Teach to Learn

Last month I took an online course on Audience Building by Sahil Bloom. The next day, I taught the same topic to the NextLeap team.

Am I an expert in the domain? Hell no! But teaching Audience Building helped me solidify my learnings. This is called the Protégé effect.

What does it mean?

The Protégé effect is the phenomenon where teaching someone else or even pretending to teach helps a person learn that topic. Simply put, you learn better by teaching someone else.

The common misconception is that you need to master something in order to teach it.

Now flip that over - teaching is a great way to master something.

Why does this happen?

Teaching requires you to internalise learning, form connections and express your learning.

All of which makes you create, evaluate, analyse and apply - actions that are way more effective than simply understanding & remembering.

Dr Edgar Dale, an American educator, came up with the cone of learning in 1946 -

How to use it?

You can leverage the Protégé effect to learn better. Here are 3 simple strategies for the next time you’re learning something new:

• Try explaining it to others. Tell your partner, your family, your friends.

• Make a presentation on it. You can talk, create a deck or even use tools like flashcards or games.

• Write about it. A Twitter thread, a blog, a paper - whatever floats your boat

Learning grows by sharing. The Protégé effect can help you learn better.

The Philosopher Seneca sums it up well, “While we teach, we learn”