Impactful Educator: 3 ideas from the Neuroscience of Immersion with Paul J. Zak.
I interviewed Dr Paul Zak for “Your Brain’s Coach” podcast last week - professor, researcher, with more than 180 published papers, a four-time tech entrepreneur; his current company, Immersion Neuroscience, is a software platform that allows anyone to measure what the brain loves in real-time to improve outcomes in entertainment, education and training, live events and to help people sustain emotional wellness.
Here's a sneak peek into our conversation - 3 ideas to create an immersive experience for your audience to make them pay attention, connect emotionally and ultimately take action on what you teach. Become an unforgettable educator that everyone remembers with these 3 techniques.
1. 🔥START IT HOT
Don’t start with the beginning - start with the most interesting part.
If you want people to care and pay attention to ultimately learn - you got to first grab that attention with something new, exciting, intriguing, to drive dopamine and make people’s brains dedicate resources to paying attention and learning.
You got to have a hook!
2. 💓MAKE ME CARE
Nothing like a story to make people feel the connection to what you want to teach - it stimulates the release of oxytocin that opens up the door to neuroplasticity, setting the stage for change of minds.
For people to care, to get emotions to flow (the only way to learn for life) - they need to relate to what you teach. And nothing like a story about another human being that makes the material feel relatable to people.
Talk about an interesting personal story, a story of a friend or a client, an intriguing biographic fact of some scientist who created the theory you are about to explain.
Make me care to make me remember.
3. ⏰20-20-20 RULE
The brain is like a muscle, attention is like a workout - learning is hard work.
People at Accenture, one of the leading education companies, worked with Paul and used his technology to figure out the best format to teach to avoid brain fatigue.
What they found was that you need to stick with 20 minutes of teaching, 20 minutes of participatory tasks, 20 minutes of debriefing, and taking breaks often while teaching.
If you want people to learn VS say what you have to say as fast as possible - then use these tips and format of teaching and see how your students improve and rave about you!
Don’t forget to tune in to our podcast episode with Paul! There’s a lot more to intrigue your brain and improve your life and business!
“Neuroscience of Immersion with Dr Paul Zak: neuromarketing with CTAs that work, designing education that transforms, experiences that change minds and make life meaningful." (Your Brain's Coach podcast is available on all podcast platforms)
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