My daughter is a fourth-year medical student in a highly prestigious and difficult program with crazy hard finals.
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ด? ย
1) The students randomly pick a card from a stack of cards spread out on a table and need to verbally answer the questions on that card. ย
2) For this reason, students need to know EVERYTHING about a subject, that they mostly prepare for independently. ย
3) The questions on the card are a starting point. The conversation with the testing professor can lead anywhere.ย
Yesterday was the final on Bioethics. ย
My daughter sat in the waiting room, watching those before her emerge bummed out from getting a C. ย
Their advice: the testing professor is in a bad mood, best to let HIM talk and he wonโt fail you. ย
My daughter thought: “bad strategy.” If you let him talk and talk and talk, heโll only talk about what HE wants. ย
After 3 hours of waiting, and now a little nervous, it was her turn. ย
She sat down in the testing room along with two of her classmates. ย
The guy next to her wasnโt prepared. He failed. ย
Up next, my daughter.
The pressure was on.
She picked a card. ย
The professor asked her a question on the card and rather than answer briefly and go silent waiting for whatever the professor could randomly ask next, she strategically took the lead, conversing with the professor and guiding the conversation to prompt him to ask the questions she knew how to confidently answer. ย ย
She shared her opinions and created an โintentionalโ dialogue. ย
She got an A. (YAY! ๐ Congratulations darling!!) ย
I smiled when I heard this story, thinking of one of my three new talks called Lead the Conversation: Lead the Future. ย
Strategy. Confidence. Influence. ย
What a perfect example of communications leadership, even at the grassroots level and so early on in her career.
As a leader, how do YOU lead an important conversation with a high potential to go south to a positive and successful conclusion? ย
Above is a recent picture of my daughter holding the results of a blood type test.