Content Types
According to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, everybody has different types of learning styles to help them comprehend new information. There are 8 learning styles in total, ranging from visual to auditory and more.
As a presenter, it’s important to have a good understanding of each of these types of learning styles so that you can help your audience take in your slideshow as easily as possible.
Creating different learning aids throughout your presentation to cater to each type of learning style is a great way to build rapport with your audience, and allow each viewer to fully comprehend your topic.
We’re going to dive into what the 8 learning styles are, as well as how you can help each learner retain the most information from your presentation.
And if you’re curious what your own learning style is, here’s a great 20-question quiz to help you find out.
Check out our interactive infographic created right here in Visme below. Follow each dotted line to see what each learning style needs to retain information, and hover over each icon to see a photo representation.
Visual or spatial learning is a learning style that requires visual aids, images, diagrams or graphs to help retain information and guide the learning process.
Including infographics and photos throughout your presentation slides is a great way to help your audience understand your information. And while you never want to clutter your presentations with blocks of text, this is even more true when catering to visual learners.
Visual learners tend to veer towards technology-driven careers, as well as industries related to art, photography, architecture and design. The ability to learn through imagery is essential.
Linguistic or verbal learning is the need to learn information through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
It’s a great idea to create handouts of your content or slides for your audience as it is, especially if you’re presenting in front of a large audience who might not be able to hear everything, but it’s even better to help linguistic learners.
Verbal learners often have an excellent memory, and many become teachers and professors.
Logical or mathematical learning focuses on classifying or categorizing information and logical reasoning.
Many people with this learning style can easily recognize patterns and understand relationships between numbers. They prefer to categorize information into groups and look at it that way.
Providing logical learners in your audience with ways to put your information into groups is a great way to help them understand your content.
Logical learners tend to go on to be engineers, mathematicians and scientists, and are often very good at playing strategy games like chess and backgammon.
Auditory or musical learning circles around sound, music and rhythm to help retain information.
For many people, listening to music while studying or working on a project can be a distraction. However auditory learners thrive on having background music, and often need to hum or drum their fingers to understand complex subjects.
These types of learners often become musicians as they have a deeper understanding of music.
Interpersonal or social learning means this type of learner performs best when they’re able to relate to others and work in group situations.
These types of learners need to be able to bounce ideas off of others and interact with others. They’re much better at reading emotions and facial expressions, and are often extroverts.
Interpersonal learners might become psychologists or social workers, and enjoy positions where they’re working with people.
Intrapersonal or solitary learning includes people who learn and work best on their own.
This type of learner tends to be more introverted and prefers to learn processes and digest information on their own time, rather than with a group of people. They are very independent and prefer positions without direct leadership or supervision.
Intrapersonal learners are very likely to enter creative fields and even become entrepreneurs or small business owners.
Kinesthetic or physical learning requires the learner to be hands on in order to understand the process and retain information.
This is a common learning style as many people prefer to learn while doing. Many might also just need to be active while learning, like pacing while reading or reciting information.
Kinesthetic learners love artsy, creative or athletic careers, and will often have hobbies in jewelry-making, gardening, woodworking and outlets like that.
Naturalistic learning focuses on the need to be outside in nature to guide the learning process.
These types of learners prefer to be out of doors, observing how things work in nature. Unsurprisingly, those with this learning style often end up becoming scientists or horticulturists.
Connect with naturalistic learners by offering one-on-one sessions outside or allow students to work outside regularly.
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Ready to cater to the various learning styles in your next presentation? You don’t have to do all of the options mentioned in this list, but understanding how different people learn can help you be a more aware presenter.
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About the Author
Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.