Are you an Active Participant?

I was fortunate enough to MC the TEDx Melbourne even on Saturday. If you are not aware of TED I insist you go to http://www.ted.com/ and find our more before reading any further!

Anyway, it occurred to me that most participants at events like this are Passive, a fair few are Semi-Active and a rare few are truly Active. Here is how I define each category:

Passive
These people are happy to be at the session. They enjoy themselves but may little, if any, contribution to the discussion at the time. They are not willing to "stand out" and state an opinion. They will enjoy the session but life will continue on as normal.

Semi-Active
These people love this kind of session. They make sure their opinion is made (and heard!) and they may even continue the discussion after the session has concluded. But at the end of the day, life goes on as per normal with minimal changes made.

Active
These people are sometimes considered "The Quiet Achievers". While they do express their opinion, they are also inclusive of others. They will encourage others to be part of the discussion and contribute their thoughts and ideas. Most importantly, they will actively implement some of their new ideas in their day to day life. They hear a new idea, decide what they can do about it and then put action in place.

I am not saying we should all be Active at this kind of session as it takes all types. What I am saying is that it is the Active Participants that get the most value out of a session.

What about you? What recent learning do you need to be Active about?

Photo: Peter Yandell