How To Boost Your General Knowledge: (16 Must Know Tips)

If you want to know how to boost your general knowledge, you’ll love this article.

General knowledge is valuable information obtained from various media platforms about a society, culture, civilization, community, or nation.

It is not specialized knowledge about a single issue, but knowledge about every aspect of human existence, including current events, fashion, family, health, arts, and sciences.

Although acquiring broad knowledge takes time and effort, many human qualities and talents, such as intellect, problem-solving skills, confidence, and open-mindedness, can be measured by general knowledge. Moreover, broad knowledge contributes to personal development, good citizenship, and a better society.

How To Boost Your General Knowledge:

1. Obtain a book and begin reading it.

Reading is fundamental to learning any form of general knowledge.

Because general knowledge development covers a wide range of topics, there are no strict guidelines for what books to read or what disciplines to study. Making reading a regular and habitual part of your day is the most significant feature of reading.

Become a member of your local public library. Membership is often free or inexpensive, and it provides access to thousands of books with reasonable return dates.

Visit a yard or garage sale. You can stock up on inexpensive books on a variety of topics that you wouldn’t otherwise buy.

Invest in an e-reader and use it to download cheap books and articles from multiple sources. This will provide you with instant pleasure as well as more information.

2. Purchase a newspaper subscription.

Local, regional, national, and international news can be found in newspapers. Newspapers provide relatively up-to-date information on politics, sports, fashion, cuisine, and many other topics. Some of them are better than others.

Practice reading the newspaper first thing in the morning. The newspaper can be brought to your door before you even get out of bed, which gives you several reasons to use it as a useful source of information.

Most newspaper companies offer cheaper online subscriptions. If you prefer to get your news digitally, one of the many newspapers available at the click of a mouse may be right for you.

If you work in a corporation, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or Washington Post are often subscribed to. Take advantage of this opportunity to learn something new while at work.

3. Take a look at a magazine.

If you go to a bookstore, you will see that there are many rows of magazines waiting for you to read them. Magazines are widely available and cover a wide range of topics. 

While your family is shopping, read a magazine at your local grocery store. No one has ever been pulled out of a supermarket for spending thirty minutes in front of a magazine rack.

Take advantage of all the popular magazines available in waiting rooms at doctor’s, dentist’s, or car appointments. While you wait, they usually have Time, Newsweek, and other entertainment publications for you to browse.

4. Obtain and read a scholarly journal.

Articles in scientific journals are often longer than in magazines and contain a large number of citations. Such a journal is a collection of very precise information about a single field.

Journals are harder to get and more expensive than books, newspapers, and magazines, but they give you more comprehensive and confirmed information.

If you like the scholarly nature of a journal, join a society that interests you, such as history, biology, or sociology. These organizations sponsor publications and distribute them to members who share common interests.

Visit your university library for access to hundreds of scholarly journal titles in almost any academic field.

5. Build relationships with friends, coworkers, and industry experts.

The more people you meet, the more opportunities you will have to participate in smart and insightful discussions that will help you learn more. We tend to remember information better because individuals prefer informative but informal chats about intriguing topics.

Develop friendships with individuals who are knowledgeable, educated, and experienced. These friendships will lead to intriguing discussions on a variety of topics, so you will learn to appreciate fresh ideas, viewpoints, and perspectives.

Once a week, meet for coffee or tea and talk about anything you’ve learned or current events.

SEE ALSO: How To Learn From Others Experiences: 14 Our Favorite Ways

6. Invest in audiobooks.

While audiobooks can’t replace reading, they allow listeners to access a lot of general information while doing other activities, such as commuting or exercising. Audiobooks can also help expand your vocabulary, learn new ways to absorb information, and achieve a higher level of comprehension.

Audiobooks usually come with an author’s commentary that gives you additional insight into how the ideas in the book came about or the reasons behind specific conclusions. This information not only expands your knowledge of the book’s content but also the author’s writing process and views.

Audiobooks can be purchased or rented from various sources. Instead of listening to music all the time, consider listening to a fantastic audiobook during your daily commute or workout.

7. Attend a conference or seminar.

Listening to experts leading a seminar or conference will give you a broad understanding of the topic. This is important because the presenters are discussing the methodologies, tactics, and lessons they learned while developing an analysis that took years to complete and present conclusions. 

Even if you attend a seminar or conference to hear from professionals, make sure you take notes. Listening will help you understand, and writing it down will help you retain your knowledge.

