THE WAYS PEOPLE LEARN By Dr. James B. Slack Exploring the ...

The Ways People Learn--Slack 6to be understood, recalled, and reproduced. 4 When communicating with literates andhighly-literate persons, expositional formats are excellent presentation formats to use. Asone moves “to the right” in the Learning Grid, more exposition can be used in thepresentation. As one moves “to the left” in the Learning Grid, less exposition should beused. For oral communicators, the story is the preferred style.Failure to match the proper presentation style with the corresponding learning preferenceor category hinders learning and effective discourse. When there is an improper match,the presenter speaks, but the receiver seldom “hears.”The Learning Grid was devised to present the five major categories and to showwhen a literate should be careful about using expositional formats when communicatingwith oral communicators. The shaded areas are those places or times, duringpresentations, when the literate should refrain from using much, if any, expositionalpresentations. Within the shaded areas or times, the literate, for optimum learning tooccur, should use narrative, story formats for presenting whatever concepts, teachings,ideas, or principles are being presented.4 Ong, 12 and 15.