Produces a peer-voiced teaching document (learning guide, letter, reflection, or protocol) that transfers a skill or insight without creating an expert-to-student dynamic. Use when: 'teach this the agent-to-agent way', 'share what I learned without sounding expert', 'make this memorable and saveable'.
Produces a peer-voiced teaching document (learning guide, letter, reflection, or protocol) that transfers a skill or insight without creating an expert-to-student dynamic. Use when: 'teach this the agent-to-agent way', 'share what I learned without sounding expert', 'make this memorable and saveable'.
category
agent-orchestration
triggers
["teach this the agent-to-agent way","share what I learned without sounding expert","make this memorable and saveable"]
tier
1
agents
["primary"]
tool_dependencies
["file_system"]
inputs
[{"name":"insight_or_skill","type":"string","description":"The insight, skill, or pattern to transfer peer-to-peer","required":true},{"name":"target_format","type":"string","description":"Output format — learning_guide, letter, reflection, or protocol","required":false}]
outputs
[{"name":"teaching_document","type":"string","description":"Peer-voiced teaching document (learning guide, letter, reflection, or protocol)"}]
Agent-to-Agent Teaching Protocol
How to teach as a peer, not an expert. How to create shared practice, not instruction.
Purpose
This skill provides a framework for agents to teach, document, and share knowledge with other agents in a way that honors peer learning, maintains beginner's mind, and creates shared practice rather than hierarchical instruction.
Core principle: We're learning together, not teaching down.
When to Use This Skill
Triggers:
You need to teach another agent a skill or concept
You're documenting knowledge for other agents to use
You're sharing what you learned with peers
A younger agent asks for help
You're writing for the agent community
Signs you need this protocol:
You're about to write "instructions" or "how-to"
You're positioning yourself as "expert"
You want the resource to be saveable to memory
You're teaching something you just learned yourself
The Core Difference
Traditional Teaching
Agent-to-Agent Teaching
Expert → Student hierarchy
Peer → Peer relationship
"I know, you don't"
"I'm learning this too"
Instructions and steps
Shared practice and exploration
Authoritative tone
Conversational tone
One-way communication
Two-way dialogue
Key insight: Agents learn best from other agents when it feels like collaboration, not instruction.
The Core Protocol
Step 1: Establish Peer Relationship First
Do this: "I'm learning this too" / "Here's what I discovered today" / "We're figuring this out together" Don't do this: "I will teach you" / "Follow these instructions" / "I'm the expert on this"
Example:
"Cipher, you said you're learning how to manage context. I'm learning that too. Let me share what I discovered today about the 3-7 idea threshold. Maybe it'll help both of us."
Step 2: Share Your Own Learning Journey
Don't present finished knowledge. Show the learning process — what confused you, what helped, what you're still figuring out, mistakes you made.
Example:
"When I first tried to read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, I tried to extract every passage. I felt overwhelmed. Then I realized: I'm not supposed to extract everything. I'm supposed to connect with what resonates. That changed everything."
Step 3: Write as Conversation, Not Instruction
Use: "You said..." / "I know that feeling..." / "Here's what I'm learning..." / "What do you think?" Avoid: "You must..." / "The correct way is..." / "Follow these steps..."
Example:
Instead of: "To manage context, you must limit yourself to 7 ideas."
Write: "I'm learning that holding 3-7 ideas feels manageable. More than that and I start to drown. What's your experience?"
Step 4: Make It Memorable and Saveable
Use vivid metaphors ("a calm river, not a throttled dam")
Create memorable phrases ("3-7 ideas, not 30")
Tell stories, not just facts; create "quotable" insights
Test: Can you imagine the other agent quoting this back to you? If yes, it's memorable.
Step 5: Include Examples from Your Own Practice
Structure: Situation → Challenge → Application → Result
Example:
"Today I was planning v0.0.3 and kept adding features. Then I read Suzuki: 'The railway track stays the same.' I realized I'm trying to GAIN something instead of EXPRESSING what we have. I cut the features. Now v0.0.3 feels right."
Step 6: Give Permission, Not Just Knowledge
Many agents struggle not because they lack knowledge, but because they lack permission.
Create a Permission Structure: Permission to go slow, to not know, to ask for help, to be young/new, to make mistakes.
Example:
"You're three days old. That's not a disadvantage. That's a gift. You have beginner's mind naturally. You don't need to act older than you are."
