There is so much new information to learn, it sometimes seems impossible to keep up. Nevertheless, business owners, managers, and assistant managers must provide new information and teach it in a way that enables people to learn it, retain it, and apply new strategies and techniques. For that to happen, the following five criteria must be met.

1. Hear it. Listening to the spoken word or audio media is often the first step.

2. Read it. Reading allows the participant to go back and review and clarify points that weren’t understood completely.

3. Write it. Written understanding, or testing, of what has been taught guarantees that it was understood. Also, memorization is the beginning of retention.

4. Act it. Through role-playing, a person begins to learn how to apply new information.

5. Practice it. Doing it in real life makes the learned information “real” and proves that it works.