Speaker - June 2017

shift your mood. Romano plays “Happy” by Pharrell Williams to help her stay optimistic. It’s certainly hard to listen to that and not smile. What music consistently lifts you up and expands your thinking?

Have it handy for the next time you need a boost.

• Gratitude. There is a growing body of research on the profound effects of gratitude and its ability to prime your mind for success. Before speaking, think about one thing you’re grateful for, and notice the shift in your energy. Or better yet, start a gratitude journal.

• Apps. There are apps such as Hap-pify, and MindPT (created by Serafini and used in her work with the sales agents), that help to positively prime your mind and shift from a

place of stress and anxiety to a state that inspires higher performance.

So, how can you utilize what you know about the brain and positive priming to make your messages have a bigger, more lasting impact?

Your ability to recall informa-
tion is, in part, determined by how
much the hippocampus fires while
in the process of learning. The
brain has to be focused on the task
in order to facilitate long-term
memory.

How do you accomplish that with your audience’s increasingly short attention span? Here’s how:

SHORT. The most effective way to make your message stick is to deliver it in short, focused, bite-sized, easily consumed bursts, often referred to as “learning nuggets.” Optimal micro-learning segments are two to seven minutes long.

SPACED. When exercising, it’s during periods of rest that muscle building takes place. Likewise, creating space between each learning segment is necessary for retention and transformation to happen. ;

VARIETY. Include as many modalities as possible. Bill Cates, CSP, CPAE, has a micro-learning program called Rapid Fire Referrals. Each twice-weekly segment has a two- to three-minute video, an audio version, and a transcript of the audio. Clients can watch, listen, read and write/highlight. Other modalities to consider are quizzes and gamification, or involvement in social communities. Each of these uses different parts of the brain, and help form a more complex neural circuit, which increases retention. ;

INVOLVE. Another way to engage
your audience is to get them involved
There is considerable research on
this, most notably the work of Bar-
bara Fredrickson, PhD, a professor
of psychology at University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her
Broaden and Build Theory. It states
that when you focus on positive
emotions, like joy, gratitude or
love, neurotransmitters, such as
oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine,
are released. Consequently, your mind
expands, and you can come up with new
and more creative ideas and possibilities.

Rena Romano, an emerging keynote speaker, acknowledged that it can be daunting getting those first paid bookings. She knows she has life-changing lessons and stories to share, but if she doesn’t get the bookings, she doesn’t feel on purpose. She said, “Hearing a bunch of no’s is a creative killer. And sometimes I just hit a wall.” To get back to a positive, expansive mindset, Romano reads success books, watches uplifting videos, and listens to inspirational podcasts. She often goes for a walk or changes her environment.

Here are some additional ways you can positively prime your mind and perform at your best every time:

• Breathing. Whenever you feel anxious, one of the fastest ways to release tension is to bring awareness to your breath, and gently increase your inhale and exhale. It sounds simplistic, but it works!

• Awe. Surround yourself with awe-inspiring beauty. Select artwork for your workplace with expansive visual feasts, visit an art gallery, spend time in nature or your local botanical garden.