The absolute fastest way to learn any skill is to teach it

Teachers are the fasters learners — in both structured and unstructured settings. Brilliant teachers unpack what they know and pass on even complex ideas to people of all ages in the simplest way possible.

Anyone who teaches anything is applying/improving multiple skills at the same time. First of all, they learn the topic deeply, retain the main ideas, and help others understand the same concepts.

Phil Collins was right, “In learning, you will teach, and in teaching, you will learn.”

Teaching anything requires you to remember what you know quickly and organise it in the fundamental way possible to help others learn what you know.

Teaching is a fantastic learning process that applies in almost all areas of life. Anyone can learn to teach. It doesn’t have to be in a formal setting. You can teach what you know via text, audio or video. You don’t need a massive audience to start sharing what you know.

One person is all you need to express yourself creatively without holding back. And building an audience for your creative output also hones your unstructured teaching skills.

“No one learns as much about a subject as one who is forced to teach it.” Peter Drucker said. Think of teaching online as a unique opportunity to improve what you know and retain what you learn.

You can start a blog, podcast, newsletter, video channel, seminar, webinar and show up every day or week to share an idea you learned.

Writing is how I share what I learn. I read a lot of great long essays every week. And the only way to retain more of what I read is to share it with you. That’s how I’ve built a newsletter with almost 40K subscribers.

I show up every day and week and explain some of the ideas I learned the previous week. I have also built courses and written many books in the process. If you are serious about retaining more of what you learn, pass on the knowledge to someone else.

You don’t need permission to do that. The most important thing is the willingness to share with others.

Teaching makes retrieving/remembering easier

“The person who says he knows what he thinks but cannot express it usually does not know what he thinks.” — Mortimer Adler

To understand an invaluable skill, idea, language or concept, remember to teach it to anyone — it’s one of the best ways to speed up the process and the best way to retain 90% of what you learn. Teaching also improves your thinking skills.

A study at Washington University found out that teaching what you learn increases learning efficiency. The researchers also found out that people who expect to teach others came up with better ways to present their knowledge to others and recalled more of what they learned.

“While we teach, we learn,” said the Roman philosopher Seneca. You don’t lose anything when you commit to teaching others what you know.

You gain a lot in the process, though. It can improve your skills, help you become an expert or connect you with smart people who could change your career.

Don’t worry about hitting an “expert” status or how big (or small) your audience is; just teach in a way that brings out the best in you.

I’ve been sharing online for over ten years. It has done for my career than I could have ever imagined. Today, there are more opportunities than I can handle. Because of teaching or writing, I’ve had the chance to share on national TV a couple of times. The exposure helps me reach more people.

Trivago invited me to Spain to speak a group of aspiring entrepreneurs about how to start a business two years ago because of what I teach online.

I worked with Microsoft for over two years because of what I write on my small business blog. And I’ve published a book in partnership with a reputable publishing company in London because of a post I wrote on Medium.

The opportunities are endless when you embrace the teaching habit. Learning by teaching can quickly improve your knowledge on topics you care about. Plus, you will be motivated to dig deeper into your intellectual curiosities once you start sharing with an audience.

The ultimate test of your knowledge is your ability to transfer it. “Those who know, do. Those that understand, teach.” Aristotle said.

Teaching helps you remember and retain what you already know for life. So in all you learning, learn to teach.

This article first appeared on Medium.