“How did you learn that?” is a compliment and a free lesson packed into one question.

The question does two jobs at once. It tells someone you noticed they are good at something, which almost nobody hears, and it asks for the path rather than the result, which is the part you can actually use. People tend to open right up, because they remember being bad at it and nobody has ever asked them about that stretch.

Use it this week on someone whose skill you have quietly admired. Ask for the route rather than for tips. Where did you start, what did you get wrong, what would you skip if you did it again.