By Adrianna Berlescu

The answer to the “Are you a Know It All?” question is invariably “no”. Perhaps had the article been titled “Are you always right?”, “Are you a fountain of knowledge”, or “Do you impress others with your vast array of education on every topic known to man?” the Know It Alls probably would have answered differently.

Since there are few people who will admit to the level of self indulgence required to actually be considered a Know It All, this article is written under the assumption that no one reading it is actually one. However, it is inevitable that everyone has had experience with more than one person who is a self proclaimed authority on just about everything.

Why are they difficult to deal with?

A Know It All is most difficult to deal with because they are often wrong. While there are people in this world who are in fact, walking encyclopaedias, they are few and far between. You’ll often catch a Know It All quoting the same three philosophical books, using the same examples to clarify topics, or reciting little known obscurities ad nauseam without seeming to understand the general idea of the topic. While listening to a spout off is irritating and time consuming, the biggest problem they present, is that they can be quite convincing! Worst of all, they’ve probably convinced themselves; this will pose some serious problems when it comes to training.

Training a Know It All

Unfortunately, people are very reluctant to relearn information they think they already know. Convincing someone that they don’t already know how to properly perform a task can be the most frustrating job of a trainer.

When a trainer is attempting to gauge an employee’s level of skill in a particular area, the trainer will ask questions, watch, and judge the skill based on the performance; however, the findings of this practice are not indicative as to whether or not the employee thinks he or she knows how to complete the task. The false assumption of knowledge is something we are all guilty of at some point or another. To better understand the thought process of a Know It All, draw out both the front and back of a $20 bill. This is an object you’ve handled hundreds of times, and you probably think you know what it looks like. Be sure to include things like the placement of the year issued, printed on date, copyright, name of the artist, blocks of text, and holograms. Once you’ve finished, take a good look at the bill... it doesn’t match your artwork, does it?

Your mentality as you began to draw that $20 bill is a similar mentality that a Know It All Takes into every task. Familiarity with an object, topic or task is stored in your sensory memory, in order to actually learn about a topic it must be committed to your long term memory. This is significantly more difficult that recalling a general idea.

The best way to train a Know It All employee is through cognitive based learning. This style of learning doesn’t question the employee’s current knowledge of the subject at hand, but integrates sensory memory, with cognitive processing, allowing the new material to be transmitted into long term memory, and therefore learned.

Managing a Know It All

Managing a Know It All can be exhausting and annoying, it is a task best tackled if you understand where their behaviour is coming from. The incessant droning comes from low self esteem and is a plea for acknowledgement of how smart, funny, and interesting he or she may be. The great thing about hiring a Know It All is that they love to learn, if only for the validation and approval that comes from mastering a new skill. As long as you continue to recognise and praise, the individual will continue to learn and master.