Train General Knowledge Skillful Small Talk - How to Improve Your General Knowledge and Radiate More Intelligence and Self-Confidence

By Martin Grapengeter

Has it ever happened to you that you suddenly couldn't keep up with an interesting conversation? Did you have the impression that everyone else around you was taking part in an exciting debate that you could only understand? That's not a nice feeling and can lead to embarrassing situations in which you appear uninformed and clueless. If you hardly know anything about the world, you are quickly left behind in conversations and find it difficult to form an opinion on socially relevant topics. In a fast-paced and increasingly hectic world, it is often difficult to distinguish between important and unimportant knowledge and to find the right words. But it's not that difficult to acquire important general knowledge in a very short space of time!
That's exactly what I want to help you with this book. You don't have time to wade through huge encyclopaedias or spend hours researching topics on the Internet? Are you often unsure whether your sources really reflect the facts correctly and how you can actually apply your knowledge? Then reading this compact guide to general knowledge is the right thing for you! Instead of complicated explanations and pages and pages of figures and data, you can expect easy-to-understand, informative sections on relevant topics from a wide range of areas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martin Grapengeter
• Release date: Jan 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224887446

Book preview

Train general knowledge

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Skillful small talk - How to improve your general knowledge and radiate more intelligence and self-confidence

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Martin Grapengeter

All advice in this book has been carefully considered and checked. However, no guarantee can be given. The author or the publisher can therefore not be held liable for any personal injury, property damage or financial loss.

All rights reserved, in particular the right to reproduce and distribute the translation. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form (by photocopy, microfilm or any other process) or stored, processed, duplicated or distributed using electronic systems without the written permission of the publisher.

Contents

Foreword

Why general knowledge?

General knowledge = general education?

Knowledge growth - fast & efficient

Learning techniques

Memorize numbers & dates

The big test: How much general knowledge do I have?

The great general knowledge

Part 1: History of mankind

Stone Age

Agricultural progress

Advanced civilizations

Early civilization in Egypt

Antiquity

Middle Ages

Modern times

Part 2: The 20th century

Part 3: Language

Dem Tom sein Buch! - Basic grammar of the German language

Anglicisms

General foreign words

Educational language, technical language & colloquial language

Languages of the world

Part 4: Technology & progress

Letterpress printing

Industrialization

Energy transition

Climate protection

Renewable energies

Digital revolution

Data security

Artificial intelligence

Part 5: Famous personalities

Music

Politics

History

Philosophy

Part 6: Europe

Geographical facts

European Economic Area

European policy

Part 7: Politics & Society

System of government

Party landscape in Germany

Education system

Part 8: Science & Medicine

What is science anyway?

Scientific disciplines and methods

Medicine

Genetic research

Part 9: Psychology

The human psyche

How does learning & memory work?

Psychological manipulation & tricks

Mental illnesses

Psychotherapy

Part 10: Travel & Culture

Africa

Antarctica

Asia

Australia

Europe

North America

South America

Closing words

Solutions

Foreword

Has it ever happened to you that you suddenly couldn't keep up with an interesting conversation? Did you have the impression that everyone else around you was taking part in an exciting debate that you could only understand? That's not a nice feeling and can lead to embarrassing situations in which you appear uninformed and clueless. If you hardly know anything about the world, you are quickly left behind in conversations and find it difficult to form an opinion on socially relevant topics. In a fast-paced and increasingly hectic world, it is often difficult to distinguish between important and unimportant knowledge and to find the right words. Yet it is not that difficult to acquire important general knowledge in a very short space of time!

That's exactly what I want to help you with this book. You don't have time to wade through huge encyclopaedias or spend hours researching topics on the Internet? Are you often unsure whether your sources really reflect the facts correctly and how you can actually apply your knowledge? Then reading this compact guide to general knowledge is the right thing for you! Instead of complicated explanations and pages and pages of figures and data, you can expect easy-to-understand, informative sections on relevant topics from a wide range of areas.

