The Feynman Technique
Teach it simply to prove you understand it
True understanding shows when you can explain an idea in plain language. The Feynman Technique uses simple explanation to expose gaps and deepen knowledge in minutes.
Podcast version
Audio drops when the podcast channel launches.
Transcript
Pick a concept and pretend to teach it
Choose one idea from your notes. Imagine you are explaining it to a friend who has never studied it. Speak or write it in the simplest words you can. Avoid jargon. If you find yourself reaching for technical terms, stop, that is a sign you are quoting, not explaining.
Find the gaps where you get stuck
When you cannot finish the explanation smoothly, you have found a gap. Go back to the source material and fill it. Then return and explain it again. This loop of explain, fail, revise, re-explain is what makes the technique so effective. It is not a performance; it is a diagnostic.
Simplify until a child could follow
Once you can explain the idea, compress it further. Remove extra words, use analogies, and test it on a real listener. If they understand it, you have learned it. A single sheet of paper with a clear explanation is worth more than pages of copied notes.
Your 10-minute practice
Explain your way to real understanding, out loud, in plain words.
- 10:00 – 1:00
Pick one concept
Choose one idea you 'sort of' understand. Write its name at the top of a page.
- 21:00 – 4:00
Explain to a 12-year-old
Write or speak the explanation using only everyday words. No jargon allowed.
- 34:00 – 6:00
Mark the stuck points
Highlight every place you reached for a technical word or got vague.
- 46:00 – 9:00
Refill and re-explain
Look up each stuck point. Rewrite that part in plain language.
- 59:00 – 10:00
Compress to an analogy
Turn the whole explanation into one short analogy anyone could follow.
Reflection prompt
“Which stuck point revealed a gap you didn’t know you had?”