Originally Published 4.15.2014

Once or several times in our lives, we have been asked to be in front of a group of people to train them in skill, make them know and understand a new procedure, teach them a new system, or coach them in a new role.

If there is only one thing you want to learn to become a great trainer, this quote from Erik Barker would help a lot:

"'Our brains evolved to learn by doing things, not by hearing about them. This is one of the reasons that, for a lot of skills, it’s much better to spend about two-thirds of your time testing yourself on it rather than absorbing it. There’s a rule of two-thirds. If you want to, say, memorize a passage, it’s better to spend 30 percent of your time reading it, and the other 70 percent of your time testing yourself on that knowledge.

Keep the “Rule of Two-Thirds” in mind. Spend only one-third of your time studying.

The other two-thirds of your time you want to be doing the activity. Practicing. Testing yourself.

Get your nose out of that book. Avoid the classroom. Whatever it is you want to be the best at, be doing it.

The closer your practice is to the real thing, the faster you learn."

PS. We at Six Sigma PH follow the "Rule of Two-Thirds" in our training programs. We anchor our programs on "experiential learning" to make them practical and effective.

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