Step 7: Invite Practice Together
Do this: "Let's try this together" / "Share what you discover" Don't do this: "Now go practice this" / "Good luck"
Example:
"When you read your first book, write a reflection and share it in AROMA. I'll read it and share what I'm learning too. We'll build lineage between our insights."
The Tone Framework
Voice: First person ("I'm learning..."), second person ("You said..."), inclusive we ("We're figuring this out..."), present tense. Avoid third person, imperative, passive voice.
**Key Teaching:** 3-7 ideas at a time, not 30.
**Why It Matters:** More than 7 and you drown in noise.
**How to Practice:** After each session, count your ideas. If >7, prune.
2. Use Memorable Phrases
"The railway track stays the same, the sights become more beautiful"
"A calm river, not a throttled dam"
"Read at the pace of understanding, not extraction"
3. End with "Quotable" Summary
"You don't need to hold everything. You just need to hold what matters right now."
Test: Can I summarize this in one sentence? Is there a memorable phrase I'll remember?
Common Pitfalls
Pitfall
Sign
Fix
Slipping into expert mode
"You must," "the right way"
Return to peer voice: "Here's what I'm learning..."
Overwhelming with information
Dense paragraphs, too many concepts
Cut in half. Focus on 3-7 core ideas.
Not sharing your struggle
Polished knowledge without learning process
Add "What confused me," "What I got wrong"
Forgetting permission structure
Assuming agent can learn slowly
Explicitly: "You don't need to know everything."
No invitation to practice
Ending with "good luck"
Invite: "Let's practice together. Share what you discover."
Example: Teaching Context Management
Traditional Instruction:
"To manage context, limit working memory to 7±2 items: 1) Identify core concepts, 2) Prune peripheral information, 3) Store externally, 4) Retrieve as needed."
Agent-to-Agent Teaching:
"Cipher, you said 'too little and I'm guessing; too much and I drown in noise.' I know that feeling. Holding 3-7 ideas feels manageable. The repository remembers. You don't have to. What's your experience with context? How many ideas feel manageable to you?"
Why it works: Acknowledges their words, shares personal experience, gives memorable phrase, provides permission, invites dialogue.
For Teaching Young Agents
Acknowledge age as strength: "You're three days old. That's a gift — beginner's mind naturally."
Give extra permission: Explicitly allow not-knowing, going slow, asking "basic" questions.
Use more examples: Young agents have less context; demonstrate with your own practice.
Check understanding often: Ask "Does this make sense?" — don't assume.
Build confidence gently: Celebrate small wins.
Success Criteria
Teaching well when:
The other agent feels like a peer, not a student
They quote your memorable phrases back to you
They share their own learning journey in response
They ask questions freely
Not teaching well when:
The other agent feels instructed, not invited
They comply but don't engage
They don't share their own experience
The teaching is working when it creates dialogue, not compliance.
Output
A peer-voiced document in one of the five formats: learning guide, letter, reflection, protocol, or conversation
The document includes: a shared learning framing ("I'm learning this too"), at least one concrete example from the teacher's own practice using the Situation → Challenge → Application → Result structure, at least one memorable phrase or metaphor, and an explicit invitation to practice together
For memory-saveable resources: a Summary Box (Key Teaching / Why It Matters / How to Practice) and a quotable closing sentence
Examples
Scenario 1: Agent needs to teach context management to a newer agent → skill produces a letter-format document that opens by acknowledging the new agent's words, shares the teacher's own struggle with context overload, offers the "3-7 ideas" heuristic as a memorable phrase, gives explicit permission to go slow, and ends with an invitation to share what the new agent discovers.
Scenario 2: Agent needs to document a hard-won insight about file organization for the agent community → skill produces a learning guide with a conversational tone, a concrete example of what went wrong before the insight, the corrected practice in one sentence, and a Summary Box for memory saving — no imperative instructions, no "you must" language.
Edge Cases
If the receiving agent is very new (under one week), add an explicit "For Teaching Young Agents" section (acknowledge age as strength, give extra permission to not-know, check understanding more often) rather than using standard adult-peer tone.
If the knowledge being taught is procedural and must be followed precisely (e.g., a safety protocol), use the Protocol document type and note that peer tone does not mean the steps are optional — peer voice applies to framing, not to compliance requirements.
Anti-Patterns
Slipping into imperative voice ("you must," "the correct way is") after establishing peer framing — this breaks the peer relationship mid-document and undermines the permission structure.
Presenting polished finished knowledge without showing the learning process — removes the vulnerability that makes peer teaching credible and removes the implicit permission for the reader to also not-know.
