Download Article
Download Article
General knowledge is valued information regarding the social interests of a society, culture, civilization, community, or nation gathered from a range of various media platforms. This knowledge is not specialized information on a specific topic; rather, it is knowledge about every aspect of human life –current affairs, fashion, family, health, and the arts and sciences. Although it takes time and effort to gain general knowledge, many human characteristic traits and skills such as intelligence, problem-solving, confidence, and open mindedness are judged by the amount of general knowledge one has obtained. Moreover, general knowledge helps with personal growth, good citizenship, and a stronger society.
Steps
-
Read a book. Reading is the foundation for gaining any type of general knowledge. There are no specific requirements on what books to read or on what subjects since the acquisition of general knowledge incorporates a wide-range of topics. The most important quality of reading is to make it a daily and routine part of your day.- Get a membership at the local public library. Memberships are often free or inexpensive, giving you access to thousands of books with friendly return dates.
- Go to a yard or garage sale. You can stock up on cheap books on a range of topics that you might not otherwise spend money on.
- Purchase an e-reader to download reasonably priced books and articles from a variety of websites. This will give you instant gratification and more knowledge.
EXPERT TIPAcademic TutorBryce Warwick is currently the President of Warwick Strategies, an organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area offering premium, personalized private tutoring for the GMAT, LSAT and GRE. Bryce has a JD from the George Washington University Law School.Increase your general knowledge on a subject by first self-evaluating. If you want better general math knowledge, read a math foundation book. Self-evaluate yourself on what you already did or did not know and then start building from there.
-
Subscribe to a newspaper. Newspapers are great sources of local, regional, national, and worldly news. Some are better than others, but newspapers offer reasonably updated information on politics, sports, fashion, food, and a diversity of other interests.- Try to make reading the newspaper one of your morning habits. A newspaper can be delivered to your doorstep before you even wake up, giving you few excuses to use it as a valuable resource in your pursuit of knowledge.
- Most newspaper publishers offer online subscriptions at a lower cost. If you prefer to receive your information digitally, then you should consider one of the many newspapers available to you at a click of a button.
- If you work for a company, they usually subscribe to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, or the Washington Post. Take advantage of this freebie and gain knowledge while at work.
Advertisement -
Browse through a magazine. Go to a bookstore and you will find several rows of unending magazines lined up for your perusal. Magazines are everywhere and cover every topic. Although you might not want to subscribe to a magazine service like Publisher’s Clearing House, there are numerous other options available.- Pick up a magazine at the local grocery store while your family shops for food. Nobody ever got escorted out of a supermarket for standing in front of the magazine rack for thirty minutes.
- When you are at a doctor, dentist, or automobile appointment, take advantage of all the popular magazines available to you in their waiting rooms. Usually they have Time, Newsweek, and some entertainment magazines for you to read while you wait.
-
Sit down and peruse a journal. Journals typically provide academic research that are longer than magazine articles and use extensive citations. A journal contains very specific information about one particular discipline. Compared to books, newspapers, and magazines, journals are more difficult to access and are more expensive, but provide more detailed and proven information.- If you prefer the academic nature of a journal, then join a society that you are interested in like history, biology, or sociology. These societies fund journals and send them to members who are interested in the same fields of knowledge.
- Go to a university library where you can access hundreds of different journal titles on nearly any academic topic.
Advertisement
-
Socialize with friends, colleagues, and professionals. The more people you come into contact with, the higher possibility to engage in intelligent and informative conversations where you can gain additional knowledge. Since people enjoy informative yet casual conversations on interesting topics, we tend to retain this knowledge better. [1] X Research source- Cultivate friendships with intelligent, educated, and experienced people. These friendships will produce stimulating conversations on a variety of topics exposing you to new ideas, perspectives, and understandings.
- Try to meet up for coffee or tea once a week and discuss anything new you learned or talk about current affairs.
-
Purchase audiobooks. Although audiobooks are no substitution for reading, they do permit the listener to gain access to a wealth of general knowledge while performing other tasks like commuting to work or exercising. Audiobooks will also help to increase your vocabulary, a different way to process information, and the ability to achieve a higher level of understanding.- Audiobooks often include commentary by the author, providing you with additional insight to how ideas formed for the book or reasoning behind certain scenes. This information will not only expand your general knowledge on the content of the book but also the writing process and author’s thoughts.
