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Why Fun Aids Learning and What You Can Do About it
by Kevin Eikenberry
When we deliver training for our Clients, we do everything we can to make the entire experience fun. In fact, I have had hotel employees tell me their meeting rooms look like an Elementary school classroom when I’m there!
Why do we take the time to “redo” a room? Why do we spend time to design activities and exercises that will engage people completely in the learning experience? Why do I believe it is important that people leave saying they had a good time?
It isn’t a marketing ploy.
It is solid learning theory.
Think about some of the most emotional times in your life. The times when you were stressed; times when you faced a major challenge. It is often in our darkest and most challenging times that we learn things that we will remember and use for a lifetime. We have all had these experiences and have these lessons, but you’ve probably not stopped to think about why those lessons are so engrained in your mind.
The reason is that our learning is anchored when it is connected to an emotional event. The good news is that it doesn’t matter if the emotional event is a negative or a positive one.
So the good news is that connecting our learning to pleasure is an effective way to deepen our lessons, and remember those lessons longer.
In our work we are always looking for ways to make learning more relevant, focused and valuable, of course, but equally importantly, we design ways to make the learning experience more fun. The research tells us this is the right strategy and our experiences confirm it. When we can make learning something more fun, or when we can include fun and enjoyment in the learning process, people will be more receptive and remember the lessons much longer.
Why it Matters to You
You may be thinking that you aren’t a trainer so this doesn’t apply to you. You couldn’t be more wrong. As a member of a team, you want to help others learn things. As a leader you have skills and behaviors you want people to know and practice. If you are a parent or a community volunteer you have a teaching role. And of course, if none of the other things are true you are still responsible for your own learning, aren’t you?
These truths matter to all of us, regardless of the roles we play in life.
Next Steps
Here are five things you can do to incorporate more fun into the learning you lead and your personal learning.
Learn with others. Students know that studying together in a group can be a good strategy. This can be true of us as adults too. Read a book and talk about it with others (it works for Oprah!). Get three or four people together to work on your next presentation. Do a project as a team. The results, enjoyment and learning will likely all go up.
Plan for fun. If you are doing a presentation or training, use an exercise to lighten up the session. Warning – don’t do this just for the fun – make sure you connect it to the lessons or message of the session.
Laugh and learn. The next time you make a mistake, laugh about your foible! While you are reflecting on and laughing about, your mistake, think about what you can learn from the mistake. Use the learning and the laughter to ensure the mistake isn’t repeated.
Ask about it. When you’ve experienced something fun take a few minutes to see what you can learn from the fun. What made it fun? How can you repeat those elements in another situation or with other people?
Allow fun in. Things at work may be serious. The lesson you are trying to learn may be serious. But things can be serious and still enjoyable. When we allow fun in we can help the learning process and cement the learning. The efforts you make to lighten the spirit during a serious and important situation can be richly rewarded.
This is just a start. Once you recognize the power of connecting learning and fun, you will find yourself enjoying yourself and learning more than ever before.
Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.
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