The Feynman technique for learning

How simple is this?

Richard Feynman was one of last century's great thinkers. I stumbled across two things of his that I thought might interest you.

Both things have to do with mastering skills and communicating, so you can imagine why they caught my interest. Here is a preview of each:

On learning something new, he says there are just four simple steps to take, which involves describing even the most complex things so that an eight year old could understand them. No jargon. No fluff. Just clear, simple terms no matter how complex the idea.

As someone who has been helping others learn for more than 30 years now – and who began teaching four year olds – you can imagine why this piece took my fancy. Click here to read more.

On types of knowledge, he says there are two: ‘Planck' knowledge and ‘chauffer' knowledge. These are essentially the difference between knowing something and knowing about something. This piece begins with a terrific story about a chauffer and a professor.

It's a quick read. Click here to do so. It's worth it.

To learn why I am so fascinated by learning sign up for my free Communicate With Clarity course where I talk about ways to use ideas such as these when building communication skills.

 

 

 

 

Keywords: learning and development, richard feynman

 

 

PRESENTED BY DAVINA STANLEY

I love what I do.

I help senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time.

This involves 'nailing' the message that will quickly engage decision makers in the required outcome.

I leverage 25+ years' experience including

  • learning structured thinking techniques at McKinsey in Hong Kong in the mid 1990s before coaching and training their teams globally as a freelancer for a further 15 years
  • being approved to teach the Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto in 2009
  • helping CEOs, C-suite leaders and their reports deeply understand their stakeholder needs and communicate accordingly
  • seeing leaders cut the number of times they review major papers by ~30% and teams cut the amount of time they take to prepare major papers by ~20%*
  • watching senior meetings focus on substantive discussions and better decisions rather than trying to clarify the issue

My approach helps anyone who needs to engage senior leaders and Boards.

Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, Woolworths.

Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com

 

(*) Numbers are based on 2023 client benchmarking results.