What is Your Style?

You may know that people learn in different ways but did you know that they also “experience” reading a story in different ways based on their preferred learning style? These different styles guide the way we internally represent experiences and influence not only how we read, but how we write.

In general, there are three main learning styles: visual, aural, and kinesthetic. A visual person learns best by reading then mentally translating words into pictures. An aural (auditory) learner understands new ideas and concepts by hearing information. Aural learners pick up the true meaning of someone’s words by listening for changes in tone. A kinesthetic (physical) learner is best with hands on learning and doing it herself. Of course, most of us use a combination of the three or have one dominant style with the others secondary. (Some researchers believe there are actually five styles--verbal, visual, physical, logical and aural--or more.)

What does this mean when we read? Well, three people can read the same scene in a book and experience it in different ways. Let’s say the scene is a man running from a murderer during a snow storm. A visual person “sees” it as a movie, visualizing the falling snow and a chase on foot past trees and boarded up houses. The aural reader “hears” the scene read in her mind, perhaps focusing on the staccato rhythm of the words that sound like the pounding of running feet. The kinesthetic reader “feels” the cold of the snow and the rapid heartbeat of the man running for his life. Some of these more physical readers become so immersed in their feelings while reading a scary book they may jump up and knock something over.

Since each writer has her own learning and corresponding reading style, it makes sense that it’s more comfortable to write in that style. For example, a visual learner may write mostly descriptive phrases and not take into account the rhythm of words. Conversely, an aural learner might write beautiful sentences that sound good to the ear but lose the story line with slower moving prose.

During the writing process, a visual learner may doodle, clip magazine pictures to represent characters, or use color coding to organize thoughts and ideas. An aural learner might talk out ideas, read dialogue in different voices and edit by reading the story, including punctuations marks, out loud. And a kinesthetic learner may prefer to get out of the chair and act out what she is writing or make a three dimensional object to represent an idea. In order to understand and include other styles, perhaps we could experiment with different methods that take us out of our comfort zone.

The implication is that all readers don’t experience a story in the same way. If we want to appeal to everyone, we need to write visually evocative descriptions, listen to our word choice and rhythm, and make sure to include phrases that produce physical sensation.

What’s your learning style? Is it the same as your preferred writing style?