How to Become an Expert FAST on Any Subject!

This How-To Guide can help anyone to become an authority on a subject in just 8 steps that will usually require only a few hours to a couple of days. Using these steps, you'll be able to write a paper, give a lecture or offer a presentation on a subject that you knew little about before you followed these steps. Now- that doesn't mean you'll be ready to testify in court as an expert witness on the subject you've chosen (unless you already had a significant previous background) and I don't advise that you use these steps to learn about medicine and then hang up your shingle as a surgeon! But, these steps will absolutely help you to gather information quickly and retain it for a particular project or assignment.

This process is an 8-step method to get you to the point that you can get the job done. In many cases you'll already have some previous knowledge on the subject but not enough to teach it to someone else. In some cases you truly won't know a darn thing about it, but you need to write a paper on it and it's due in two days! Either way, the process is the same. How do you begin?

Step One: Throw Yourself in with Utter Abandon!

Have you ever tried to learn a new language for travel or so you could better speak with a neighbor or friend? You probably found out that the thin guidebook about "communicating in German" wasn't really that much help. How often did you need to tell someone that you are holding a pencil? Language teachers will tell you that to really learn a language, the best way is to surround yourself with people who speak it and don't allow yourself to say anything in your native language. It is frustrating at first since you can't communicate, but out of desperation you soon pick up nouns and verbs from those around you and you combine those words with gestures. You figure out how to at least get something to eat and how to point at things to learn their names in the new language. This is sometimes called "immersion training" and it works for things besides languages and it can also work in a shorter time-frame if you don't need to retain the information for too long. This is how you'll begin your path to expertise. Let's say that you need to write a magazine article on the care of a humidor. You don't smoke and you don't know the first thing about humidors. Start simple- get online and search for articles on caring for humidors and quickly read or scan the articles that come up. At first don't work about any retention, just read. Once you've scanned a few things, start gathering more materials on your subject. Get magazines on it and find books that are about it or at least have reference material on it. With an obscure subject (and sometimes common ones) and if time permits, you'll also want to contact serious authorities on the subject and talk about your project. For my article on humidors, I went by a couple of favorite tobacco shops and gained a ton of valuable information about the care of their large humidors and their recommendations for small ones. Once you've done a scan of the information and gathered even more, you are on the way.

Step Two: Get Some Ideas Down on Paper

In your initial scan of material you gained some basic understanding of your subject and if you had some previous experience in it, you may have recalled things you'd forgotten about the subject. Now it's time to get deeper into your materials and make some referral records. Get a folder or binder to keep notes in, keeping in mind that you'll go further by planning this according to your learning style. If you do well with stacks of legal pads, get an accordion file that you can drop pads into as you go. If you learn better by taking a linear set of notes, you may want a binder with notebook paper in it so you can go through the information as you find it but still re-arrange it at will. If things stick for you with flash cards, get a set of 3X5 note cards and take short notes on them as you go. Later you can use these to refresh and review. Now, this is important: EVEN if you are a visual learner or have a powerful memory - records are likely to help you more than you realize. Studies have found that people usually retain information better if they've taken the time to underline it as they read it, and the recall it both better and longer if they've also written it down. That said, if you absolutely hate taking notes or have other issues that will prevent you from doing so, this is a good time to use a small tape or digital recorder. You can capture information as you go this way. Studies have also shown that repeating or reading aloud does enhance learning and this is also a great method for record-keeping. Record-keeping can also be crucial when you are using the internet for a large portion of your research. It can be difficult to re-find material that you've read online and sometimes sites aren't even there when you go back. For borrowed or library materials, the copy machine can be your best friend!