As you have probably already gathered from the table of contents, I present you with compact and structured general knowledge from the beginning of human history to the present day. From historical progress to scientific achievements, linguistic knowledge or politics and culture, you will learn about the essential aspects of a wide range of topics so that you have effectively enriched your store of knowledge by the end of this reading.

However, before we start with the knowledge content, I will explain various learning methods and their effectiveness so that you really do retain the knowledge you have gained in the long term. You can then put your general knowledge to the test in a test to find out how much you already know and in which areas you still have major gaps in your knowledge. And then you can start learning! In addition to the informative articles, you will also be provided with additional sources that you can use to delve even deeper into individual topics that you find particularly interesting.

I hope you enjoy reading and learning!

Why general knowledge?

Knowledge is power - this well-known saying is more than just a philosophical phrase. A good general education brings advantages in almost every area of life and is often the ticket to exciting discussions and unexpected opportunities. In an age where you can google anything in a matter of seconds, do you really need general knowledge anymore? Wrong! Experts are convinced that a good general education is more important today than ever before. The Internet has made us more comfortable in many ways. We have the opportunity to acquire new knowledge anytime and anywhere, but unfortunately we rarely take advantage of this opportunity. We retain actively acquired general knowledge better in our heads and are more likely to apply it in everyday life.

When it comes to your career, general knowledge is a double advantage. On the one hand, many recruitment and application tests always include questionnaires that ask about your general knowledge. After all, a certain basic understanding of history, geography, etiquette, etc. is essential in many professions. On the other hand, your knowledge will help you to have better and more productive conversations with colleagues and superiors. If you are convincing in small talk with your boss, for example by discussing current political events or new technical innovations, your conversation partner will realize that you are well informed about what is happening in the world. You automatically radiate broad interest, competence and trustworthiness. This may convince your superior that you would be suitable for a new project as a project manager or could take on another important role.

You can also score points at private events and in everyday conversations with a lot of general knowledge. Of course, you shouldn't be a know-it-all and annoy others with useless facts. However, interesting information can always be a good conversation starter and/or get the people around you thinking and talking. Not only will people you already know be interested in you and see you as a source of new ideas, you will also make new contacts more quickly.

One of the most important incentives for a good general education is to increase your own self-confidence. If you understand the context behind new information and facts, you will find it much easier to put events into context and make better decisions. You won't be swayed by controversial statements and opinion mongering, but will know the facts and be able to form your own logical opinion. If someone asks you for your point of view, you can then give a confident and well-founded answer.

With good general knowledge, it's also less difficult to admit that you don't know something. No one in the world really knows everything and that's not a bad thing. If you're confronted with a topic that you don't know too much about, you can simply say: I'm not sufficiently informed about that at the moment to be able to form a definitive opinion.

In this situation, you don't have to be ashamed at all, because you know that you have a wealth of knowledge and therefore the best basis for gradually making the unknown known to you. Those around you will admire you for your honesty and understand that you don't just pull an opinion out of your nose.

Another great aspect of knowledge: Once it has been accumulated, it usually multiplies continuously. The knowledge that you acquire about many different things in turn leads to new knowledge and new insights. So by learning, you are constantly broadening your horizons, getting to know new perspectives, rethinking old opinions, coming to your own convictions more quickly and constantly developing yourself further.

The increase in knowledge also has other practical side effects. Over time, you will learn to memorize facts and figures better. You can grasp complicated and complex topics and texts more easily and categorize them correctly, you are more persistent and creative when solving problems. You learn to separate the important from the unimportant and make full use of your brain capacity, so to speak. So there are only advantages!

General knowledge = general education?

First of all, we should clarify the difference between general knowledge and general education. These terms cannot be used interchangeably. General education in itself is a complex process that depends on a number of factors. Education makes it possible to apply knowledge meaningfully, to develop new ideas and to select information sensibly. It is therefore part of ourselves, can no longer be taken away from us, so to speak, and also determines our personality to a certain extent. It develops from childhood onwards and determines our cognitive abilities and our imagination.

