How Do You Learn Best?

Learning is what we do every day we live our life. We might be able to accelerate that curve when what we need to know is tied to the way we like to learn.

How do you like to learn? How do you know that’s what you like? What do you notice when you learn something new or go deeper with something you already know? 

How I Made Learning Memorable

Recently, I returned from a conference that reignited my love of learning. It’s been a busy season and other than reading a book here and there, I haven’t really pursued formal learning lately. This conference activated a different activity in my brain and resonated with my heart in a way that I wasn’t expecting. 

Unrelated to the content of the conference, I noticed what motivates me to pursue learning AND what specific activities take learning a little deeper for me. My observations reveal a few things that make learning memorable for me:

• Discussing what I am learning in smaller groups
• Taking paper and pen notes 
• Thinking about how the concepts could be applied in real life
• Putting the concepts into my own words

How You Can Find Your Best Learning Self

What about you? Think about a peak learning experience. You felt excited, energized and engaged, such that you were able to achieve a new level of experience, learning or understanding. Reflecting on this experience will draw out your personal answer to this question: How do you learn best? Grab and pen and a paper and reflect on these questions:

• What happened?
• What did you do to make that happen?
• What did others do to contribute to the experience?
• How did that experience feel? What impact did it have on you?

Next Steps to Take Your Learning Deeper

This reflection activity goes deeper when you share your experience with another. Create space to have a conversation in the next week with a friend, a colleague or your manager and share your observations. 

1. Share the learning experience and your observations from your own reflection
2. Invite them to ask open ended questions to help you explore the experience deeper. Help them out by providing a few questions they might ask: 
1. What are you noticing about when you are at your best?
2. What themes are emerging that inspire you to learn?
3. How do those themes influence your choices in how you learn?
3. Ask what themes they notice in the conversation as it unfolds.
4. Look to your next learning opportunity. What will you do differently to tap into your best learning self?

Knowing how you are motivated to learn and applying that in your pursuit of learning can accelerate your efforts to go deeper and wider in what you need to know to bring your best self forward at work and in life. 

Need a little help getting your thoughts flowing? Grab your summary and tip sheet so that you can customize your learning approach. If you are wondering about your own learning style, let’s schedule a 27 minute strategy session and explore your best learning self together.