Productivity Tips for Auditory Learners

To honor my auditory subscribers, I have recorded this article as an audio post (technology can be so cool!) just click the button to listen.

This is the last article in a series devoted to productivity tips tailored to learning style. Remember that although we all have a preferred style, most of us are a blend of learning styles, so apply the tips from each learning style that resonate with you and see if they begin to make your life easier. Use the clues to identify your co-workers’ and family members’ preferred learning styles, then use productivity tips aligned with their style to make them more responsive to you and likely to follow through on your requests.

In college, I never understood why some students had tape recorders on the professor’s desk to record lectures. Wouldn’t it take less time just to take some notes? Now I understand that these were the auditory learners, and that they knew that to retain information, the best use of their time was to re-listen to those tapes.

Are you (or someone you know) an auditory person? Some clues to listen for: auditory learners tend to be mimics, since they have learned over time that to remember information, they must hear it, sometimes repeatedly. For the same reason, auditory learners may talk to themselves. They’re not crazy, just in tune with their learning style!

Here are a few productivity tips for the auditory learner:
1. Read you To-do list out loud in order to remember it
2. Use alarms on watches and electronic calendars as reminders
3. Tapes and CD’s are great learning tools for you.
4. Let people know that voice mail is a better reminder than an email.
5. Just as with your to-do list, read important email out loud

And, by the way, did you recognize that my need to take notes is a trait of a kinesthetic learner? If you need a refresher, see the “Tips for Kinethetic Learners” article.