quite fairly) glaze over.

Oddly though I can fairly summarise what is said to me by another. I can distill other people's thoughts but not my own.

And there's the problem also of my thoughts being structured in a way that seems to work for writing, but if I spoke the way I think... I hate dumbing my language down so that I don't sound like an alien in a monosyllabic culture.

I do think it's true that the problem has a lot to do with being unable to properly interpret cues as to whether the other has understood. I get this little internal panic that says Oh god - they haven't understood you - try something else, so begins the ramble trying to find just the phrase that makes sense to them.

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm inclined to give weight to the poor social skills....

The story of my life
Reading on the college level at the age of 8 and trying to 'talk' to other 8 year olds, seems to have set some nasty precedents in my social evolution. My frame of reference starts with the stupid POV that every has read everything that I have and then once I realize this is not the case I begin to speak to them as if everyone is just 8 years old mentally. Condescending, redundant and didactic (not to mention arrogant asshole) are words used to describe my social skills..

However, I am a firm believer in the written form of communication. I understand writers, but not speakers. and I hope, perhaps vainly, that my writing is a bit more comprehensible than my speech.

I think a different part of the brain is used when Reading and Writing, as opposed the the part that Listens and Speaks while paying attention to all the nonverbal cue of conversation...

 

[Kidege]

IMHO it does get better with practice! It's only acting, becoming your speaker persona.

Write down a very brief set of notes and trust your knowledge of the matter will help you fill them up. Did I mention practice? Going to a business college helped me there.

Plus, teaching is not only about speaking. It's about making people do things that will make them learn (And figuring out, with their help, what those things should be).

 

[Jesin]

I don't have much of a problem with teaching.