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Want To Master A Difficult Topic Quickly? Try These 15 Powerful Hacks

Forbes Coaches Council

Mastering a difficult subject requires hard work, patience and dedication. Inevitably, it will take time to fully understand and grasp a complex topic through and through. However, there are effective ways to speed up the learning process.

Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council share some smart approaches and powerful hacks that professionals can use to master difficult subjects in the most timely possible fashion. Follow their tried-and-true tips to fully immerse yourself and conquer a challenging topic.

1. Accelerate Learning With Technology

A powerful hack that professionals can use to master a difficult subject more quickly is to use technology to accelerate learning. Learning outside of the classroom is important too. Finally, it is important to ensure that your learning is written down and to share what you learned. - Kalina Terzieva, My Coaching Brain

2. Turn To The Experts

Schedule calls with experts on the subject; I have found that a mix of academics and researchers, corporate practitioners, entrepreneurs and policymakers works best. The calls may be staggered so that there is enough time for deep research based on the insights gleaned from the calls. - S. Venkatesh, Mainspring Advisors LLP

3. Remain Curious

A learner’s mindset and seeking to understand as a way to benefit others make mastering complex subjects or transcending difficult situations faster and easier. Our consulting clients frequently thank us for teaching these valuable skills because teams can sense if you’re genuinely curious or just trying to get it right. This distinction increases psychological safety and makes all the difference! - Tia Buckham-White, Notre Internationale

4. Simplify The Subject By Summarizing It

Write a one-line summary that contains all of the core information. Do the same for all the subparts. Then, read this to someone who knows nothing about the subject and see if they understand. If they can, that means you have successfully mastered a difficult subject and passed it on to someone else. - Mark Antoine, Inspired Keynotes


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5. Look To Your Community For Expertise

The key word is “community.” We can’t know everything; we just need to know where to get information. I use the word “community” expansively to include colleagues and friends, alumni from school and professional networks (online and in-person). Remember, it’s a two-way street. How can you offer your expertise to others? Then, they’ll be more likely to reciprocate when you have a need. - Antonia Bowring, ABstrategies LLC

6. Teach What You Want To Learn

Find someone willing to let you teach them the subject you’re interested in. This places a different emphasis on your learning and uses different areas of the brain. Learning becomes more important and urgent when you have to teach someone else the material and answer questions about it. You cannot teach what you have not learned. - Curtis J. Morley, Entrepreneur’s Paradox

7. Use The Apprenticeship Model

Since the late 1880s, medical students have been taught using an apprenticeship model of “see one, do one, teach one” (SODOTO). They first learn through direct observation, then hands-on practical experience and finally by teaching the task to another person. This approach also cultivates keen observation and active listening skills, necessary for any leader and every learner. - Vanita Bellen, True North Coaching and Consulting

8. Stay With A Topic For Longer

Don’t get hooked on novelty. Many are, and instead of really learning, they just skim the surface of books, workshops and webinars. To stay with a topic for longer, use all types of learning—read, listen and do. Invite people to talk about what you just learned, put elements into practice as soon as possible and teach team members a newly acquired skill. - Inga Bielińska, Inga Arianna Bielinska Coaching Consulting Mentoring

9. Engage In All Learning Styles

To quickly master a difficult subject, I suggest engaging in all dominant learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, reading/writing) and teaching it to others. Even though most of us identify with one or two as being our dominant styles, learning the subject by engaging in all of the learning styles expands and provides perspective from multiple dimensions, which leads to deeper understanding and retention. - Lillit Cholakian, NewGen Global Leaders

10. Take Five Minutes To Learn

Challenge yourself to tackle the matter in five minutes. More often than not, you’ll find yourself digging in and working on the issue for longer than five minutes. Tearing the Band-Aid off quickly may jolt you into a burst of creativity and innovation. - Joyel Crawford, Crawford Leadership Strategies, LLC.

11. Digest Materials In Different Ways

Employ a three-pronged approach to studying the subject: Read, watch and speak. Diversifying how you’re digesting the material will allow you to better grasp it and internalize it. Changing up between reading and watching helps with this; then, talk through the core concepts with someone (ideally a mentor or expert on that subject). - Ciara Ungar, CIARA & Co.

12. Ask An Expert To Teach You

Without the luxury of time, the best way to get up to the level where you can perform in your role is to ask someone to teach you. Usually, the experts are so passionate that they’ll be delighted to help. - Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE Agile Leadership Coaching and Training Pte. Ltd.

13. Map The Subject To Something You Already Know

Take each piece of new information and map it to something that you’ve already mastered. This association helps your brain keep track of new facts and allows you to “stack” your knowledge in a way that’s easy to recall and retain for future use. - Vix Reitano, Consulting by Vix Reitano

14. Interview Five Experts On The Subject

The best way for professionals to master a difficult subject more quickly is to interview five experts on the subject and ask them to share their knowledge with a particular audience in mind (beginners, peers, students, consumers or politicians, for example). Next, spend time with five different experts and feed back to them what you know as though you were teaching them about the subject. Embed the learning. - Andrew Tallents, The Tallents Partnership Limited

15. Learn More By Doing More

Learning by doing is one hack that seems to work effectively most of the time. I worked with a new manager who had just recently joined a new company. They asked for stretch assignments, volunteered for opportunities and networked with peers in the domain where they wanted to develop mastery. These steps also helped them gain confidence in the subject area. - Joyce Talag, Joyful Transformations LLC

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