- You can buy, rent, or borrow audiobooks from a host of places. Instead of listening to music everywhere you go, try to substitute a good audiobook from time to time in your daily commute or exercise time.
-
Attend a seminar or conference. Listening to professionals conducting the seminar or conference will provide you the general knowledge presented a topic. This is important because the presenter is speaking professionally about the methods, approaches, and experiences they encountered while formulating an analysis that took several years to conduct and yield results.- Although you attend a seminar or conference to listen to professional individuals, make sure you take notes. Listening will help you grasp the information while writing it down will help you to retain it.
- Listen for the main ideas of the presentation. All the details are fascinating, but for the sake of general knowledge, it is more important to understand the larger concepts and ideas being presented.
-
Join a book club or social group. Try to expand your experiences and friendships with people who are interested in doing the same thing. Discussing books, current events, history, or politics with others will force you to rely on your general knowledge and to synthesize new information. [2] X Research source- You can locate these clubs and organizations in many places such as online, the classified section of the newspaper, or through friends and family members.
- Joining new clubs and organizations allows you to meet and widen your circle of acquaintances, which will give you more opportunities to learn from people different from yourself.
- People tend to read and write about things they enjoy. Joining a book club, for instance, encourages you to engage in something you normally wouldn’t, like reading a book that is outside of your interests.
Advertisement
-
Watch television. By now, television is one of the most widely used sources to gain general knowledge. Although there is plenty of questionable viewing content on television, there is still plenty of newsworthy and entertaining programming available as a rich resource for information. [3] X Research source- Try to stay diverse in watching television by watching news programs such as CNN, public broadcasting (PBS), game shows (Jeopardy), and educational programming (National Geographic) with documentaries, films based on facts, and instructional programming (Food Network) to expand your general knowledge.
- Watching television is largely a passive exercise that does not require a lot of thinking. So, try to limit the number of hours sitting in front of the television.
-
Utilize search engines. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing enable you to find any answer to any question within seconds. Routinely use these internet sites to discover current news, trends, and topics of interests. [4] X Trustworthy Source American Psychological Association Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists Go to source- Many of these search engines are one-stop shops for information. Not only can you search for current affairs with up-to-date information, you can also find out about entertainment, fashion, sports, and what is popularly trending on the internet.
- Reader Poll: We asked 459 wikiHow readers, and 64% of them agreed that the best way to seek out information is by searching online or using search engines . [Take Poll]
-
Sign up for news alerts. Several news outlets that post updated information regularly often have a special notification system that you can subscribe to. Anytime news appears under a category that interests you, the alert will notify you on an electronic device like a cell phone, keeping you updated with current information. [5] X Research source- Some of the more popular news alert sites are Google and Fox News, along with BBC and AP News.
-
Play online games or programs that challenge your knowledge. Choose a game or program that involves learning new information, rules, or strategies. There are many online sites that offer crossword puzzles, trivia, and other games that will test your general knowledge.- There are several websites that provide quizzes on general knowledge, current events, and history. Try taking one of these quizzes on a daily basis to test your general knowledge.
-
Register for an online class. Nowadays with the free flow of information, you can join a full-fledged university class online with little or no cost to you. Several top universities like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford provide top-of-the line courses in everything from philosophy to politics in MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platforms. [6] X Research source- There are currently more than ten million people taking online MOOC classes. By joining, you will be able to communicate with people from all over the world.
- Taking a MOOC course will give you updated information on various specializations and the possibility of discovering new interests.
- MOOC’s provide an opportunity for you learn alongside a group of diverse professions and professionals for every corner of the globe.
Advertisement
-
Decide on a general education program. Nearly all universities and colleges offer a general education program or classes outside of an area of expertise that cover a broad range of topics and approaches. The material taught in general education courses focuses on interdisciplinary information so that you can gain knowledge and apply it to real life situations.- If you decide to attend university, make sure you take classes in a variety of subjects to broaden your general knowledge.
- Taking a diversity of classes has shown to make an impact in job interviews, collaborating with colleagues, and contributing to a community.
