If You Want to Learn, Teach!
The Secret to Effective Learning
Those
who can, do, because they teach what they learn.
Often it is said, “Those who can, do.
Those who can’t, teach.” This always gets a laugh (unless the audience is
teachers!). Well, this article seeks to dispel this idea. The saying should be,
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If you are reading this, chances are you are trying to improve yourself by learning tips and techniques that you hope, once implemented, will make the desired changes. In addition to reading articles like this one, you probably subscribe to a number of newsletters and websites; attend seminars, read books, and more. You often, I imagine, find excellent information that excites you and that you plan to put into practice. I would also guess that you find, more often than not, that within 2-3 days you have all but forgotten what you learned and have returned to your “normal” routines – if you ever changed your routines at all.
The problem is not
you! This experience is common to most learners. They learn a tip, technique,
or philosophy they like, they take notes (physical or mental) and decide to use
their new knowledge. They go home or back to the office, put their notes in a
file and…forget all about it. Days,
weeks, maybe months later, they ask themselves, “What ever happened with my
notes on xyz?”
What's the missing element?
They did not take immediate and massive action.
Research
shows that if we don’t put what we have learned into action within 24 hours, we
forget 60% of what we learned. By 48 hours, we have lost 75% and within a week
we only have vague feelings and a few facts as we’ve lost 80-90% of what we
learned.
By taking action, you will retain what
you learned and increase the chances of making it stick.
In
my program Passion For
Action! I teach that taking action is the secret to all success,
change, wealth creation, and meaningful relationships. However, we know that as
easy as that sounds, most people fail to take the actions necessary to achieve
their goals. Today’s article is about a
critical technique you can easily use to make it much more likely that you will take action the next time you learn
something you want to implement in your work or personal life.
Those who can, do, because they teach what they learn.
To make my point, I
ask you to use your imagination skills.
Think carefully about this example:
Imagine: You are attending a seminar on time
management. This is a skill you know you lack and you are determined to learn
some techniques you can implement at work to make you better able to
effectively handle all your tasks and responsibilities. You also know that you
have attended several time management seminars, read books and articles about
time management, and yet made only one half-hearted attempt to try one of the
“systems” you were taught. Your time management skills are only marginally
improved since you started trying to improve. Why? Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is
doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different
result.”
Let’s stop the insanity and take a new approach.
Reality: Tomorrow you will be required to teach
the seminar material to your work group.
Don’t do this casually. Really
put yourself there mentally. You have to
teach time management to your workgroup – tomorrow! How does this change your listening skills,
your note taking, and your attention span?
If you can keep yourself there mentally throughout the seminar, you will
come away with strong retention, great notes, and a plan of action about how
you will teach the material to your workgroup.
If you really want to push yourself, imagine that you will be teaching
the Board of Directors!
When you try this for
the first time, a great tip is to arrange with a co-worker to let you actually
teach him the material when you return to work.
The best scenario is to arrange to really teach a class on the topic
when you return to work. If you do this,
not only will you be able to retain and take action on implementing what you
learn, but your company will be much more likely to fund your seminar trips
because they can leverage your learning to impact many people for the price of
one. I know of people who have used this
technique and found themselves the recipients of promotions and raises due to
their added value to their organizations.
Those who can, do (and get
promoted!), because they teach what they learn.
So next time you
attend a seminar, read a self-improvement book, etc., plan to teach the
material –in reality or just in your imagination–first. Your retention will
dramatically improve as well as your ability to take immediate and massive
action. Then watch your performance
soar!
Copyright 2008 ©
Osorio Group. All rights reserved.
Can
you or your organization benefit from working with me? Of course you can! Please visit www.osoriogroup.com and learn about my
programs as well as my consulting and coaching services. Or contact me directly at mike@osoriogroup.com or 541-227-8381 and
let’s get started. You’ll be glad you
did!
Mike
Osorio
Osorio Group | 711
541.227.8381 phone |
888-700-1873 toll free & fax