The pursuit of lifelong learning is a common goal for many, especially among people who are in technology industry. But learning and just applying what we learn is sometimes not enough to set us apart from the rest nor is it enough to make us feel satisfied. Therefore, sharing our knowledge and teaching others what we have learned is an important exercise that we should strive to practice. Let me share with you five benefits of teaching others and sharing your knowledge.
1. As we teach, we obtain a deeper understanding
Before we teach other people, we need to do a certain amount of research and planning. Whether we are preparing presentation slides or lecture notes, we end up finding out more information about the topic that we are teaching through our research and thus gain a better understanding.
2. As we teach, we build credibility
Two people might have the same understanding or skill level on a specific field, but other people consider the one who teaches an expert in the field. The more we teach, the more of an expert we become in other people's eyes. This is because through sharing knowledge, one increases influence and credibility. It helps position us as an expert in the field.
3. As we teach, we become better at presenting and speaking in front of audience
With any other skill, presentation and public speaking skills require practice. Regardless of what industry we are in, these two skills are well sought after and set us apart from the rest. As we teach, we learn to convey messages in a clear and concise manner.
4. As we teach, we improve memory, thinking and responding
When we are teaching or sharing our knowledge with others, we tend to remember the topic more. Through preparation, we increase our ability to think better as we come up with the best structure for the topic that we are sharing. There is no doubt that questions are asked and as we answer them, we learn to think faster and respond to those questions effectively.
5. As we teach, we become more humble
Teaching and sharing knowledge fosters continuous learning because as we teach, we learn. We learn new things and realise there are many things out there that we don't already know. We learn from our researches and we learn from our audience. As we teach, we learn that there are always people that know more and those that know less than us. And that truth and that truth alone keeps up humble.
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