We all learn differently. One of the most important skills of a teacher is recognizing a student's learning style.
Research has identified four primary learning styles; 1) visual, 2) auditory/aural, 3) read/write, and 4) kinesthetic. These styles can be remembered using the pneumonic "VARK". ( Visual / Auditory / Read / Kinesthetic ).
When we want to persuade someone to action (customer, co-worker, vendor, etc.), recognizing the learning style or styles of our audience can improve our communication success.
As a quick case study, let's picture a business presentation with the objective of influencing our customers to purchase our products (in other words, a "sales presentation").
| VISUAL | we should include some visual presentations, (such as charts, graphs, and maps), images of people, places and things, and consider offering copies of the materials for later review |
| AUDITORY | along with the typical spoken pitch, add verbal requests for input, discussions, stories, and even songs and lyrics |
| READ | offer notepads, make more extensive reading material available and recommend for review. include written response/reply materials. |
| KINESTHETIC | physical models, opportunities to touch things, more frequent breaks, activities, dancing |
Hopefully you see how with audiences of more than one, consideration of the learning styles of your audience is likely to improve your message. Addressing all four learning styles in your presentation will greatly improve the effectiveness of your communication. Ironically, and proving our point, not having all four styles available on this post makes it less effective.
Our goal is never to unethically manipulate those with whom we live. Our motivation is always to improve the lives of the individuals in our audience.