The world of psychology and brain science offer yet another helpful tidbit…
Can’t find the right word? You might want to start moving your hands. New research at the University of Alberta suggests that gesturing while you talk may improve your access to language.
Link: World of Psychology: Hand gestures linked to better speaking.
After stopping by the HBS Tech Alumni event last week (“Business in 2010”) I concocted some laws that should govern all future confabs in the Valley. In my short time on this planet, I’ve been to quite a few conferences (and their more informal/networking focused brethren, “confabs”) as both an attendee and speaker. Here are the first three laws – I hope the list can expand to make everyone’s time at these events more productive.
1. Ditch the Panel Format – This is one of those things where Seth Godin would say: “Think of how it’s always been done, then do it differently.” The notion of panels being an effective way to communicate ideas has always puzzled me. Experts should be on-tap, not on-top. In the spirit of “Popular Education” (an area I’m learning about) the *people* can have both the questions and answers. Panels are dead – it’s time to have a facilitator and opening the intellectual feast to the masses.
2. Force Every Presenter to Use Beyond Bullets Principles – Although I think panels are dead, I think a guy or gal who really knows their stuff should be given 15 minutes to educate the group. But, if they dare use a PowerPoint, they should swear on their life their presentation incorporates Beyond Bullets principles or else they should be tomato’d off the stage.
3. Structure the Networking Opportunities – It can’t be that hard for people attending an event to provide a bit more info than their name and company name. Each attendee should be required to answer 5 questions about their interests, people they like to meet, etc. A basic algorithm should match up people so when a person arrives at a confab for that networking hour they have the names of a handful of people they should seek out. Also, right before the structured program begins, EVERY person in the room should get 10 seconds to announce on the mic who they are and what they do. Even if it this takes 20 minutes, it will multiple the networking opportunities for folks tenfold.
Over the last 96 hours I have spent 10 hours filling in little circles on standardized tests (and I’m not done yet), spent a little under 10 hours in the South Bay meeting or pitching, and a handful of hours working out in the gym leaving myself so sore I haven’t been able to walk without hurting all weekend.
All three circles – emotional, intellectual, and physical – were at empty by Saturday afternoon.
I know lots of people who are busier than I am as they require a full entourage to keep them going each day. But what makes my schedule exhausting is the changing of gears. In one day, I spend six 45-minute blocks in different academic disciplines and then different chunks of time on business, athletics, and social. All these areas require different types of focus and energy. Our Academic Dean reported that it takes on average 13 minutes for the brain to become completely assimilated in a new subject area after sitting down in a new class. I suspect this is similarly true in life.
As the craziness continues, I return to my focus on managing ENERGY not time.
A solid and brief update (link below) in today’s NYT Magazine on the amazing progress scientists are making in brain science. In addition to some interesting cases related to the latest research, the author gets at the important ethical question relating to neuroscience…
A couple of weeks ago, two scientists revealed that they had found a way to peer directly into your brain and tell what you are looking at, even when you yourself are not yet aware of what you have seen. So much for the comforting notion that each of us has privileged access to his own mind. ….
It is sobering to reflect how ignorant humans have been about the workings of their own brains for most of our history. Aristotle, after all, thought the point of the brain was to cool the blood. The more that breakthroughs like the recent one in brain-scanning open up the mind to scientific scrutiny, the more we may be pressed to give up comforting metaphysical ideas like interiority, subjectivity and the soul. Let’s enjoy them while we can.
A telling article in today’s NYT about the impact of tax breaks and charitable giving. After President Bush’s tax cuts, the highest earners – those with incomes > $200k – gave less to charity than before. Low-income donors “managed to part with a whopping 26 percent of their incomes, while high earners gave 3.4 percent.” This may mean trouble for President Bush’s tax cuts for the highest earners; after all, “maybe they’re not as compassionate as he’d hoped.”
Link: If the I.R.S. Gets Less, Does Charity Get More? – New York Times.