Content analysis and “the talking cure”

One of my favorite client-centred activities is the content analysis session. It’s one of the most exciting meetings of the project, and occurs during the design phase.

Content analysis sessions involve gathering experts into one room or conference call, and giving them time to discuss the material they believe the audience should learn from this new course you’re building. While they’re on the battlefield, arguing for or against others’ ideas, I’m lingering just outside the circle, listening, taking notes, making comments, asking questions and generally guiding the discussion. I call this exercise steering the horse from within the cart. The idea is to let the experts make the decisions about the content while I quietly push them to produce an outline by the end of the session.

This week, I spent a day and a half in a meeting room with three SMEs. The power dynamics were not equally balanced: two of them had recently joined the team and spent less than a month each at their new jobs. They were invited to attend the session because they had previously performed the same job as our future audience; they had recently been the target population. The third SME was their new manager. She had a wide breadth of experience, but hadn’t been working in the field for several years. She was invited because her role was to write the first draft of the course.

In the morning of the first day, the employees deferred to the manager quite often. Everyone was getting their sealegs and becoming comfortable with the process of talking things out in a group. When discagreement arose between the manager and employees, the employees would back down and let the manager assume she was correct. It wasn’t clear to me that they agreed with her.

By mid-afternoon, though, the group had steadily clarified their course outline until they reached some topics on which the manager admitted she was not an expert. She began to ask the employees their opinions. Real discussion started to take place. Real disagreements, too! One topic flummoxed the group and they spent a long time arguing and pouring over thick textbooks as they looked for answers. Eventually they reached a consensus, and everyone looked relieved.

With no emotional turmoil to unvent, this exercise is not a “talking cure” in the psychiatric sense. However, the feeling of cartharsis after reaching an agreement is remarkable. I think that people feel positively about negotiating and compromising, and they put a lot of themselves into the exercise of creating a great outline for future learners.

Happy learning,
Fran