What is the Feynman technique? The Feynman technique considers teaching the concepts you are trying to learn to increase your knowledge about it. This method enhances your critical thinking and communication skills.
The idea is to take the concept you want to learn and simplify it to teach it to someone who does not have any knowledge about it. An easy way to think about this is to write out your thoughts that could be understood by a 10 year old. In essence, it’s about simplifying complex ideas in addition to deepen your understanding about the subject. The Feynman technique includes 4 steps: choose a topic, study it, explain it in simple terms, review and simplify even more.
First start by selecting a subject that interests you and would like to know more about. Where you get the information is up to you but once you are at a point where you feel comfortable sharing what you learned, it’s time to share it verbally with others. Put what you learned in simple terms. Breakdown complex terms and ideas into everyday language. Create a clear and concise message. Finally, verbalize your thoughts.
Thinking you know something and verbalizing is different. It can become clear what you don’t know well when your verbalize what you learned to someone and them not understanding what you are saying.With that, you are able to identify gaps about your knowledge and improve your output.
Without explaining what you learn out loud it will be difficult identifying the gaps in your knowledge. You know what you know. The flow of information in your mind makes sense but doesn’t necessarily make sense to everyone else. Your thoughts and how you express them are separate and each need to be practiced. Revisit those areas and simplify the concept even more than you did at the beginning.
Sharing your new knowledge does not have to be in a formal setting such as a classroom. It can be during dinner with your family, or casual conversation with your friends. The more you verbalize what you learned, the more feedback you will get. The more feedback you get, the more clearly you can identify the gaps in your knowledge.
The Feyman technique is a cycle. Once you’ve selected your topic to learn and organized your notes, study them and simplify your thoughts by verbalizing them to yourself. Review and refine. Once you are comfortable verbalizing the content to yourself, teach it to someone. Share your newfound knowledge as much as you can with others. Seek feedback. Accept it and learn from the feedback. Review, refine and enhance your understanding. Use real life examples, analogies, metaphors when sharing with others. Keep going until you’ve mastered the content and can explain it to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Teaching others about what you’ve learn will increase your knowledge. Simplifying what you’ve learn will increase the likelihood of others understanding. As Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Take care.