-
Join clubs, organizations, and honoraries. College campuses offer many opportunities to join one or several different clubs in whatever you are interested in. Surrounding yourself with people of different backgrounds, ethnicities, and interests will only help you to gain more general knowledge.- Extracurricular activities enhance and refresh your mind and body which, in turn, will increase your ability to immerse yourself with new knowledge.
- Search for other ways to expand your general knowledge by looking out for service projects, event planning, or writing a newsletter. These activities will help you to stay up to date on relevant information.
-
Interact with faculty and staff. Faculty knows how people learn, or at least they know more than most. It is not uncommon to find students in faculty offices during meeting hours to discuss lecture, assignments, or just about anything else. Make yourself one of those students who visit faculty during office hours. You will learn more than you ever imagined.- Check your syllabus. That is where professors post their office hours for that semester. Or, you can usually find a schedule posted to their door or at the department assistant’s office.
- If you cannot meet during the assigned hours, call or email your professor to make an appointment during a different time.
Advertisement
Community Q&A
Search
-
QuestionWhich topics will help me increase my general knowledge?Community AnswerStart with basics about your country--like learning the states, their capitals, the presidents, prime ministers, and geography. Then gradually widen these topics to the world. You'll gain a lot of general knowledge this way.
-
QuestionI have lack of concentration while reading. What can I do?Community AnswerRead something that attracts you. Read something you feel pleasure reading.
-
QuestionWhat sites can you suggest that I can learn general knowledge from?Community AnswerHighbrow and TodayILearned are great sites to gain general knowledge. Show it to your kids, brothers, parents, whole family. I guarantee you, your whole family will be way more knowledgeable in a month's time.
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Video
Tips
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Name
Please provide your name and last initial
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Watching TED Talks
1. TED or TEDx talks are speeches that go into depth on topics that mean the most to people, spreading their knowledge on the subject.
2. They have over 100 million to choose from, on their website or Youtube channel.
3. Got to ted.com/talks , some videos are even under 3 minutes.
References
- ↑ https://www.mtu.edu/well-being/resource-tools/self-help-resources/mental-health-resources/social-skills/
- ↑ https://blog.cetrain.isu.edu/blog/the-benefits-of-attending-a-book-club
- ↑ https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/monkey_see_monkey_do_model_behavior_in_early_childhood
- ↑ https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/xge-0000070.pdf
- ↑ https://extensionpublications.unl.edu/assets/html/g1375/build/g1375.htm
- ↑ https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED590312.pdf
About This Article
Article Summary
X
To increase your general knowledge, go to your local library and get a membership card so you can read every day. You can also pay for an online subscription to a newspaper so you'll always have something to read at your fingertips. Then, create or join a club to discuss what you're reading, since you can often increase your knowledge just by listening to other people's thoughts and opinions. Finally, try going online regularly and taking quizzes on general knowledge or current events to test yourself and learn more, too. For more suggestions on increasing your general knowledge, including by going to seminars or conferences, keep reading!
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 626,787 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "All the information that provided here is worthy to a person who wants to increase his general knowledge. The presentation is well divided and well explained.All the methods seem to be very effective in action. " ..." more
Advertisement
89%
of readers found this article helpful
.
Click a star to add your vote
% of people told us that this article helped them.
"All the information that provided here is worthy to a person who wants to increase his general knowledge. The presentation is well divided and well explained.All the methods seem to be very effective in action. "
..."
more
"I am really young but I have always wanted to have a small yet vast knowledge of the world and of the world's ideas, but I never knew how to properly execute it in a successful way, so thank you so much for this opportunity."
..."
more
"In a few months, I will be going to college full-time and I wanted to find ways to increase my overall knowledge. I need to add reading to my daily habits and watch more TEDTALKS than TIKTOKS. Thank you for the article!"
..."
more
"I thought reading books was the only way to improve my general knowledge. Learned there are plenty of other things I can do. My general knowledge is very weak. Definitely going to follow these suggestions. Thanks a lot."
..."
more
"I found reading the newspaper, watching television and socializing with smart people to be the most useful. I like the way the methods are divided, and anyone following the above tips will surely be helped."
..."
more
