Learning How to Learn: A Bufferchat Recap

This week in #bufferchat, we discussed the “how” behind learning; in essence, we talked about learning how to learn! In the conversation we shared techniques for retaining information, discussed how our learning styles might change over time, and much more. Read on to discover some insightful tidbits from the chat!

Catch our weekly Twitter chat, #bufferchat, at TWO times every Wednesday for valuable industry insights and networking with nearly 400 other smart marketers and community managers. Same topic, same place, just at different times – feel free to join whichever chat time that works best for you!

For our community in Asia and Australia (or anyone in other timezones that like this time the best!): 4 pm AEST (Sydney time, UTC+10)

For our community in North/South America, Europe and Africa (or others!): 9 am PT (California time)

This week’s stats:
1st Bufferchat: 56 participants; 341 tweets; reach of 985,284
2nd Bufferchat: 253 participants; 1,647 tweets; reach of 1,275,431

Q1: What inspires you to learn something new?

From the community:

• “I am inspired by the idea that by learning something new, I can make a difference & potentially create change.” @NicoleRoe24
• “Restlessness. Being driven to change. Sense of missing out. And being cooped up or procrastinating.” @JeremyDBond
• “Having my own consultancy also keeps me on my “learning” toes. I can’t afford not to know what’s new in my field.” @dariasteigman
• “I think the fear of being complacent. I always want to know more than I know right now.” @bellametaphor
• “Seeing a person/org get excited about what they do. That sort of drive is contagious and makes me want to join in!” @hirenoah

See all the great answers to question 1 here!

Q2: What is your learning style? (visual, verbal, auditory, physical, logical, social, solitary)

From the community:

• “When I hear + write something it often sticks. I always try to apply it right away to reinforce.” @ShilohElane
• “I want to be conversed with – not talked at – when I’m learning. Much easier when it feels like a conversation.” @lifeofaworkgirl
• “I’m a doer. Walk me through a process, show me pics, let me muddle through, or apprentice with a little guidance.” @SimTara
• “I do best when learning has a context. Rote memorizing is less effective.” @PatrickHayslett
• “I’m a solitary learner. I may hear or experience something in a group, but it sinks in during a quiet moment.” @Traci_Poole

See all the great answers to question 2 here!

Q3: What are some techniques for learning or absorbing information that work well for you?

From the community:

• “Actually putting things into practice! It’s the only way to know if you really have a handle on something.” @bucketsdotco
• “Talking about it. I guess that makes me a social learner. If I can communicate the information to someone else I know it.”  @AKKerani
• “Might seem old-school, but I write stuff down. Usually I’ll write a blog post about what I learned. Makes it stay.” @CM_Valgard
• “I like bullet lists I can color code and using markers and highlighters. I communicate with color! -Carly” @milestech
• “Whatever it is, it can’t be in isolation – for me it’s so much easier to learn when there’s a practical reason to!” @jgchurchcomms

See all the great answers to question 3 here!

Q4: When do you prefer to learn from a teacher and when do you prefer to teach something to yourself?

From the community:

• “I always prefer having someone there for questions but who lets me attempt things on my own first.” @optimizemybrand
• “I like to be taught technical skills by a teacher, but I like to learn processes on my own.” @nicoleyoley159
• “I love learning when teachers are really passionate about the subject and are great at breaking it down for beginners.” @TheKyleMurray
• “I love to give it a go myself first, then ask for help if/when I need it. It helps me feel capable.” @kathryndlewis
• “I particularly prefer teaching myself when it comes to creative ventures, because of the subjectivity in feedback.” @kookypixel

See all the great answers to question 4 here!

Q5: Have you ever been hesitant to learn something new? Why or why not?

From the community:

• “Was hesitant to learn to code b/c it seemed hard and outside my wheelhouse. Happy I tried it anyway.” @lkcalloway
• “When it feels like I’m being forced. I don’t like being told that I need to learn something; explain to me why!” @danielleirogers
• “Life is too short to not learn things that make you happy or add value to one’s life.” @bharatpc
• “Unfortunately. Learning something that will change you/the way you do things currently is scary. You have to decided if it’s worth standing still or developing – I find it normally is!” @nickieva
• “I do get intimidated with technical skills as the learning curve seems so steep, but you have to just dive in.” @J_Rouser

See all the great answers to question 5 here!

Q6: Do our methods of learning change as we grow throughout life? If so, how?

From the community:

• “Probably. More importantly, though, does our attitude to learning evolve?” @SJAbbott
• “YES! Being inundated with knowledge online, I have gotten a lot better at learning through skimming.” @mwilton13
• “Absolutely, each new experience opens our world and allows us to take in information in new and different ways.” @JessOB1kenobi
• “Absolutely. Growing up all I had was the library. Now I have the whole world to learn from and new methods to choose.” @_HunterWilson_
• “I’m only 66 so I don’t know for sure, but not by much so far.” @Eric0Lawton

See all the great answers to question 6 here!

Q7: What’s something you’re really excited to learn about in the near future?

From the community:

• “Diving deep into product management. I’m crazy about customers/designers/developers and bringing things together!” @nickfromfargo
• “We’re excited to learn about how #technology and #collaboration will work together to encourage more remote work!” @magentrix
• “Studying sustainable development. Hoping it will answer some tough questions about improving my urban environment.” @jchapstk
• “I’d like to learn blogging, leadership (being a respected hardass :)) improv and guitar!” @heidilauren
• “Been learning/teaching myself a lot about starting/running (maintenance) a website. Always excited to learn more to improve!” @FatherFoodFun

See all the great responses to question 7 here!

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Thank you so much to everyone for sharing your awesome insights in this chat!

Catch #bufferchat each Wednesday at 9 am PST, 12 pm EST, 5 pm BST OR at 4 pm AEST (Sydney time, UTC+10). Join our Slack community with over 2,000 members to continue these awesome conversations all week long!

Do you have any comments or answers to these questions? Leave your thoughts in the comments! We’d love to hear from you!

Image sources: UnSplash