Typsy explains: How to get better at learning in hospitality

Like many of us, I was not a big fan of school and learning as a kid. I remember how frustrated I felt trying to learn things I wasn’t interested in, in such a rigid environment. When I finally left school, I suddenly had the whole world in front of me – and had no idea what to do.

Hospitality was something I fell into, and fell in love with. And suddenly I found myself eager to know more, and get better and better at my job. And the better I got at my job, the easier it was for me to keep getting better, because I loved what I was doing.

My story probably sounds familiar. If it’s not something you personally relate to, you definitely know people who had a similar experience. Traditional school can be great for kids, but it can also put people off learning – usually because they’re forced to learn things they find boring, for reasons they don’t understand.

But learning is not the same as school. Learning is something innate in all of us – it’s what we do with our natural curiosity, and our drive to make a positive impact and be better. It’s the fire we feel when we get interested in something, and turns into the incredible satisfaction of overcoming challenges.

And best of all, just like any other skill, learning is something you can get better at with practice.

We’re looking at all the great benefits you can get from a life-long love of learning, as well as some top tips for how to improve your ability to learn:

• Professional benefits to learning
• Personal benefits to learning
• Tips and tricks to become a better learner

Upskilling shouldn't be time-consuming or difficult. When you and your team learn new hospitality skills with Typsy, you gain access to over 1000+ bite-size video lessons on everything from cocktail recipes to marketing - all from your smartphone.

Learning with Typsy is practical, effective, and fun! And best of all, you can access Typsy's 800+ lessons as and when it suits you. Learn your way - starting today.

Some key benefits of learning:

Become highly skilled, and get the professional recognition you deserve

It's all about being comfortable getting out of your comfort zone, because that's where you find your true potential. Upskilling is so important to the hospitality industry, especially now; in fact, it will be absolutely vital to the industry's recovery after the COVID-19 crisis passes. 

And remember: demonstrating that you're capable of learning new skills is probably the single most important attribute you can take with you into the workplace.

You can learn to be a quick learner

Have you had a colleague or a manager who seems to be good at everything? It's not because they're superhuman - they've just had a lot of practice at picking up new skills! 

When you learn a new skill, your brain creates a pathway that helps you remember how to do that skill. The more often you practice, the stronger that pathway becomes, until you practice it so much it's second nature. It works exactly the same way with your ability to learn. 

Improve creative problem solving and lateral thinking

Your brain is incredibly good at adapting. If you go long stretches of time without learning anything new, your brain adapts to relying on what it already knows, and you have a harder time looking at things in a new light. So when you come across challenges, you automatically go to what you know, rather than wondering if there's another solution.

If you get a lot of practice challenging your pathways and developing an understanding that there's always more to learn, your brain adapts to that as well and it becomes much easier to be flexible in how you approach problems, think creatively, and come up with unique ideas.

It can help you find the confidence to become a leader

You have probably heard the saying the rules are made to be broken, and that's absolutely true.

That's how people come up with innovative ideas that revolutionize their industries - and the world! These people get to that point by becoming confident with learning everything there is to know about their field.

When you become a highly skilled professional, it gives you the confidence to know what rules can be bent or broken, to enable you to work differently. You can become an industry leader and an innovator - just by learning how to learn.

Improve mood and decrease anxiety

There's a lot of scientific research to back up what most of us know from our own experiences - being stressed out makes learning harder.

But did you know it works both ways? 

Learning is easier when you're positive and motivated, but you can also feel more positive and motivated by learning things! Again, this is all to do with confidence, practice, and expanding your comfort zone. If you get used to feeling comfortable when you learn, eventually learning itself will make you feel more comfortable. This is how and why people can start to find learning fun!

Better memory and concentration

Like any other body part, your brain needs to stay fit and healthy to work properly. This is the idea behind "brain training" - the more you exercise your brain, the healthier it becomes. When your mental skills are sharper, you also get a ton of physiological benefits like improved recall and ability to focus. 

Not to mention that, like the rest of your body, the best time to get your brain in shape is when you're younger! Developing good habits now sets you up for a lifetime of healthy brain activity.

Tips and tricks to become a better learner

1. Make learning a habit 

Let yourself get into the groove of learning something new about hospitality every day. Just five minutes a day is enough to make you more comfortable with learning, and helps you retain what you've learned by not overloading you with information! 

That's why the Typsy app is so effective at helping you learn new skills. No pressure, just fun; and you expand your knowledge and skill-set at the same time.

2. Get comfortable making mistakes

When you learned any other skill on the job that you eventually got great at, were you good at it straight away? Or did you mess up the first few times - even the first few hundred times! 

Making mistakes is how we learn, but a lot of us feel uncomfortable and anxious at the thought of it. Like anything else that makes us uncomfortable, the only way to overcome that is through exposure. The more you do it, the more perspective you have. So we encourage you to make as many mistakes as you possibly can - dive in!

3. Understand your learning style

Are you someone who likes graphs and charts, or do you remember things best when you say them out loud? You may not realize that there are actually seven different learning styles you can explore:

• Visual - images 
• Auditory - sound and music
• Verbal - conversation
• Physical - movement
• Logical - clear steps and reasoning, like math
• Social - learning in groups
• Solitary - learning solo

You might immediately connect with one of these learning styles, or you might find yourself relating to several of them. The best way to find out is to give it a go - even types you don't think will work for you! You never know until you try. 

Try creating a vision board, listening to music, or making a model (or any other learning method that fits one of these styles!) and see what helps you retain the most information.

4. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn

Something I realized during my time as a hospitality manager was that I was never really sure I understood something until I could explain it to someone else. Developing great skills and becoming confident in them is only half the fun - the other half is getting to pass on your knowledge and seeing that make a positive impact on someone else! 

Typsy Community Content is a great way to practice teaching to get confident in your own knowledge. You don't need to be an expert, or even a film maker - just a have smartphone and some wisdom to share. 

Like anything else, picking up good learning habits now sets you up for greater success down the line. Practice makes perfect! Don't make the mistake of thinking learning isn't for you - it's a great tool you can use to discover your own potential.

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