Do you ever coach, mentor, or teach others? Most leaders do, but sometimes their message doesn’t “stick” because their teaching method doesn’t fit the style of their learner. You can fix this with a bit of insight about learning styles. Research shows that different people learn in different ways. There are four major learning styles – let’s call them why, why not, how does it work, and what if. You have a natural teaching style, which is probably centered on the learning style you personally prefer. Your teaching style may be different than what your learner needs. When you understand what learning style works best for the person you are helping, you can tune your approach to be more effective.
| Type of Learner | What They Want | How to Meet Their Need |
| Why | Understand why they should learn about this topic now | Explain the purpose and benefits of what you’re teaching |
| What | Learn the relevant facts with a minimum of fluff | Show an outline of the material to be covered and where additional documentation can be found |
| How does it work | Know how this idea fits into the big picture | Give context and describe how the idea connects with key goals |
| What if | Test the ideas you’re teaching to them | Leave time in your agenda to discuss the possibilities and application of the ideas |
What if you’re working with a group instead of one person? Assume that they have a variety of learning styles and try to address all four. The techniques for each style are complementary, so you can often meet the needs of several styles at once by adding just a bit of refinement to what you already have.
You can dive deeper into learning styles in chapter six of Steve Trautman’s Teach What You Know, a book about how to set up effective peer mentoring. The four learning styles are based on work by David Kolb, Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. What teaching and mentoring techniques do you like? I’d love to hear your tips!