Best Practices: Connecting with Adult Learners

Acquiring new information as an adult can be challenging for a number of reasons. To start, the adult brain is a lot less elastic than the brains of children and teens. This makes it more difficult for the adult brain to retain a lot of new information.

Another challenge is expressed in the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Adult learners can struggle to break out of old habits that they’ve had for many years, even when they are willing and open to changing their ways.

We have some tips to help you connect with adult learners in manageable, sustainable, and enjoyable ways.

Know your audience

Adult learners are typically more experienced and knowledgeable than younger students. It’s important to take that into account when designing a presentation so that time is not wasted going over basic information they might already understand.

Make it relevant

In order for a presentation to have a positive, sustainable impact on adult learners, it must feel relevant to them. They should be able to take something away from the lesson that will impact their daily lives. By making the presentation’s relevance clear at the beginning, adult learners will be more motivated to engage.

Explain the "why"

Adult learners are unlike some younger audiences because more often than not, they are choosing to learn rather than being required to. Because of this, they need to know why each component of the presentation is important in the grand scheme of things.

Cater to different learning styles

By now, most adults understand their own particular learning styles. Incorporating a variety of activities into your presentation ensures that each learning style is addressed, and allows more individuals to benefit.

Applying new knowledge

Actively applying newly acquired skills and knowledge during the learning process further cements the prominent points from the presentation. Adult learners are practical, and utilizing what they’ve learned while they are learning it goes a long way in helping them retain new information.