Feeding Your Business with the Power of Teaching

“Teach something. It’s good for you.”

I feel like I'm writing this as if your mom was trying to get you to eat your veggies.

But joking aside, we often overlook teaching as a way to grow narrative power. We excel at finding excuses to delay the day when we step up and share our expertise with others.

So here's my "mother-like" pitch that will hopefully motivate you to teach. Teaching benefits you, whether outside your business or within your firm, for money or as a free service.

Let's explore the ingredients that will help you and your business grow when you teach:

Clarity - Teaching helps you figure out your ideas and brings clarity to your thoughts. It forces you to refine your muddy thoughts and discover the golden nuggets that will make your business thrive.

Alignment - Teaching puts you in front of your audience to test your ideas and gather input, enabling you to create offers that people genuinely want to buy. It helps you launch services that are relevant and meaningful.

Expertise - Expertise is a journey of cultivating insights, and teaching is integral to that process. Teach even if you don't feel like an expert yet. Don't wait until you feel like a rock star in your field. Share what you know, even if you feel like an impostor.

Learn - The best way to learn is to teach. You don't have to be an expert; being one step ahead of your students is sufficient. The ideal time to teach something is when you are in the process of learning it yourself. Why? Because it's fresh. You have energy, enthusiasm, and a genuine interest in the topic. You remember why you find it exciting. And that excitement becomes infectious when you teach something you are passionate about. Students pick up on that energy and become excited too.

IP - Teaching helps build your intellectual property. If you care about providing a valuable learning experience, teaching offers an opportunity to advance your intellectual property. Whether it's creating new frameworks, finding recent case studies and data, or developing innovative exercises. My course preparations have often become opportunities to evolve the Strategic Narrative methodology.

Connection - Teaching is all about connecting. Don't just teach what you know; focus on teaching what THEY need to know. Shift your emphasis from information overload to building meaningful connections. People are more interested in the relationship and connection you create than the sheer amount of information you provide. I used to believe that being overly prepared with loads of information was better, but I've realized that's not true. People value interaction and the chance to ask questions.

Visibility - Teaching is a form of meaningful marketing, helping your business find its true relevance in the world. It allows you to publicly showcase your ideas, knowledge, experiences, and insights, enabling your audience to relate to your unique perspective.

We often find good reasons not to teach. It requires preparation, and you may not have a lot of time. The voice of doubt creeps in, saying, "I don't know enough." While it's true that you can never know everything, remember that to your students, you already have more than enough knowledge. It's not about you; it's about them, your students, who perceive you as a knowledgeable resource.

“Teach something. It’s good for you.”