Preferred Representational Systems and Learning Styles
We experience the world around us through our fives senses – Sight or
Visual (V), hearing or auditory (A), touch or kinesthetic (K), taste or
gustatory (G) and smell or olfactory (O) – it is these senses that are also
known as the representational systems because they are the main ways
that represent, code, store and give meaning or language to our
experiences.
Preferred Representational Systems
We use all of our senses all of the time and depending on the
circumstances may focus on one or more of them – for instance when
listening to a favorite piece of music, we may close our eyes to more fully
listen and to experience certain feelings. In order to see things more
clearly we might need to close our eyes and visualize the situation, person
or place.
So we all use each of the senses and each of us also has a preferred
representational system, one that we use most when we speak, learn or
communicate in any way. For example, when learning something new,
some of us may prefer to see it or imagine it performed, others need to
hear how to do it, others need to get a feeling for it, and yet others have
to make sense of it. In general, one system is not better than another and
sometimes it depends on the situation or task that we are learning or
doing as to which one or more representational systems might be more
effective than another. For example if we are painting a portrait then the
visual system will be more engaged, if I’m listening to an audiobook then
I would be using more of my auditory system. People at the top of their
profession typically have the ability to use all of the representational
systems and to choose the one most appropriate for the situation.
Depending on your preferred representational system(s), you may exhibit
certain behaviours or characteristics. Before exploring these behaviours,
please note that depending on what is going on in your life, or the
context, you may change your preferred representational system(s).
Hence, it is more useful to notice the representational system a person is
currently favouring, rather than pigeon-holing a person.
The following are generalizations on the characteristics of people with a
preference for visual, auditory, kinesthetic or auditory digital. Remember,
with all generalizations, there are always exceptions.
Visual
People with a visual preference, will tend to:
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Be organized, neat and well-groomed because it’s important to
them to look good, and yes, they expect you to look good too!
Use visualization for memory and decision making - often getting
insights about something.
People who are visual often stand or sit with their heads and/or
bodies erect, with their eyes up.
They will be breathing from the top of their lungs.
Be more imaginative and may have difficulty putting their ideas in
words.
Speak faster than the general population because they have a
picture(s) in their mind which might be moving picture and so they
have to speak quickly to tell you all about it before the picture or
movie has moved on!
Prefer to communicate in person or face to face because they like to
see the other person and his/her reactions.
Want to see or be shown concepts, ideas or how something is done.
Want to see the big picture.
May not remember what people have said and become confused if
you give them too many verbal instructions. However, if you can
draw a map or picture for them, then they can see what you are
saying.
Remember faces more easily than names.
Be distracted by visual activity and less so by noise.
Visual Learning Style
As a result of these characteristics people who have visual as their
preferred representational system will learn best by seeing what you are
saying, therefore they need visual aids:o
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Flip charts
Overheads
Powerpoint slides
White boards
Use of colours
Handouts
Maps
Drawings
Pictures
Diagrams
Flow charts
Graphs
Props
Articles
They engage when you speak quickly and in an animated way by using
purposeful gestures and movement.
Auditory
People with an auditory preference, will tend to:
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Move their eyes sideways alot.
Breathe from the middle of their chest.
Typically talk to themselves, and are easily distracted by noise,
(some even move their lips when they talk to themselves.)
Repeat things back to you easily and usually like music and talking
on the phone.
Memorize by steps, procedures, and sequences (sequentially).
Be more aware of and notice subtle change in the tone of your
voice and be more responsive to and engaged by certain tones of
voice.
Enjoy discussions and prefer to communicate through spoken
language rather than the written word.
Talk through problems and like to have someone available to serve
as a sounding board for their ideas.
Need to be heard.
Auditory Learning Style
As a result of these characteristics people who have auditory as their
preferred representational system will learn best by listening to what you
are saying, they learn best by:o
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Asking questions
Being involved in discussions
Talking through exercises
Listening to the content delivered clearly with a variety of
tone, pitch, speed and volume.
Like to be told how they are doing
Kinesthetic
People with a kinesthetic preference, will tend to:
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Breathe from the bottom of their lungs, so you’ll see their stomach
go in and out when they breathe.
Respond to physical rewards, and touching.
Stand closer to people in order to feel their energy
Be interested in your course if it feels right.
Speak slower than the general population because they need time
to get in touch with how they feel about the topic.
Dress to be comfortable rather than to look good.
Make decisions based on their feelings.
Auditory Learning Style
As a result of these characteristics people who have kinesthetic as their
preferred representational system will learn best by:o
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Doing or walking through something
Touching, holding or feeling props or equipment
Role play
Being taught by someone who stays pretty still, speaks
slowly and uses low tones.
Practical exercises
Auditory Digital
People with an auditory digital preference, will tend to:
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Have a need to make sense of the world, to figure things out, to
understand.
Have a lot of ‘self talk’ – having conversations in their heads all the
time with themselves and imagining conversations with others.
Think things through before taking action so are rarely spontaneous
Be very logical in their decision making processes
Like to know the detail, facts and figures
Memorize by steps, procedures, sequences.
Auditory Learning Style
As a result of these characteristics people who have auditory as their
preferred representational system will learn best by listening to what you
are saying, they learn best by:o
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Working things out in their mind
Having as many facts available as possible
Having figures available
Having as much information as possible to consider and
make conclusions about
Like handouts
Enjoy additional reading material
Links to additional information and resources to research for
themselves.
Enjoy project work and research
Combining VAK into your teaching style
In order to ensure that your delegates all get the most from our training
sessions you will need to engage all of the preferred learning styles into
your presentation. Paying attention to your own pace, tone, volume and
varying it at different times during the session. To use visual aids where
possible and props to see and touch. Have elements of discussion and
times for Q&A sessions, role play, demonstrations, exercises for the group
to get involved in.
Stories are also another great teaching aid, they engage the people who
like to listen (auditory), the imagination (visual) and emotions of the
characters or situation (kinaesthetic). They also link the subject or part of
the content that you are teaching to real life situations that people can
relate to making them both more real and memorable.