A Better Way To Read and Understand Faster

Study techniques are a thing these days. Lots of people want to know better ways to read and understand concepts faster.

This is not surprising, though. In a fast paced world, understanding new information fast gives you a competitive edge.

Want to learn an easy way to understand concepts faster and permanently?

Look no further.

The Feynman Technique is a better way to read and understand any material faster.

What Is Feynman Technique?

The Feynman Technique is a study technique for learning concepts by teaching. It was introduced by the physicist, Richard Feynman.

The Feynman study technique is a better way to learn when compared to the SQ3R, PQRST, KWL, and speed reading technique.

The Feynman Technique has 4 steps. And each step helps make the unfamiliar familiar.

1) Choose A Concept

What do you want to learn? Zoom in and select it. For example, when I’m reading a text, I like to choose a concept like a major subheading. Then hone in and understand all the branches of this subheading. The secret is to choose concepts you can hold in your short term memory.

Intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb

2) Study The Concept

The concept you chose from step 1 is what you must focus on here.

Explore it in depth. Know it like the back of your palms. Consider the main points and supporting details.

A simple rule? Read the concept once to get the main gist. Read a second time to get the main points and supporting details. Then read it a third time to make sure you’ve everything covered.

I don’t know what’s the matter with people. They don’t learn by understanding, they learn by some other way — by rote or something. Their knowledge is so fragile!
Richard Feynman

3) Teach It To A Toddler

This is the heart of the Feynman technique so you must do the following.

Explain the concept in a way an 8-year-old can understand. Unless you’ve tried this, you’ll never know how tough this is. It requires exceptional understanding of the concept.

For example, when I get to the teach it to a toddler part of any concept, I teach by writing the concept in my own words.

For me, writing is teaching. So when I have written a concept so well that it’s easy to grasp by a toddler, I know I have done the teaching. It’s a good option you can adopt.

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
Albert Einstein

4) Review and Re-teach

This is the easy part. Here you want to go over the concept and make it clearer. When it comes to reviewing and simplifying. It matters not the number of times you do it. Just keep reviewing and simplifying until it’s clear enough.
To know when you’ve done a good job, Steve Jobs has something to say…

If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.
Steve Jobs