I frequently encounter several misunderstandings about the brain on the speaking circuit that lead, arguably, to less effective speeches.  So, if you’re using these constructs in thinking about and preparing for your speeches, it’s time to upgrade your mental software.  (And, BTW, the metaphor of the computer for the brain has limited usefulness, too.)

You Only Use 10% of Your Brain.  As soon as you start studying the brain imagery available today, you realize that this old notion can’t possibly be true.  The brain is firing all the time, lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree, and all of it is working hard.  You use 90% of your brain most of the time, during waking hours, and that’s a good thing.  It’s comforting to know that it isn’t just sitting around doing nothing while you’re trying to remember the name of that actor who starred in – what was the title of that movie?

Why is this myth a problem for speeches?  I’ve seen it used as an excuse to pack a ton of information into a talk, to run 200 slides past the eyes of dazed viewers in 20 minutes, along the lines of, ‘some of this will stick!’ In fact, taking in information through a speech is hard work, and it’s up to the speaker to make her talk as simple and clear as possible.  You should be able to sum up the message in one good complete sentence, using facts and stats sparingly.  Tell stories, move the audience with emotion, and keep the message direct and simple.  That will take 90% of your audience’s brains, and probably most of yours as well.

You Have to Address All Your Audience’s Learning Styles.  The story here goes that people tend to have one dominate learning style, either kinesthetic, auditory, or visual, and that to be effective you must address each of these learning styles in your speech.  So, include some slides for the visual learnings, some noises for the auditory learners, and some movement or touchy-feely stuff for the kinesthetic learners.

Not true.  There is no evidence that we specialize in learning styles.  We all learn all three ways.  At any given moment, if there is something changing in our visual fields, we can use a good deal of our brains processing visual information, but that’s not a learning style, that’s the brain working to keep us alive and safe.  So visual activity tends to dominate, but the other senses are important too.  Senses, not learning styles.  You don’t have to pander to your visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners!

We’re Either Left-brained or Right-brained and Need to Be Addressed Accordingly.  This early myth about the brain came from studies that seemed to separate logic and emotion, but this separation has always been arbitrary, not based on evidence.  And, as we’ve learned more about the brain, we’ve learned that it is run on memory and emotion.  The brain works hard to scan the immediate future, look for patterns that spell danger, and take preparatory evasive action if needed.  That’s all based on avoiding pain, and we know what causes us pain because we attach emotion to those memories.  You burn your finger on a hot stove once, you don’t do it again, because your brain is forever vigilant watching out for hot stoves.  That’s not from one side of the brain or the other, that’s from your memory.  So, it’s not particularly useful to address the logical people or the emotional people in the room – all of us are both, and better at emotions than logic.  Telling a good story should be your first and last thought when thinking about what to say to an audience.

Don’t let these brain myths lead you into designing a speech that makes your audience work harder than they need to!