8 Strategies to Reboot Your Brain for Active Listening

As someone talks about an innovative project do you find exciting ideas sizzle in your mind? At times, I can begin to run with just one piece of what a colleague says and think very creatively. Whoa, I am not listening.  Do you have a similar issue? Interestingly, as you mull over a new idea in your mind, you miss a portion of what the other person says. Listening takes intentional focus.

The way our brains work, deeply affects listening capability. Here's why...

Not too surprisingly, at least three facets of how the human brain works, impact our listening and speech patterns. When we hear an exciting idea, we may be tempted to build on that in our own mind. Our brain's neurotransmitters release dopamine, helping us to feel the pleasure of a reward. The pleasure we receive from forming new ideas in our minds may work at odds with truly listening to another person.

Likewise, patterns of past interactions stored in your basal ganglia, impacts personal mental mindsets.  For instance, if you have attended workshops, meetings, company training sessions, or have not engaged in meaningful conversation with certain people, you can see why you will need extra spark to be attentive.

Over time, the speech patterns we adopt culturally, affect the way we listen to others. The brain's basal ganglia, described by Dr. Ellen Weber, is a "mental storehouse for habits, routines and ruts for every lifetime experience you've encountered." If you are used to forming new ideas so you can respond during a pause as someone else talks, you do not listen well.

The brain mainly focuses on one thing at a time. For instance this is why it is impossible to text and drive at the same time since multitasking causes the brain to bottleneck. Perhaps this bottle necking proclivity shows exactly why it takes such intentional focus to truly listen to someone as s/he speaks. So how do we begin to focus more on listening?

"Interest or importance is inextricably linked to attention," according to John Medina in his book, Brain Rules. Medina notes that researchers refer to this as arousal.

8 Strategies to Reboot your Brain for keen listening...

Value the speaker When you listen well, and give another person's thoughts keen contemplation before you answer, you serve both yourself and that person well. Why not take a card or memo pad to events to jot down key words that jog your ideas later? In this way you can engage even more of the other person's idea and you will have even more to go on later.

Eye contact counts When you truly look at some one's eyes as he or she speaks, you jack  up your focus.  If you are in a busy room full of activity, you could be easily distracted. Laughter, catching part of a joke, seeing someone you want to contact, can take away your attention quickly. Because the brain tends to focus on one thing at a time, I have to really focus on the eye contact.  It makes a difference for me. You?

MITA Two-footed questions As you listen intently ask questions that take the person's ideas to a new angle or a facet you want to know more about. People enjoy telling you their best ideas. By keeping the focus on that person's interest, you can go deeper with him or her.  In so doing, you will find that you will have more buy in yourself. The conversation thus moves from neutral, to one in which you are keenly interested.  As you gain interest, you are bringing more of your right brain, the creative side, to the conversation.

Active listening  A friend from China, Wen Ma, shared that in his culture people listen actively and contemplate the person's point and take time before they respond.  Active listening can improve a sales person's abilities to engage well since it listening well enough to respond to clients' needs helps clinch all-important deals.

Words block distractions  If you find your mind is distracted when someone speaks, say a word in your head such as, "focus," or "clear the mechanism." Then replace this with a key word you hear from the person speaking to move your thoughts with his or hers.

Posture counts - lean in  By leaning in as you listen, it boosts your concentration and creates a deeper connection to other people.

Practice makes perfect  If you can see the need to improve on past listening habits you've developed, as have I, they can be changed. And it's related to the human brain's amazing plasticity. Very recently researchers began to explore this aspect of the brain even more.

Here's a listening test found on Psychology Today. Start with their analysis to change where you stand...

Thoughts or additions?

Getting By with Less Sleep?

Many leaders today brag that they get by with very little sleep. Sleeping less is a growing phenomenon... Interestingly, a fellow committee member volunteered to work on part of a project at 4:00 am because he's "awake" then. Do you find you're getting by with less sleep, too?

Sleep researchers continue to tell us that we need at least seven hours sleep for our brain's optimal biological and mental health. Is it your experience at the end of a day that your thinking cap's exhausted and needs some refreshing?

Chiara Cirelli, UW-Madison researcher, believes that when people sleep their brain synapses can downsize and prepare for the next day's round of learning and synaptic strengthening. Accordingly, "the human brain expends up to 80 percent of its energy on synaptic activity, constantly adding and strengthening connections in response to all kinds of stimulation."

Given that each of the millions of neurons in the human brain contains thousands of synapses, this energy expenditure "is huge and can't be sustained." No wonder we're tired at the end of each day!

Why is it then that many leaders consider it a badge of honor to get by with less sleep? Perhaps many are not... They're just not counting their cat naps throughout the day...

Many people fall asleep at computer monitors after lunch, in committee meetings and in the evening as they sit to watch the 6:00 news in their favorite recliner. Dr. David Dinges questions whether people are getting by with less and are "as prevalent as is claimed in society." Dinges believes that many people who say they are short sleepers are getting more sleep than they are willing to admit.

I don't know about you, but I really want to keep my brain running at peak performance for the next few years!

Thoughts...?

Photo Credit: Cynthia Johnson, Getty Images

Give a Lift to EduBloggers in the F-meme!

Learning makes a difference - whether we're in business, health and medicine, education or anywhere. