Learn by Teaching It
Master a topic by communicating ideas with clarity and simplicity.
The person who learns the most in any classroom is the teacher. Passively taking a course or reading a book is the first step. If you want to learn a topic at a deep level, then teach it to others. The challenge of teaching and sharing your knowledge will force you to learn the ideas with depth and breadth. You will learn the art of clearly and quickly explaining concepts to students with less understanding. Thinking about student questions, you will identify areas that require further learning. You should feel slightly uncomfortable about your knowledge of the topic and your ability to engage the audience. This is how you will grow your expertise into mastery.
Overview
The person who learns the most in any classroom or teaching experience is the teacher. If you want to develop deep expertise and stand out as a recognized thought leader, then “teach it.”
You will need to understand the topic or domain at a deeper level. Material and concepts must often be synthesized and simplified for others to understand. Your uneasiness from student questions will drive you to think about the area where you need additional study. The deadline of an upcoming presentation or lecture will act as a forcing function to accelerate your learning.
Examples in Practice
During my career at Microsoft, I became curious to learn how to demystify managing a career and teach others to do the same. What became a small curiosity blossomed into giving workshops, speaking at events, and coaching people one-on-one. I learned all this by teaching it and learning what worked and what did not. Teaching a topic forced me to refine my content continuously. I would think about making it easier to digest and apply.
Two years ago, I started as a learning facilitator for the Berkeley Haas School of Business course on data strategy. This month, I expanded my teaching to an artificial intelligence course focused on business applications. Preparing for office hours allows me to learn deeply and weave in my personal experience. This shapes a unique experience for students to learn not only the formal course content but also from your perspective. Student questions are learning opportunities to explain them easily and quickly or learn from other students who may have more expertise on the topic. In addition to learning a topic and how to teach, I strengthen ties with my alma mater and expand my network with people who share common interests. One of the core principles of Berkeley Haas is “students always, " which has influenced my path as a student and teacher.
More recently, I have shaped my coaching style as a teacher and curator of ideas. Previously, I thought a coach’s purpose was to provide the answers to coachees. I now see it as a co-created learning experience where coachees learn about themselves to gain a deep awareness, leading to more informed choices and achieving goals. I am less prescriptive and share curated content with people that helps them gain a new mindset and come to their own conclusions. This site is a form of teaching to share ideas and concepts that help people evolve into their best selves and lead to performing at higher levels in their careers and lives. Occasionally, readers send me messages about how they read something and how it expanded their mental model and perspective. That is teaching through writing. As a technical career coach at the Gies College of Business, I have learned to teach graduate students the art of strengthening their professional profile, direction, and network.
Speaking at a conference or online event is an excellent opportunity to learn by teaching it. Recently, I have spoken at a few events, and through preparation, I learned new concepts and synthesized my material. Delivering the content to the audience was a learning experience to gauge how easily it was communicated and how to respond to questions. Speaking at events can lead to speaking at more events! While I was not compensated monetarily for these speaking events, the forums were a gift to learn and log more hours in my craft. Capture a log of your events (my example) to build credibility and share materials with prospective event organizers.
Actions
1 – Publish content where your audience congregates.
Identify a topic you are curious about – it could be work-related or not.
Identify the channels where your target audience congregates.
Write a post on a single idea – keep it short and simple.
Create a newsletter around your unique ideas to grow an audience.
Publish often and consistently.
2 – Teach a topic via a webinar.
Find a meetup or online community that could benefit from your expertise.
Send an inquiry to the group organizer to get on the speaker list.
Promote a free webinar where your audience visits – LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Deliver the event and request feedback to improve your next gig.
3 – Teach a class.
Sketch out a curriculum you are curious about teaching others.
Promote your class and secure students on a free or paid basis.
Deliver your content and note areas that require you to up your game.
Use questions from students as a method to refine your material and delivery.
Teach a course at a university that aligns with your passion and development plan.
4 – Author an online course.
Think about where you already have expertise but need to go deeper.
Organize and publish your content on an online course platform.
Engage with students to learn where they have questions and need more help.
Adjust and extend content.
Add other related courses over time.
Invest the new income to advance your teaching expertise.
5 – Write a book.
Write a free, short e-book that can provide value to your audience.
Use the e-book as a lead magnet to grow your audience and email list.
Identify a theme or topic to which you have unique knowledge to contribute.
Consider self-publishing as a method to author a book you always dreamed about.
Publishing quality, valuable content is more important than perfection.
6 – Present a topic to your organization.
Offer to lead a “brown bag” discussion within your workplace.
This will show leadership to create a learning culture.
Surprise people with your depth and breadth of knowledge.
7 – Teach via a podcast.
Offer your expertise to a notable host who has a following with your target audience.
Prepare and share your knowledge generously.
Start your podcast to practice sharing your ideas in small doses.
Publish consistently to grow your expertise and audience.
8 – Teach how to create a unique product or experience.
Envision a product or service to make your dream a reality.
Create a side hustle to learn by doing it.
Teach others how they can make and sell something unique that adds value to the lives of others.
9 - Speak at a conference or online event.
Offer to speak at a conference for free.
Prepare with a vengeance by reading books, researching, and learning from others.
Distill and communicate your core idea with clarity to maximize the learning moment.
Engage your audience throughout the event with questions and learn from their questions.
Publish conference event materials and learnings on online channels to spread knowledge and market your expertise for future events.
Experiment With This
Ease into teaching with something small:
What topic(s) do I want to master that I could teach others?
Offer to give a brown bag lunch discussion on a topic where you have the skill and would be valued by your colleagues.
Write a post on LinkedIn to get your ideas out there and get feedback from others.
Record a short instructional video to post on YouTube.
Engage people who share in interest:
Teach a live experience to help people learn a craft or skill.
Contact learning institutions for an opportunity to teach a subject where you have expertise.
What how-to or instructional online course could I develop that would force me to learn the content at a deeper level?
Is there a domain, topic, or problem space where I want to become a thought leader?
What are you going to teach?