The real way to get people to learn stuff from you

“Tell me, I'll forget.   Show me, I may remember.   But, involve me, and I'll understand” - Old Chinese proverb.

One of the greatest common misconceptions that I have had before is that people are learning from me when I'm talking to them. Often times I catch myself becoming extraordinarily enthusiastic and unable to stop talking about opinions and ideas that I have. Typically the listener is nice and appears to be listening intently and understanding. But when I feel like I know all the answers and jump around to key beliefs and understandings that I have without taking time to TRULY listen to the other person, I'm not getting through to them. People lose focus very quickly (or at least I know I do) unless they are intimately involved with the conversation/talk.