The Single Most Important Factor In Adult Learning

When I was a Primary Teacher many years ago, I used to work with 4 and 5 year olds. In those days, we had a range of activities around the room, such as the sand tray, water, building bricks and the Wendy House ( I’m sure it’s not called that now! ).
 
Children would take it in turns going round the activities.
 
I never once heard a child asking why, or what they would learn from it, or how it would help them or whether that was the best use of their time. The worst that might happen would be that a child would sulk because they wanted to play with the sand when it wasn’t their turn yet.
 
( Before any teachers write to me, yes I know that’s all changed now – 4 year olds aren’t what they used to be, neither is the curriculum! ).
 
Anyway, my point it – adults aren’t like that. Adults do question everything. They may not do it out loud but they will always question why you are asking them to spend their time doing something or why they need to learn something.
 
Adults aren’t immediately receptive to everything you may want them to do, they need a good reason. This is partly because they have a dozen other things to do at any given moment and you need to justify the time you’re taking out of their busy lives.
 
Also, where young children tend to focus entirely on what they happen to be doing ( watch a child eat an ice cream and you’ll see what I mean ) adults tend to have half their minds on something else.
 
I think this is extremely significant for you as a trainer.
 
I think that motivation largely determines whether someone learns what you want them to.
 
I believe motivation is more important than ” learning styles “.
 
I’ve been doing a lot of research about learning styles recently ( in fact I may well publish a fairly lengthy article just on that topic as it’s so important ).
 
What I’m starting to believe is that learning styles are more just preferences about the way we tend to approach learning situations. They’re partly based on habit, partly on what’s worked for us in the past and partly just on personal preferences.
 
They’re not fixed or absolute and no-one learns in only one way.
 
I think that motivation is the single most important factor in adult learning. If people are highly motivated and focused, they can learn even despite poor training methods or difficult conditions.
 
If people are really motivated to learn something, they’ll find a way. If they’re not motivated, it doesn’t matter whether or not you use the ” right ” method for their learning style.
 
Of course, it’s still important to use effective training techniques but, without a group who are motivated to learn, they won’t work very well anyway.
 
The problem is that most adult learners are not that motivated to begin with and many trainers do not do enough to get them motivated before and during training sessions.
 
Many adults turn up for training courses feeling:

• uncertain as to why they are there
• resentful for the time it’s taking up
• anxious about what’s going to happen
• tired

annoyed at being told to turn up without having any choice in the matter
This is why, on my Transform Your Training courses, I spend a lot of time talking about how to get people in a ” receptive state ” for learning.
 
I won’t go into all the ways you can do this now. I’ve mentioned them in previous articles so you can go to the Articles page on the website and find more tips.
 
Also, there’s a section in the booklet How To Be A Top Trainer - if you don’t have a copy yet, now’s the time to get one!

My point is, you must see it as your number one priority to motivate your learners and to keep them motivated. If you do, you’re well on the way to helping them learn whatever they need to.
 
I’d love to know what you think. Why not leave a comment on this article?

For more great training tips, get your free copy of How To Be A Top Trainer.