Knowledge interviewing
Featured in the Knowledge Management training manual
By Mike Bagshaw & Paul Phillips
Category: Management
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
There are two kinds of knowledge: explicit and tacit. Explicit knowledge is in the words we speak, the books we read, the reports we write, the data we compile. Tacit knowledge includes the intuition, perspectives, beliefs and values that people form as a result of their experiences. Although it’s less visible, there is actually more tacit knowledge than explicit knowledge, both at individual and organisational level. What we actually do stems from our beliefs and assumptions, far more than from information on paper. The ability to distinguish between tacit and explicit knowledge is useful for anyone involved in organisational learning. This training activity uses the technique of the ‘knowledge interview’ to bring to the surface knowledge we didn’t know we had.
This training activity is developed to include presentation and practice of knowledge interviewing. This is a way of eliciting tacit knowledge, including ‘pictorial capture’. You give a definition of tacit knowledge, and then run a discussion on three repositories of knowledge (structured, unstructured, and people). There are two practical exercises. The first brings out the difficulties involved in describing tacit knowledge in writing. The second demonstrates that ‘showing’ is more effective than ‘telling’ when giving tacit knowledge to others. You bring the training activity to a close by asking the participants to review their learning, and to say how they can use the techniques they have learned.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers to describe and demonstrate some simple communication techniques to enable participants to make important tacit knowledge explicit, so that we can benefit from each other’s experiences to manage change and uncertainty.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 02:55:00 |
| No of Pages: | 15 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers on personal development programmes, to enable participants to capture the valuable experience of skilled employees and to ensure that learning from projects is shared with other key parts of the business.
Download the training activity, Knowledge interviewing as featured in the Fenman training manual; Knowledge Management