Step Three: Intense Immersion

At this point you've gathered materials and you've kept some records on important facts. Now you want to go into a closed-door session with the materials you've gathered! Know at the outset that you will probably overwhelm yourself somewhat in this step and that's OK! You won't remember every single detail you go over, but it will still be valuable in making the big connections. You may have also accumulated more material than you will need and that is also perfectly fine. That material may come in handy for a later review step or an entirely different project. Get into a place where you won't be bothered for a while and bring your books, magazines, notes, interview records, photocopies and anything else that you've gathered on your subject. If possible, have a computer nearby with internet access. If you have other items such as video/audio media it is best if you also have players and headphones to look at those items. For my article on "Thinking of Buying a Horse" I had notes on my own experiences, a selection of good horse-care magazines, a couple of books for new horse-owners and several relevant websites bookmarked. Get a timer ready to set for two hours. You can do more, but you risk bogging yourself down more than gaining ground! You can also do less- but you'll also have less of an immersion experience. Before starting the timer, consider the materials you have and make a plan. You could easily spend the whole two hours reading one book or watching one piece of media on your subject. Instead, plan to spend 20 minutes each skimming each book, 10 minutes reviewing notes and so on - what you actually plan will depend on what you've gathered. Plan at least a 10 minute break to rest your brain and get a snack! Now, start the timer and truly immerse yourself in the subject. Read, skim and scan everything you can in that time period.

Step Four: Assessment of Knowledge

After a good break from your immersion step, re-gather your research materials and prepare to access what you have and the knowledge you've gained so far. Go through your notes and glance again at book titles and other items. Decide what is most relevant to the project at hand. For example, if you are planning a lecture on how to build a gazebo and one of your research items is really about basic construction, you may decide that it's too much information and discard it. If your topic itself has room to change, consider that topic too. Make sure it is not too broad or too narrow to allow for the venue in which you'll present the information. By now, you should be feeling much more comfortable with your subject material and this step is just a chance to reconsider and assess what you have. If you notice weak spots or gaps in your knowledge, go back to your research materials to fill those gaps.

Step Five: Create a Summary

For this step, you'll again want to think about the type of project you are working on as well as your own style. For some people a summary is best done in a standard outline. For a lecture, you might instead want a page of 'speech notes' that summarize your main points. For a long written piece, you may want something that can become an index or table of contents. You may also find that for your style of working, a standard outline is too rigid but a set of bulleted arguments or points is perfect. The important thing is that your Summary step gives you a kind of road-map to get through your project and even if you don't need it later, for now it will help cement the knowledge you've gained.

Step Six: Practice Time

In this step, you will actually try to give a go at practicing for your end goal. For some projects this will be simple and for others you may need to be creative. If you are preparing to write a paper, this will just be your rough draft. If you have a speech/lecture/sermon planned you can use this step to practice giving that talk to the mirror, a tape recorder, or a family member. Remember that for this step, you aren't going for perfection. When trying to complete a project of this sort, this is often the step that trips people up. They get too embarrassed to give a speech to no-one, or they start to write a rough draft only to decide that it is terrible and toss it in the trash. Don't give in to this! The crucial thing here is just to get the words out. If you are writing, don't worry about anything but getting the ideas on paper no matter how bad you think they are. If you can help yourself, don't even correct spelling and grammar mistakes. Write fast! If you are preparing for a speech, this is the chance to test the pace and to further solidify your understanding of the topic. This is not the time to pass self-judgment on the way your voice sounds! Just write it down or blurt it out or find whatever method you can to practice for the real-deal.

Step Seven: STOP!!

Many students make one mistake when they cram for an exam, and that mistake is to study like mad all night before the test and then walk right in and take the test. The brain seems to go blank. The brain is saying "Help, I need a break!" You will actually recall more of what you've learned if you take a good break before your deadline arrives. If possible, do something that will really give you a rest. Go see a movie or get together for dinner with a good friend. Just give your mind a chance to absorb the knowledge and send at least a portion of it into that mysterious dimension known as long-term memory. As for short-term memory which is where you'll probably store most of this - you'll regenerate it once more in the final step so don't worry about that.

Step Eight: (Nearly there!) Review and Refine

In this final step, you are only giving your new expertise a final rubdown before the big fight! Glance back over your materials. If you have a rough draft, skim over it. Watch for holes and inconsistencies and repair them. Correct the largest mistakes now before crossing the finish line. Try to look at your material from the other side now - as a reader or an audience member. Will this presentation of expertise come off as dry and useless or interesting and fresh? If need be, spice it up for the audience here! Do you have anything planned for the final project that just doesn't fit? Consider taking it out or replacing it. Do you still see one area that you've forgotten crucial details? Go back and refresh your memory- the break from step seven may have been what you needed to create some blank space in that brain of yours! Once you've refined and reviewed, you are ready to take the plunge and write that expert final draft or give that authoritative speech. So, without further delay, go and good luck!