This is about discussion, dialog, and constructive conversation, in person, or by virtual remote connection. Live or recorded. Either way, convo helps to elevate one's own intelligence. (If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you ;-)
Has this happened to you? In the presence of compatible people, pursuing a worthwhile agenda in live energetic conversation, you can think and say amazingly complex and intelligent things ...
Such is the power of the convo, amplified by reflecting concepts off other intelligences and thus co-creating new realities. I mean, it used to work around the campfire, it worked on town square, it worked in an office, and it works with virtual connections.
Such authentic aha moments happen in an open space of trust and mutual transparency. Aha flows more easily if there are only participants, no observers, and if there are no recording devices.
Why no recording devices?
Have you noticed how a meeting that starts cheerful or with mild boredom freezes over when someone, especially a leading personality asks for permission to record? I mean, it is good to ask permission before recording. But why is that sudden drop in collaboration or cooperation? Would not a recording of voice or video provide neutral and undefeatable evidence of what was said - a kind of ultimate transparency, especially if the recording were published?
There is the problem. We feel observed. Even though in public, chances are we are being recorded, already. It used to be only by a photographer or by a reporter. Now it is by surveillance camera, by Google's Street Car or by someone with a smartphone. Guess we will just get used to and act accordingly.
Yet, in a meeting the mere presence of recording devices, you may have felt, makes some participants nervous and uncomfortable, to the point of feeling miranda'd and refusing to participate. Secret recording is no solution. How would you ever be able to share it or use it for anything else than improving the accuracy of writing the meeting record or minutes?
So, if recording is advised, even though it helps transparency and understanding, many, if not most participants appear to feel invaded, hampered in their free speech more than by a bossy atmosphere alone, and clumsy in creative interaction. As if they were on stage, and not used to it, or unwilling. And they are.
Do you want to be on stage?
Timing is a big issue. If we know from the start there will be recording, the main part of the convo can be a blast. Just asks before and the timid stay away. Do not ask once the convo has begun, that is unlucky timing. And asking afterwards is just bad taste. If you have a secret recording, keep it secret forever, never release it.
Towards transparency
On the other hand, if we wish to preserve the live energetic conversation, and offer transparency to participants and to interested people beyond the group, using recording devices or live video streaming ensures a wide open and mostly verifyable information flow. As in this educator's convo we had on Junto. Yet, recording comes at the cost of making some participants feel umcomfortable.
The truth shall set you free,
but first it makes you feel miserable.
So there we have it, while recording helps with transparency and fidelity, it may prevent the less experienced participants from uncorking their genius' bottle.
Now, imagine, you would feel comfortable in front of a camera. Like a pro on TV of an age gone by.
If only you could get over that discomfort...
You may already hold the secret tool to achieve just that: a video camera or a video recording phone.
Record yourself speaking.
And watch. Do this on 10 different occasions. At least. Until you notice a change in the way you evaluate your own appearance and performance. You may find you see that person on the video not as "yourself", but more like a friend appearing on the video. That is good. The next recording or public appearance will be much easier. while you are on video, upload it anyway, and share, in a closed forum if that is easier. Going through discomfort and overcoming it is vital for learning.
When on-stage, you may feel nervous in the gut, but you perform anyway. Watch your own video and you will notice the nervousness you feel within is hardly visible on the video. Why can I claim this? Been there, done that. Everyone is a beginner ... at something.
The intended outcome: You don't mind recording yourself on video and publishing, which gives you the best of both words: Transparency and trust.
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