Gauging Needs

Do you find it difficult to gauge another person’s needs? If you say “No,” then you are in a different league from me. A week ago at a seniors PC users group I installed a wireless router and demonstrated how it works. This week a couple of the people who were at the demo told another one who had missed it, “And we had three computers on it talking to the Internet at the same time-and one of them was wired!”

The third person looked skeptical.

The usual facilitator had made some handout graphics of networked systems. He had separate ones for wired and wireless. This level of discussion is a long way from minutiae such as types and levels of encryption, packets, definition of a star configuration, or protocols of any type. These people just want to have their desktop and laptop both be able to access the Internet at the same time from home. In addition, they want to be able to take their laptops to a Starbucks and use the free wireless connection, but they don’t know how to do it.

War drivers they are not.

When I agreed to do the demonstration, I knew that my biggest hurdle would be to speak at a level that the group could absorb without even giving the slightest hint of being patronizing. That can be a challenge. The best way for me is to assume the class doesn’t know anything, but are both interested and bright. Then I slowly go through the steps of the demonstration concentrating more of the “what” I am doing rather than the “why.” There will be time enough to exploring the whys after the demo-ing is done. Along the way, I openly ask for feedback to make sure everyone is getting it.

But the thing that often helps a class remember is introducing elements that might seem inconsequential to the instructor. For instance, I could have stopped the demonstration with only my laptop talking to the newly installed router. That would have been fair and accurate, but by having three laptops ready to access it all at once, the interest level went up considerably. It went up even further when we carried the laptops around the building to see how the signal strength varied. And here I got a surprise.

Has anyone ever set up a wireless connection in a room with one wall of mirrors? The seniors group I was demonstrating to meets in a room that is often used to teach dancing and so has a solid wall of mirrors. Something else might have been going on, but that wall certainly blocked the signal. The conductivity of the aluminum reflective surface probably was responsible, but I cannot swear the wall isn’t reinforced with extra metal. The other walls in the room did not have the same attenuating effect.

After we finished playing with the laptops, I fielded a bunch of the expected questions like what is the difference between a router and a hub. Later I got an interesting question from a person who asked about the status of “wired wireless.” He had seen on older system that put a modulated signal on the 110 volt input lines and wondered how that would work. I assured him that technology is still available and could be combined with the other transmission systems through a router. He seemed to be concerned about the security of wireless, but wanted the flexibility of it without running ethernet cables over his house. I referred him to a source for what he needs. We’ll see if he follows through.

That demo was a week ago. At this week’s meeting, it was still being discussed. The participants all seemed to have enjoyed the demo and learned enough from it that several have said they are going to install their own systems. Maybe this time I hit the right combination of easy and difficult. If so, it was largely luck. In the past I have both over and under estimated the skill level and background of the group when presenting. Maybe I’m just getting to know them better. Maybe they are getting to know me well enough that they don’t feel they have to be politely distant. Who knows? As I said at the beginning, gauging the audience is difficult. I truly admire presenters who can completely change the presentation in realtime in response to audience feedback. We all do it to some extent, but most of us prefer to have either an outline or rehearsed script. In this case, I knew what I was doing well enough that I didn’t have to think about the demonstration itself and I could concentrate on watching the audience response. That makes a big difference.

Click here to read about my new tutorial on helping seniors. The new version has grown considerably over the original. It has more topics and anecdotes, and fewer typos. While you’re at it, check out my expanded tutorial on decision theory.

[tags]sherman e deforest, senior computing, senior learning, senior education, tutor, demo, wireless[/tags]