Lessons learned from teaching your craft

Nasos Psarrakos
Jul 20, 2017 · 4 min read

Recently I had the privilege to present a quick course on Javascript fundamentals for a Ruby Coding School.

I met a lot of coding enthusiasts and I have to admit, I am not sure who is the one that learned the most. Them or me?

Although I was skeptical at first, and I wasn’t sure it was worth my time, I am now addicted to sharing my knowledge with other people.

So the reason I am writing this post is to share with you the 5 benefits of teaching your craft and why you should do it.

1. Becoming an Expert

When I started taking notes for the content for my presentation, I realised there were blank spots in my JS expertise.

I knew how to do some stuff on auto pilot, by mimicking others, but I never really learned why I needed to do that.

When you are presenting, you need to be ready to answer all kinds of questions, no matter how tough.

So I began my quest to fill in all these gaps and become an expert on these specific micro topics.

2. Research

Now, when I tried to become a true expert, I realised I wasn’t very good at research. Poor me.

I had to learn to do that properly too.

The result was that now I am more able to learn a new topic and I have adopted the scientific method.

The Scientific Method

You learn who are the best in your field and what are the online resources that are most popular in your subject.

3. Learn from others

Other people don’t have the exact same thinking process as you, and this is great.

You should take advantage of it.

When you are only concerned with your own agenda, like learning a subject academically or just to solve your own problems, you neglect the problems of others.

There were many times, I was asked question that I wasn’t sure what the best answer was. So I started thinking out loud with the students, and together we reached a conclusion and found the proper answer.

4. Sales

You might be thinking that if you are an expert at something, it’s enough to become successful.

Think again.

You have to convince people that what you are offering is of value.

Even if you don’t know it, you are doing it every single day on a number of occasions.

  • When you are applying for a job
  • When you are disagreeing with another person at work
  • When you order something (customer service is better when you’re polite)

The thing with teaching, is that it helps you learn how to keep your audience engaged and how to make your presentation stick in their brains.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin

5. Network with people

I feel like I can’t stress this enough.

Everything we do, involves people.

There might be very few recluses who can live like that, but most humans are born to be social.

Let people tell you their story and you will learn a vast amount of information in seconds.

Don’t forget that when we meet new people we put out there our best self. You should do that too.

Lastly, remember to teach something every time you have the opportunity.

If you liked this post, please click on the little heart below and share it with anyone who might benefit from it.

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Nasos Psarrakos

Written by

Software Entrepreneur / Founder @ Dutrition.com

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