How to Learn Anything

Shortcuts to Knowledge and Understanding

Harry van Bommel

In general, we learn up to seven new things at a time. We only read or hear about 20% of the information that we hear or read everyday. Unless we review new information within 24 hours we will forget about 80% of that information. That would leave only about 4% of any new information we may need to succeed in our learning. Therefore, it is important to use whatever information you find important right away to help you remember and use that information effectively.

This book is designed to give you the learning knowledge and skills you need to remember and use a great deal more than the 4% of information you get every day.

This book was also designed to become your major source of information and learning skills forever. Learning skills are not new. The basic skills have always been the same. However, they have been largely untaught as learning was seen as natural. Learning that interests us is natural. Learning that is required to succeed at school or at work is not always interesting. Therefore, we need helpful tricks of the learning trade to learn things quickly, remember them for a longer time, and use what we have learned as soon as possible.

Although this book presents some pretty standard learning skills the underlining assumption is that learning at its best is built upon the motto: Always look for wonder in learning!

This book is based on a few key learning principles:

1. We are our own best experts.

2. We are competent in our learning and all benefit from having that learning

respected and helped.

3. We learn best when we are responsible for our own learning.

4. We need an opportunity to learn at our own pace and for our own reasons.

5. We need information that is flexible enough for us to adapt to incorporate our own learning style and our cultural, religious, and economic beliefs and customs.

Harry van Bommel has been teaching these and other skills for over 25 years. His use of accelerated learning techniques, music, his own songs, audio-visual materials and humor make him an exciting, dynamic and successful teacher and conference speaker.

192 pages, 5 x 8 inches, ISBN 1-55307-025-9, $20 eBook, $25 paperback

Table of Contents

Introduction

How do You Learn Well Now? What do You Need to Learn?

1: Taking Notes (Save time, space and writer's cramps)

2: Speed Reading (Double or triple your speed at least)

3: Study Skills (Study to pass and study to learn)

4: Improve Your Memory (Party games and learning gains)

5: Researching and Writing Papers (Make life easier on yourself like the professionals do)

6: Time Management (More time to learn and more energy to burn)

7: Stress Management (Learning does not have to be painful -- look for the wonder in learning)

8: Learn by Yourself (Learn about ideas and things that interest you)

Index

Testimonials about the Book and the Author

The workshop was extremely enjoyable due to the fast-paced, multi-faceted approach to learning. Never have so many learned so much in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Not many one-day seminars have left me so energized. Harry's interactive approach works!

A great day of laughing and learning. What a shot in the arm!

Excellent, inspiring, challenging, thought provoking. Love to hear him more.

Speaking from the heart as well as from knowledge. He is very convincing, vibrant, uplifting.

What a wonderful man! Thank you for this opportunity to hear him.

Harry van Bommel was a skillful instructor and I was struck by his creative style of presentation, mixing in humor, music and song, video and audio. Bottom line-- the learning was fun! It was "invigorating" to hear you speak with so much enthusiasm. The humanity that you bring to your discussions is wonderful. Often speakers will "lecture" with knowledge but miss the compassion. Not you!!

Everyone should have Harry's influence and guidance. Excellent presenter.

A first-rate teacher with a sense of humor and a real interest in what he is doing. I may even take the course again.