Talk Like Your Clients Learn (Part Two)
Again this week, you get to hear from Carrie Do, who’s been a member of the A Squared team for over a year! I hope you enjoy the second half of her two part series about how knowing your clients’ learning styles will help you serve them better….
“Time is money,” so they say. And you want to maximize both your own time and your clients’ time. So how do you most efficiently feed information to your client’s brain?
Technically speaking, unless you are in truly specialized fields that involve the senses of smell and/or taste, there are 3 different ways to do it: visual, auditory, and tactile. And, as you may have guessed, we all have our dominant, more efficient, mode of learning. As adults, we likely know our preference, even if we haven’t thought too hard or long about it.
If you are a service provider who presents information to your clients, you may want to ask them which method they prefer to receive information during the onboarding process.
Typically, our default method of instruction is auditory. Let’s face it, people who are auditory learners tend to luck out, as much of the information out there is presented this way.
However, fortunately for us visual learners, the ever-so-present screens that are in our faces on the regular have given us almost a level playing field to those who are auditory learners. And it is much easier to present this way with the help of our beloved screens. We have youtube videos to teach us pretty much anything we want to know, we have helpful tools to build idea maps, and we have google images to show us an example of anything we want to see.
But then there are the often forgotten tactile learners. These are the worst kind of sneetches, left out in the cold on the dark, lonely beaches. (Actually these are some of the most interesting characters, so embrace the opportunity to have a conversation with one if you get a chance.)
Anyhoo, this type of learner learns best while, you guessed it, doing. They like to dive in without instruction and test, take apart, and put back together themselves, only stopping to ask a few lingering questions they may have. This type of learner is best taught with something that they can delve into first, and then follow up with instruction. Save those lengthy emails with pros and cons and ins and outs and lengthy instructions. Just send the link/product/proposal and tell them to send you their thoughts. They will appreciate you for it.
“Why are you telling me this??? I already know this stuff!”
Then use it! Be cognizant of the fact that someone else’s learning style may be different than your preferred instruction style. Don’t default to your own. And remember to ask from the beginning. It might save a lot of time and energy and patience.
Have a good one,
Carrie