How many ways can you express your thoughts? Dan Roam gets us thinking about expressing our thoughts in pictures in his book Back of the Napkin. It’s a great concept and use this type of simplistic art to demonstrate ideas and concepts often and it works well, especially when I’m communicating with visual thinkers who, according to SelfGrowth.com, account for 65{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c} of people.  The remaining 35{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c} break down to 30{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c} auditory, those who process through sounds, and the last 5{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c} kinesthetic, those who process by touch or emotion.

What about you? Do you process information in pictures, words, or feelings? Although we all use a combination of learning styles to process information, we lean toward one as our primary source. Take a look at the characteristics of the three learning styles below.  Which most depicts your learning style?

Were you surprised at the results?  I sure was the first time I took this assessment. For years I thought I was a visual person and learned I lean much more heavily toward the kinesthetic style.

What does this have to do with real estate? A lot … because we process information in a particular way, it also becomes our main method of communicating which can be detrimental unless we always communicate with people who process information in the same manner. Think about the times you knew you were getting through to one seller at a listing appointment and watching blank stares from the other. That could easily have been because two of you communicated in the same manner and the third person did not. In some cases, it could cost you the listing. Other situations might include:

• Sales meetings
• Interviews
• Buyer appointments
• Negotiating

We can’t go around asking people their learning style or to take an assessment before we begin working with them. There is a more simple solution, and that is to utilize all three methods in your communication whether it’s a one-on-one interview or a group presentation.

We know images and graphs appeal to visual communicators. Incorporate these methods to be sure to appeal to the other 40{0a8e414e4f0423ce9f97e7209435b0fa449e6cffaf599cce0c556757c159a30c} of people:

• Ask for volunteers to help introduce a new concept or idea at a sales meeting (Kinesthetic).
• Let prospects flip through your presentation prior to your meeting (Kinesthetic).
• Tell a story about a personal experience to demonstrate a point (Auditory).

When asking questions, ask three ways:

• Do you want to see the living room again? (Visual)
• How do you feel about this home? (Kinesthetic)
• What else can I tell you about the company? (Auditory)

When you adapt a multi-communication strategy you’re sure to appeal to everyone regardless of their learning style.