Pay attention to the important points of the presentation. All the details are intriguing, but understanding the larger concepts and ideas is more crucial for general knowledge.

8. Become a member of a book club or community organization.

Try to expand your experiences and contacts with others who share your interests. Discussions with others about literature, current events, history, or politics will force you to rely on your broad knowledge while learning new things.

You can find such clubs and organizations through a variety of sources, including the Internet, the classified section of the newspaper, and through friends and family members.

Joining new groups and organizations helps you meet new people and expand your network, allowing you to learn from people who are not like you.

People are more likely to read and write about topics they value. Joining a book club, for example, motivates you to do something you wouldn’t normally do, such as reading a book that isn’t your favorite.

9. Switch on the television.

Television is becoming one of the most widely used sources of general information. Despite the fact that television has a lot of problematic material to watch, there are still many interesting and enjoyable programs available as a rich source of information.

To expand your general knowledge, watch news programs, public affairs programs, telecasts, and educational programs, as well as documentaries, fact-based movies, and instructional programs.

Watching TV is mostly a passive, non-thinking activity. Therefore, try to limit the amount of time you spend in front of the TV.

10. Make use of search engines.

Using search engines like Google, DuckDuckGo, and Bing, you can find the answer to any question in seconds. Use these sites regularly to stay up to date on current events, trends, and topics of interest.

Many of these search engines serve as information hubs. Not only can you discover up-to-date information on current events, but you can also learn about entertainment, fashion, sports, and what’s currently trending online.

SEE ALSO: How To Learn Faster And Remember More: (8 Proven Ways)

11. Subscribe news notifications

Many newsrooms that provide frequent updates have a special notification system that you can subscribe to. The notification will alert you on an electronic device, such as a cell phone, whenever there is news in a category that interests you, keeping you up to date.

Google and Yahoo News are some of the most popular sites for breaking news notifications.

12. Engage in knowledge-intensive online games or programs.

Choose a game or app that requires you to learn new facts, rules, or techniques. Many websites have crosswords, trivia, and other tasks that will put your general knowledge to the test.

There are many websites that offer quizzes on general knowledge, current events, and history. To test your general knowledge, try taking one of these quizzes every day.

13. Sign up for an online course.

With the free flow of knowledge, you can now enroll in full-fledged university classes online for little or no money. Several prominent institutions, including MIT, Harvard, and Stanford, provide top-notch MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platforms with courses ranging from history to programming.

Over 15 million people are currently enrolled in MOOCs online. Once you join, you will be able to talk to people from all over the world.

Taking a MOOC course will keep you up-to-date on a variety of specialties, as well as give you the opportunity to discover new interests.

MOOCs give you the chance to learn alongside a diverse group of professionals from around the world.

14. Choose a general education program.

Almost all universities and colleges provide a general education curriculum or programs that cover a wide range of subjects and techniques outside their areas of specialization. The content covered in general education courses is multidisciplinary, allowing you to gain knowledge and apply it to real-world problems.

If you decide to pursue higher education, make sure you take courses in a variety of fields to broaden your horizons.

Taking a variety of courses has been proven to help with job interviews, working with co-workers, and community service.

15. Join associations, clubs and organizations.

Depending on your interests, there are several opportunities to join one or more clubs on college campuses. Surrounding yourself with people of different backgrounds, races, and hobbies can only help you gain a broader understanding of the world.

Extracurricular activities help strengthen and rejuvenate your mind and body, which improves your ability to absorb new information.

Look for alternative opportunities to expand your horizons by participating in volunteer initiatives, organizing events or publishing a newsletter. These activities will help you stay on top of relevant information.

16. Interact with professors and other faculty members.

Faculty members have a good understanding of how people learn, or at least they understand it better than most. During meeting hours, it is not unusual to see students in teachers’ offices discussing lectures, homework, or anything else.

Become one of those students who pay for professors to visit during office hours. You will gain knowledge beyond your wildest dreams.

Study the course materials. There, professors will list their office hours for the semester. You can also usually find the schedule posted on their door or in the faculty assistant’s office.

If you cannot meet during the scheduled times, contact the faculty member to set up a new time.

I want to thank you for taking the time to read my article about how to boost your general knowledge. I sincerely hope its contents have been a good help to you.

Przemkas Mosky
Przemkas Mosky started Perfect 24 Hours in 2017. He is a Personal Productivity Specialist, blogger and entrepreneur. He also works as a coach assisting people to increase their motivation, social skills or leadership abilities. Read more here