***Engaging the Audience: The Point Where Learning Begins

For a lecturer, an educator, or even an entire system of education, connecting with the audience is no mere nicety, but a matter of paramount importance. If the message, or learning, is to reach individuals and actually have a positive effect, its content and delivery must be designed with the audience in mind. It seems like a basic rule of thumb, but judging by so much of what passes for education these days, it is a rule that is too often ignored.

The lecture format is inherently flawed because it overlooks the way that people learn. "People learn best when they care about what they're doing and are emotionally engaged in the process," says Robert Kaeding, Trump University's vice president of course development. Mr. Kaeding has spent years studying the learning process to create practical, interactive courses that prepare students for the real world.

"Lectures are hard to do well because they don't engage students on a personal level," says Mr. Kaeding. "In a sense, any given lecture is a compromise because some people know what you're talking about, some don't have a clue, and some just don't care."

Sometimes there's no avoiding a lecture. For example, when a visiting luminary comes to town for a conference, he must say his piece quickly and efficiently to a large group of people. So, the throng of well-wishers and knowledge-seekers gathers with enthusiasm, hoping to be edified and inspired. Then, like so many podium lightweights - too weak to carry a crowd - the exalted expert in his field prattles on until the audience is thoroughly numbed.

All lectures are not created equal. What makes a good one? "A good lecturer tries to relate his content to what people in the audience care about," says Mr. Kaeding. "One of the best ways to do this is through personal anecdotes, which make the lecture less of a one-sided speech."

"A story will strike a chord with audience members when it relates to something in their own lives. The personal story is a way to learn through someone else's experience, and it gives the audience something that's personally relevant, in an immediate, visceral way."

A good teacher is by definition a good storyteller, and a good storyteller is not a bore. Charisma, charm, and showmanship, those seemingly frivolous attributes, are not unimportant when it comes to educating people or simply getting a message across. Few if any business leaders have taken this to heart more tha
Donald Trump. He is a showman par excellence, strikingly distinct from the drab cadres of corporate officers content to drone on about headcounts and shareholder value.

In his public persona, Mr. Trump has made the personal anecdote his trademark, and it serves to connect his own singular life with other people's lives. You may never have the billionaire's assets or lifestyle, but you can learn from his stories. You may never be as deep in debt as he was at his low point, but you can certainly gain some measure of insight by hearing how he deftly climbed out of such a gargantuan hole.

In the learning process, entertainment should never be an end in itself. It is a way to connect with the student, and make the learning experience real. That's what Trump University curriculum does; it is practical, success-oriented education that engages the student in a personal way.