Why are learning styles important? What are the different learning styles? These are great questions that require attention when building purpose driven teams.We are not all equal in how we communicate. Some people prefer to process information through text, while others want visual support and images. You may perform better assimilating information alone while others do better working in groups. Some grasp information intuitively and quickly while others prefer to see a strong sequential path and take time to reflect. Everyone possesses varying mixtures of all profiles and there is no right or wrong approach to learning. The key is understanding your style and the style of those around you to improve communications. The leaders who take the time to get to know their staff and their learning styles are far more productive than those who do not. Even getting to know yourself better, understanding your own style of learning will assist you in your own professional and personal growth. The more resources you have on hand to serve your team and/or family, the stronger your foundation and opportunities for success will be. So, what is your learning style?

Auditory learners:
• Learn best by hearing information (great listener)
• Can accurately remember details of information heard in conversations or lectures
• Have strong language skills that include well-developed vocabularies
• Have an appreciation for words
• Strong oral communication skills
• Hear tones, rhythms, and notes and can remember all the words to a song they hear
• Prefer verbal instruction over written instruction
• Seldom takes notes
• Talks to self
• Least likely to learn by reading

Auditory Communication Style:
• “Tell me more”
• “Let’s talk it over”
• “I get the message”
• “That strikes a chord”
• “Sounds okay to me”
• “I hear what you are saying”
• “Let me repeat what I heard”

Auditory Learning Strategies:
• Think aloud and talk to yourself
• Participate in discussions and debates
• Create musical jingles to aid memorization
• Discuss ideas verbally
• Sit in back of room where there is less visual stimulation

Visual learners:
• Learn best by seeing information
• Can easily recall printed information in the form of numbers, words, phrases, or sentences
• Can easily understand and recall information presented in pictures, charts, or diagrams
• Have strong visualization skills and can look up (often to the left) and “see” information
• Can make “movies in their mind” of information they are reading
• Pay close attention and learn to interpret body language (facial expressions, eyes, stance)

Visual Communication Style:
• “Show me”
• “Let’s take a look at that”
• “Watch what she says now”
• “Explain that again, it wasn’t clear”
• “Beyond a shadow of a doubt”
• “A picture is worth a thousand words”
• “I can’t quite picture that”
• “I never forget a face”
• “Let me see what I can do”

Visual Learning Strategies:
• Use color to highlight important words
• Take notes including charts and pictures
• Sit in front of the room
• Keep an organized work area
• Make lists on note pads or sticky notes
• Create movies in your mind of information that you read

Kinesthetic learners:
• Do best when they are ACTIVELY involved
• Have high energy levels
• Prefer to TALK rather than listen/touch to get attention
• Lose much of what is said in a lecture
• Do well with role playing
• Physically well-coordinated
• Do best with a HANDS-ON approach to learning
• Have difficulty sitting and listening for extended periods of time

Kinesthetic Communication Style:
• “Hold on a second”
• “I will get in touch with you”
• “That will just scratch the surface”
• “I can’t put my finger on it”
• “Show me what you mean”
• “How does that grab you”
• “It certainly feels right”
• “I can relate to that”

Kinesthetic Learning Strategies:
• Have frequent breaks in training sessions to avoid getting “antsy”
• Use physical activities or games
• “Hands on” training approach
• Have “toys” to play with while listening
• Participate
• Chew gum or hold a pencil

Whether we are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic each of us have a natural preference for the way in which we prefer to receive information or learn. To be effective leaders, we must realize that our teams do not all learn or receive information in the same manner. So, if you have an employee that just does not seem to get it, maybe you are expecting them to learn in your mode. Take a step back, evaluate and get to understand the learning path of your employee and try different styles when one is not working. It is said that we share our primary style in our eyes. If we are auditory, we tend to look straight ahead when answering a question or thinking, if we are visual, we tend to look upward or gesture our hands upward, and if we are Kinesthetic, we tend to look downward and share more information in our body language. For more information or on-site training,please contact us at LMS Homepage.