IMHO the biggest problem with “factual questions” is the answers tend to be a matter of opinion.
Fair enough, but that wasn’t even a decent guess.

There may be different approaches… in the past a mechanical switch might have been used to turn separate windings on or off selectively?
I saw something on TikTok where someone had a ceiling fan controlled by a switch mounted on the ceiling right next to the motor. He was turning it on using a broomstick.

He was turning it on using a broomstick.
Turning it off is the tricky part.