General knowledge, on the other hand, simply refers to the knowledge itself, i.e. facts, figures and data. It forms the foundation on which our general education is based. Without general knowledge, i.e. what we absolutely need to know about the world, we cannot educate ourselves or apply knowledge in real life. General knowledge can be tested and does not depend on us as individuals like general education, which is different for everyone. How well someone learns, what they specialize in, how they develop new ideas, how they integrate ethical and moral aspects into their wealth of knowledge is difficult to track precisely and is individual. General knowledge, on the other hand, is unchangeable and differs from person to person mainly in the sense that some have more and others have less.

General knowledge is therefore more factual knowledge, which in principle anyone can acquire. Of course, you can do this quickly and comprehensively with the book you are currently reading! Apart from that, there are other ways to incorporate general knowledge into your everyday life and constantly learn new things.

News portals are particularly important, as they keep you up to date with current world events. If you are interested in a specific topic, then specialist magazines, reports and documentaries that present that topic in a comprehensive and entertaining way are ideal. Quiz shows on TV or knowledge portals on the internet are also entertaining and you will want to spend hours on them. Quiz apps that you can use anywhere to learn on the go are also very practical. Then, of course, there are classic non-fiction books on specific topics or online encyclopaedias that summarize important facts.

So you can see that you can constantly improve your general knowledge and therefore your general education in many ways! This book is definitely a good place to start.

Knowledge growth - fast & efficient

So now you know the difference between general education and general knowledge. But how exactly can you learn efficiently so that you remember all the important facts and circumstances in the long term? Basically, there are many different types of learners. You may have noticed that writing summaries doesn't help you at all, but you can remember things well if you read a book page out loud three times - or vice versa! It may take some time to find out which method is really best for you.

In this chapter, I will introduce you to a range of learning techniques that have been scientifically proven to lead to fast and efficient knowledge growth. Unfortunately, we are often only taught that we absolutely have to learn in our lives, but not how we should learn properly. If you apply some of these techniques regularly and incorporate them into your learning routine, you will quickly realize that the knowledge you have accumulated really does become ingrained in you and you can easily recall it again and again. Although learning techniques are not miracle cures, they can be used at any age and improve cognitive skills.

Learning techniques

Read

Reading is usually the first and most important step in acquiring new knowledge. Try to find out how you can absorb the most important messages of a text. It is best to start by skimming the text once and getting an idea of what exactly it is about. You will then be more focused and attentive the second time you read it. You mark important passages such as facts, figures or highlighted principles and become clear about which passages do not contain essential messages for you. You can then summarize the text in your own words or at least write down important key points.

Attentive reading is generally important, whether it's magazines, books or blog articles. If you read a lot, you automatically expand your vocabulary, become more eloquent, more confident in terms of grammar, more empathetic and more persistent. Being able to concentrate on a text for a long time without digressing is an incredibly valuable skill and can be actively practiced.

Understand

Of course, all that reading won't do you any good if you don't understand what's in front of you. Therefore, always ask yourself the question: Do I really understand this? Be clear about certain points whose context you do not yet fully understand and actively search for answers. Only if you understand something properly will you be able to remember it and apply it. Look up foreign words that are unfamiliar to you and research terms whose meaning you are unsure of. At best, consult several sources, not only to be sure of the legitimacy of the explanation, but also to better understand the facts through different approaches. Once you have understood something difficult, it is best to write it down somewhere so that you can come back to it later.

Visualize

Visualizing learning material appeals to several areas of the brain and drastically increases the likelihood that you will retain the knowledge in the long term. One type of visualization is mind mapping. With this method, you write the topic you are studying on a blank sheet of paper and circle it. You then write several subtopics around the main topic, which then act