Pragmatists:

Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.

Pragmatists learn best when: 

• there is an obvious link between the topic and job 
• they have the chance to try out techniques with feedback e.g. role-playing 
• they are shown techniques with obvious advantages e.g. saving time 
• they are shown a model they can copy e.g. a film or a respected boss 

Pragmatists learn less when: 

• there is no obvious or immediate benefit that they can recognise 
• there is no practice or guidelines on how to do it   there is no apparent pay back to the learning e.g. shorter meetings
• the event or learning is 'all theory' 

back

Most of us has elements of more than one learning style. Think about your strongest style and your weakest style to identify how you learn. 

This excerpt has been taken from the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire. A full online version of this questionnaire is available from  www.peterhoney.com on a pay-as-you-go basis for £10. Your results include a full report with suggestions about how to become a more effective learner.