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What makes a successful speaker or a seminar leader? What makes some people so engaging when they speak on the podium on a subject? The secret of successful speakers and seminar leaders is that they "own" the information they present instead of just keeping it inside their head. You can be just as effective as these individuals are. However, you first have to understand what "owning" information means and how to achieve it.
What does it mean to "own" information? Simply put, it is a subjective feeling of mastery. People who "own" information feel able to offer their own interpretations of the facts. Like many other subjective feelings, it expresses itself in your actions and changes your entire manner. Remember the successful seminar leader. You could recognize his or her sense of mastery in his or her manner and you also knew that it came from the inside. There was no need for him or her to put on an act.
Here is another example. Compare the way that Nobel Prize-Winning scientists talk about their discoveries (which they own) with the way a journalist (who is using) reports on a subject. Responsible journalists are usually careful to stick to the information given and not draw conclusions or inferences of their own. But listen to the scientists. They feel free to speculate and pass judgment because they know their information inside out.
To "own" information, you do not have to be a recognized expert. Granted, you must know a fair bit on the subject. If you have undergone memory training or know some memory techniques to improve your memory, you can expound on a subject matter quite easily, when the need arise, without knowing everything about it. Most people own what they know about their friends and colleagues. Children own a lot of information too. They own a myriad of facts about their families their homes and their daily routines. Once you "own" information, you gain enough confidence to organize it intuitively, without having to follow formal procedures.
If you do not "own" information, you will always treat it lightly, like a borrowed shovel. But once you "own" information, you start to feel in control. When you "own" information, you are the authority; if other people challenge you, you will keep your cool. Because you are using the information in the context of your life. The main benefits to you are increased flexibility in your thinking and a reduction in your stress level. Owning information makes it easier for you to think on your feet. You can examine and evaluate the various components to determine which ones are solid and which ones are shaky. Finally, it helps you to expand your knowledge base in the future, by serving as a point of reference.
The opposite of information ownership is surface understanding. The most extreme form is rote learning. People can recognize that, too. It makes your presentation seem wooden, like that of a public speaker who keeps repeating the same stock phrases and seems to be following a well-rehearsed script.
There is no need for you to suffer from information overload. You can achieve the kind of confidence that can only come from control over a body of knowledge. And this comes from experiencing or adding your personal experience or know-how to that body of knowledge. Information mastery is a skill like any other, you can learn it in the same way that you can master other aspects of your life. And having owned that information, and articulate in your own personal way, you become an expert in that area.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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