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Every presenter faces a fundamental challenge: how do we deliver information in a way that truly resonates with our audience? The answer lies in understanding that people learn differently, and the most effective presentations adapt to these differences rather than forcing everyone into a single learning approach.
The key insight is elegantly simple: "Walk in your audience's shoes." This means seeing things from your audience's perspective and understanding how they prefer to learn, rather than defaulting to your own preferred style.
Understanding the Learning Cycle
While the academic world offers complex theories about learning styles—terms like activist, pragmatist, reflector, and theorist—the practical application can be distilled into a simple framework: the LearningCycle. This approach recognizes that effective learning involves three essential components that work together in a continuous cycle.
Consider this scenario: You've just purchased a new piece of equipment—perhaps a digital video recorder, coffee machine, or smartphone.How do you approach learning to use it? Your answer reveals your natural learning preference.
Some people immediately tear open the packaging and start experimenting, learning through trial and error until they achieve their desired results. These are action-led learners who prefer hands-on exploration.
Others settle into their favorite chair and methodically read every page of the manual before ever touching the device. These input-led learners prefer to understand the theory and instructions before taking action.
Still others might reflect on their past experiences with similar devices or seek out reviews and discussions about the product before deciding how to proceed. These reflection-led learners prefer to process and consider information before moving forward.
The Three Essential Components
The Learning Cycle consists of three interconnected elements: Action, Input, and Reflection. For genuine learning to occur, all three components must be present, though people can start at any point in the cycle.
Action involves hands-on experience, experimentation, and practice. It's the "doing" phase where learners engage directly with the subject matter.
Input represents the information-gathering phase—reading manuals, attending lectures, or receiving structured instruction. It's the "learning" phase where new knowledge is acquired.
Reflection encompasses thinking, processing, discussing, and connecting new information to existing knowledge. It's the "understanding" phase where insights are formed and integrated.
The Cycle in Practice
Let's return to our digital video recorder example. An action-led person might start by experimenting with the device. If it performs exactly as expected, their reflection might be: "This works perfectly—I don't need additional input." The cycle is complete.
However, if they achieve 95% of their goals but can't figure out one specific function, reflection leads them to seek input—perhaps consulting the manual for that particular feature. They then test this new knowledge through action, completing the cycle when the function works as intended.
The beauty of this system is its flexibility. You can enter the cycle anywhere, but you must eventually engage with all three components for complete learning to occur.
The Presentation Challenge
Here's where many presenters stumble: they unconsciously impose their own learning preferences on their audience. An action-oriented presenter might jump straight into demonstrations without providing context. An input-focused presenter might deliver lengthy explanations before allowing any hands-on experience. A reflection-oriented presenter might spend too much time on discussion without providing concrete examples or opportunities for practice.
The most effective approach is to consciously identify your audience's likely preferences and start there, while ensuring you eventually incorporate all three elements.
Adapting to Your Audience
If you're presenting to engineers or technical professionals who typically prefer hands-on learning, consider starting with equipment or tools they can immediately explore. Let them experiment first, then facilitate reflection on their experiences, and finally provide input to fill knowledge gaps.
For audiences that prefer structured learning, begin with clear frameworks and explanations, then provide opportunities for reflection and discussion, followed by practical application.
When presenting to groups that enjoy collaborative processing, start with brainstorming sessions or experience-sharing, then provide structured input, and conclude with hands-on practice.
The Key Takeaway
The most important insight from understanding learning cycles is developing awareness of your own preferred style and consciously choosing not to impose it on others. Your comfort zone is not necessarily your audience's comfort zone.
Success comes from starting where your audience prefers to start, not where you would prefer to begin. This requires stepping outside your natural tendencies and truly walking in their shoes.
By recognizing and adapting to different learning preferences while ensuring all three components are present, you create presentations that engage more effectively, facilitate better understanding, and produce lasting results. The goal isn't to abandon your strengths as a presenter, but to expand your repertoire to serve your audience's needs first.
David Duffett is a presentation coach and public speaking expert who has been empowering technical professionals to deliver exceptional presentations for over 25 years. His global reach spans from London to Los Angeles, Berlin to Beirut, Kingston to Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai to Melbourne, and beyond.
Recognizing that exceptional people, teams, and innovations often struggle to achieve their deserved recognition, David is dedicated to eliminating ineffective presentations that cost sales, derail deals, and diminish morale. His mission centers on equipping technical professionals with the tools and techniques needed to reach their potential, engage clients effectively, and secure successful outcomes.
Connect with David on LinkedIn or via email (david.duffett@telespeak.co.uk).
