The How To Learn Podcast

Ever picked up a random dog-eared, second-hand book on holiday.. and learned something? Ever picked up a surprising amount of knowledge without actually noticing how you did it?

From double-glazing sales techniques, to life tips for avoiding airport stress, to mastering the London Underground, and to Emotional Bank Accounts - Thembi and Jonathan share some stories of random learning and argue that they're all perfectly valid. Even if Thembi still calls it 'the silver line'.

Do you feel slightly guilty that you're not making full use of all the amazing self-management, personal organisation and efficiency hacks out there?

In this episode, Thembi and Jonathan look at the need to learn what actually works for you - and what doesn't!

Prompts and notifications, colour-coding, post-its, reminders, notebooks and auto-prompts all come under the sceptical microscope of How To Learn.

They're inside your head.. and they're using the most powerful techniques to make you remember and learn.

But do you want your most effective tutors to be the algorithms of your favourite social media?

In this mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan look at the role of scrolling behaviour - and more generally, the role of habits - in creating learning. How can we be more intentional about our habits? How can we harness the power of daily scrolling behaviour for our own learning?

We believe there is an important life skill called 'the willingness to ask questions'. But what does skilful question-asking look like, and can we get better at it?

In this mini-podcast Thembi and Jonathan discuss:

- why we shouldn't stop asking 'stupid' questions: certainly not when we're still new, and actually not when we're more experienced, either

- the need to pick your person, pick your moment, and articulate your question

- a specific skill that Jonathan is not willing to get better at.

It might feel like a boring chore to take notes at an event, or to 'cascade' some learning back to colleagues. or even to explain something that you know - or think you know.

But in this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan talk about the known 'Protégé Effect' - basically how teaching or explaining something helps you to learn it better. It can also add to your visibility in an organisation. Or maybe your pupil or 'protégé' is simply the you of tomorrow, who would already have forgotten what you learned today.. had you not taken some well-organised notes.

So.. are you ready to pass this on? Let's begin :)

"Learning on the job" starts on Day 1. Here are three tips from Thembi and Jonathan:

- avoid the experts! (or rather: find somebody who can remember what is was like NOT to know what they were doing..)

- be curious: start volunteering for stuff beyond your role

- remember you need to induct THEM to YOU

It's also never too early to work out the skills you will need further down the line.

In this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi brings up a skill which is often neglected: conversation. We talk all the time, but how often do we think about it, consciously, as a skill which can be improved?

From active listening to building rapport, conversational skills are crucial for our working and social lives. Thembi talks about 'How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks' by Leil Lowndes as a way into this set of skills we should be talking about more often.

A cheerful mini-rant about good intentions and bad habits. Why do we trip up our own learning with procrastination, poor planning, bad filing and other habits? Or maybe it's just Jonathan? Plus a bonus moan on how the route to free content is strewn with annoying extras and roadblocks. Rant along with How To Learn..!

"You can tell when you're reading from the notes."

In this 5-minute mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan chat about office skills, and plunge straight into two examples: how to facilitate meetings, and how to deliver presentations. How did they actually get better over time? (assuming they did)

The episode covers:

- the role of observation, copying and practice

- using an emotional reaction to things you don't like, to motivate yourself to do better

- seeking out the things you won't observe for yourself: eg getting feedback, and getting insight from experts via formal learning.

Improving your impact is a messy process, but you can also get better at getting better!

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A new study shows the difference that managers can make in encouraging their staff to pick up training opportunities. 'High-training managers' see up to 50% more participation - with benefits for performance and productivity.

In this mini-podcast, Thembi and Jonathan discuss:

- the link to leadership potential: are 'high-training managers' the leaders of the future?

- what to do if you've got a different type of manager..