How to help someone use a computer

What really jumped out at me from the reading of "First you have to tell yourself something" was "you've forgotten what it's like to be a beginner".  In the past when I have tried to help others about using computers or programs on a computer, I forget that not everyone knows everything that I already know about a computer.  When this comes up, I try to step back and explain what I'm telling them to do.

By explaining to the individual, or group, about how to use a computer or piece of software, I get caught up in showing them how to do it; instead of leading them through it and letting them do it themselves.
In the second section, "having convinced yourself of these things, you are more likely to follow some important rules", I found that "Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction." jumped out at me because it is something I use and something that I really need to work on.


I will be able to use this in my presentation by allowing students to get on line and look at our wiki about mp3 players, ipads, smart phones and cell phones and coach them through it without taking it from them to show them how to work our wiki.

Information provided by "How to help someone use a computer." by Phil Agre at http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html.