Outsmart Billionaires by Teaching

Good morning, Live Better than a Billionaire-a-Holics!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

How many billionaires run classes for others? I don't know of any. If you do, please let me know.

Why is that question relevant to you? Researchers have found that the best way to learn new material is to teach it to someone else. On average, you will retain 95% of the new material by teaching it . . . no matter how badly you teach. By comparison, if you just listen and take no notes, you will be lucky to retain 20% of what you just heard.

That means if you teach material you can probably understand that material better than any billionaire does. That should make you feel good!

Although I haven't seen any detailed research on why this works, I have some suspicions based on my own experiences as a professor and seminar leader. Here they are:

1. Thinking and saying the material while looking at presentation materials and notes are pretty concentrated activities during which I pay a lot more attention than when I am sitting in a room absorbing material.

2. I feel strong emotions related to not wanting to embarrass myself or confuse my students while I am teaching. People remember best when they experience strong emotions, whether positive or negative ones.

3. I have to think about what I heard and read before in order to synthesize the message into my own words. If I also add my own stories based on my own experiences, the new material seems to feel familiar . . . as though it is attached to my entire life. As a result, the knowledge feels natural and part of me.

4. While I anticipate questions, new thoughts occur to me about the material which allow the bigger themes of the information to become more apparent. For example, if you read any of the parables in the New Testament, they each can be analyzed infinitely and many different meanings will occur to you. When I think about all of the parables at the same time, and my mind sees an overall message of actively seeking redemption through faith that is sometimes not as clear when I read an individual parable.

5. Before teaching, I review my notes. After I learn something new, I may never look at my notes again.

6. If I know that I will be teaching some new material, I take a lot more notes than if I will not teach it. So I pay more attention the first time around.

7. If I want to make a good impression on those I am teaching, I will do even more to master the material. I learned this as a teenager when a young lady I admired very much asked me to stop by every afternoon and help her with her math homework.

Okay, so by now I've probably convinced you that it can be helpful to learn material by teaching it. But you may feel like teaching is something you don't want to do.

I used to feel that way. I was terrified that someone would come up with a question I couldn't answer and I would look foolish. But you know, people ask me questions all the time that I don't know the answer to. I simply tell them that I don't know the answer, and either offer to look for the answer (aren't reference librarians wonderful?) or suggest how they can answer their own question. I've been helpful to the student in either case, and everyone is happy. So chill out. No one expects you to be Ms. or Mr. Encyclopedia.

If you want to get an easier start, help people who know very little. I can promise you that they will be more intimidated by you than you are of them. Tell them that you are just going to go over the basics . . . and keep it simple. If you are like me, that sounds pretty easy to do. And it is.

If you also pick a subject that people are anxious to know more about, the students will make life easier for you. Their desire to learn will overcome any roughness in your approach.

I also find it helpful to imagine that I am giving someone a gift when I teach. As I think that thought, I find myself being kinder, more patient and more helpful.

If all else fails, use a captive audience . . . like your family. You'll learn the material much better just the same.

You're still feeling intimidated? Why not pick some subject you're passionate about to practice teaching . . . where you don't have anything new you want to learn? That will give you confidence that will carry over when you want to teach something that's new to you.

Still can't face it? Try looking at yourself in the mirror. Say "I know you're a great teacher and I want to learn from you" before each teaching session, and be your own teacher. By changing your role from student to teacher, you'll get most of the benefits anyway. If you're shy, do this where no one else will see you teaching yourself. And have fun while you do this. Your student will be entertained by your outrageousness!

Many people will interpret this advice as meaning that you go from classroom or seminar to classroom or seminar. But you can also go from classroom or seminar to outdoor picnic as the setting for your teaching. More interestingly, you can also go from reading a book or watching a television program into teaching the material to someone else. Most powerfully, you can simply reflect on what you've observed others do and begin teaching material based on what you've seen and heard. Such a background can be great for learning important things like how to have a great marriage, be a wonderful parent and to love God better.

Are you ready, professor?

What would you like to learn better than a billionaire?

Get going!

Tomorrow, let's consider ways to prepare for spending less on costly heating this winter now that oil prices are going through the roof.

Wednesday, I'll look more closely at how to prepare to better enjoy the college football season.

Thursday, this blog will explore new ways of promoting your ideas for less than five dollars extra a day.

Friday, I'll tell you about an exciting new and inexpensive way for people with dyslexia to learn to read well.

Saturday, I'll share with you how you can automatically water your indoor plants while you are away . . . so you can give your butler and maid time off while you're away!

Sunday, let's take a minute to think about the best ways to spend a day not working.

Next Monday, leisure time during a busy day is our subject. So just get ready to chill.

Next Tuesday, let's look at new ways to enjoy visiting mansions!

Next Wednesday, we'll update the blog on what are the least expensive ways to lose weight right now!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

If you are new to this blog, be sure to check out the updated table of contents entry that was posted on August 24. It will help you find earlier entries that may be of interest. I'll update this table of contents every week or so for your convenience.

August 17 was the most frequently read blog entry to date. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

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Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell