Brain Bridges- Part 1 - Professional Speakers and Brain Lag

I have different methods for writing fiction and non-fiction, and this is because I believe that we use different parts of our brain when we are writing, editing and dictating. I am creating a series of posts that explore how we write and offer some solutions to make your writing better through some unconventional methods.

When we are speaking, we are using a part of our brain involved with the production of speech. (I won't bore you with the anatomy, just realize that different parts of your brain control different functions).

I work with a lot of professional speakers and they have developed the part of the brain with reciting facts, and ideas, and depending on the type of talk they are doing they may be using the creative part of their brain, rather than the one that is involved in memory recitation. Some of these speakers are great at doing improv, while others are not.

If they add a visual element to their talk this may be distracting to them, unless they can either ignore it or have a strong bridge between the visual parts of their brain and the verbal parts. The concept of bridging is important, because when we are young we develop these pathways in our brain. Throughout our lives we continue to develop more bridges, but they are more difficult and harder to form. These are actual neural connects in our brain- think of them as roots of one tree connecting to another tree. They intertwine and fuse together. The more connections, the stronger the connections.

If  a speaker does not have a strong connection between their auditory, verbal, and visual parts of their brain, they may get tripped up and pause, and become distracted. Consider that computer you are using right now- when you have too many windows open or the computer is doing large processes, there can be a lag. The better and more integrated the components are, the greater the speed and their is less lag.

SOLUTION-

1. First you must assess if you speak and can have distractions such as sound and visual components going on at the same time.

2. If you are find you are pausing in your speaking, then remove some of the components one by one to determine where the lag is occurring.

3. Decide whether the components that are lagging you are important- if not ditch them. If they are- then you have to practice over and over again to strengthen the bridge. It's hard work, much like physical exercise, because you are actually changing the physiology and structure in your brain. You are growing connections.

4. Reassess often and determine your progress- go through steps 1-3 again.




In the next installment- You will learn why speakers don't always make the best writers.