Brain Rules for your next Presentation

In an earlier post, I talked of the Brain Rules book and the 12 rules that affect brain performance.

What are the implications of these rules for the presentations that we make?

Brain Rules 4, 9, 10

4. We do not pay attention to boring things.

9. Stimulate more of your senses.

10. Vision trumps all other senses.

How can we make our presentations interesting? What new hooks can we use to capture the attention of the audience?

With text, people remember only 10% of what they see. Add a picture, and the retention goes up by 65%.

How can we bring the other senses into play during the presentation?

Brain Rules 2, 8

2. The human brain evolved too.

8. Stressed brains don’t learn the same way.

Get the audience involved and make them feel comfortable.

Pay attention to details like room arrangement, temperature, lighting and facilities like drinks, snacks.

And yes, Smile and make eye-contact!

Brain Rule 1 & 12

1. Exercise boosts brain power

12. We are powerful and natural explorers.

Exercise boosts brain’s cognitive ability. And yet most of our presentations have the audience comfortably seated with the lights turned off. A good sleep environment is what is created!

What can we do to get the audience moving? How can we involve them in the presentation and in the exploration of the concepts?

How can we build exercise into our schedule as we prepare for the presentation?

Brain Rule 5 & 6

5. Repeat to remember – Short-Term Memory.

6. Remember to repeat – Long-Term Memory.

The gist of the presentation must be repeated and repeated in different ways for that is what the audience will take away.

And finally, Brain Rule 7

7. Sleep well, think well.

Ensure you get a good night’s sleep before your presentation.

Here’s a good blog-post by Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen. Here’s to good presentations that change the world around us.