GNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (FMRI), YOU WOULD SEE THEY ARE LOOKING A
YING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE SAYING. THAT MAY SEE CYNICAL, BUT THE
S HAVE TO WORK HARDER AND MORE DELIBERATELY AS SPEAKERS TO ENGAGE MI
D TRULY SHIFT THEIR AUDIENCES, BECAUSE THE WORLD IS FILLED WITH DIST
R THEIR ATTENTION. HER ARE SOME TIPS BASED ON NEUROSCIENCE THAT WI
R SPACE IN THEIR MINDS: PEOPLE DON’T LEARN WHEN YOU TALK. THEY LEARN W
NCEPTS TO THEIR LIVES AND PRACTICE THEM OVER AND OVER. THEY’RE CERT
RING YOUR SESSION. MANY KEYNOTE SPEAKERS SAY THEY SPEAK TO CHANG
DE. ACCORDING TO NEUROSCIENCE, NEITHER IS HAPPENING, AT LEAST NOT PE
EAK, YOUR AUDIENCE GATHERS INFORMATION AND STORES IT FOR LATER USE. T
R ANYTHING YOU SAID. GATHERING HAPPENS WHEN THERE IS DENSITY OF ATTE
U GIVE THE AUDIENCE 15 DIFFERENT THINGS TO REMEMBER, THEIR BRAINS WILL
UR NEW THINGS TO ATTEND TO, AND YOU DON’T GET TO CHOOSE WHICH O
LATED POINTS TO INCREASE DENSITY. BUILD YOUR SPEECH FOR DENSITY INSTE
UR DISPARATE POINTS IN YOUR TOPIC AREA. IF BRAIN SCIENCE MEANS ANYTHIN
A SINGLE SYMPHONY WITH VARIOUS MOVEMENTS AND NOT A GREATEST HITS A
TIRED, MOST BOUNCE OFF OF IT. GLUCOSE LEVELS (BRAIN FUEL) ARE USUALLY
D LATE EVENING. IF YOU’RE SPEAKING AT THOSE TIMES, YOUR TALK WILL BE AB
LK IS SHORTER, SWEETER AND/OR MORE TACTICAL IN NATURE. IF YOU’RE A HU
U GET BY BECAUSE YOU’RE PROBABLY SHORT AND SWEET. IF YOU’RE A HIGH-CON
CES OF INFORMATION ARE CRITICAL FOR THE TIRED BRAIN, REGARDLESS OF
ORY IS. FOR EXAMPLE, ASK THE AUDIENCE TO TRY A COUPLE OF THINGS IN THE
EM HOW THEY MAKE THINGS BETTER BY ILLUSTRATING THE POINTS VIA YOUR
ECIFIC DEEDS TO CARRY OUT IN THE NEXT WEEK THAT ARE RELATED TO YOUR S
DIENCE WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO A BIT MORE WHEN THEY’RE TIRED. FOR
ERE IS NOTHING LIKE FEELING LIKE “I CAN DO THAT, TOO” AND THEN GETTING
U, THE CREDIBLE SOURCE, ON HOW TO DO IT. THE LAZY BRAIN WANTS TO
ONYMOUS SAID THAT AND COULDN’T BE MORE ACCURATE. CREATING MEMORIE
A REALLY GOOD GOAL IF YOU WANT TO BE ASKED BACK. HERE’S HOW THE BRAI
E WHICH AVENUE YOU USE THE MOST WHEN YOU SPEAK. SHALLOW MEMOR
EATED IN THE BRAIN WHEN YOU TRY TO MEMORIZE NEW WORDS OR DATA. IT TAK
OUNT OF GLUCOSE TO LEARN AND REMEMBER NEW THINGS. IT’S EXHAUSTIN
RDS A GOOD DEAL OF SHALLOW MEMORY IF IT’S NOT REPEATEDLY REINFORCE
EWING A LOT OF DATA OR NEW IDEAS WITHOUT ANCHORING THE MEMORIES
AIN, THE MEMORIES WON’T GET MUCH FURTHER THAN THE EXIT DOOR OF TH
N ANCHOR INFORMATION WITH PHONOLOGICAL MEMORY AND SEMANTIC MEM
MORY. THAT’S A BIG WORD FOR HOW WORDS SOUND AND ARE ASSOCIATED
EAKERS SHOULD USE RHYMING WORDS; ALLITERATION (TWO OR MORE WORD
ME SOUND; E.G., “LEARNABLE LESSON” OR “IF YOU LIVE WITH LOVE, YOU LEAR
GREAT.” ACRONYMS CAN BE CHEESY, BUT THEY WORK, TOO: BRAIN=BUILD RETENT
W TEAM=TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE). RETENTION INCREASES W
RBS TO INANIMATE IDEAS. GET PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT DOING WHAT YOU’RE TA
SAYING, “KINDNESS IS IMPORTANT IN THE WORKPLACE,” USE THE ACTIVE VER
A: “DO KIND THINGS AND PEOPLE ALMOST ALWAYS RETURN THE FAVOR.”SEM
E CASH COW FOR MEMORY CREATION. PEOPLE REMEMBER WHAT HAS MEANING
EATED BY FEELINGS, WHICH ARE GENERATED BY EMOTIONS. TELL STORIES TH
METHING; FOR EXAMPLE, NSA MEMBER CHAD HYMAS’S STORY ABOUT ENDING
RK SANBORN’S FRED FACTOR, JEANNIE ROBERTSON’S BATON STORY, OR TIM GA
’VE ALL SEEN SPEAKERS WHOSE FUNNY, SAD, QUIRKY, MOODY STORY “HIT A NE
BIC SYSTEM (THE BRAIN’S EMOTIONAL CENTER), WHICH TURNS WORDS INTO A
VE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL CONTENT AND TEACH A LESSON ARE A
THE BRAIN, AND CAN BEGIN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THE BRAIN. WHEN T
NAL STATE, IT IS PRIMED FOR LEARNING AND CREATING THICKER MEMORY TR
ORY FOR THE SAKE OF MAKING PEOPLE LAUGH OR CRY AND THEN FAIL TO DRI
G, YOU’VE MISSED AN ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY. THE POINT OF THE STORY IS T
CEPT THE LESSON AND REMEMBER IT FOR LATER USE. IT’S ALWAYS FLATTERIN
MBER MEETS YOU AGAIN A FEW MONTHS LATER AND SAYS HE REMEMBERS YO
E POINT THAT WAS CONNECT TO IT. THE BRAIN LEARNS BETTER THROUGH CO
EN I SAY PARIS, THE CONTENT P-A-R-I-S GOES INTO YOUR LEFT BRAIN, AND JUM
ERE A PICTURE IS FORMED. IT WOULD BE THE RARE PERSON WHO SEES EACH
EAK. WHAT COMES TO MIND WHEN YOU HEAR “PARIS”? THE EIFFEL TOWER? RO
NEURO SCIENCE SECRETS for working with your audience’s brain By Scott Halford, CSP
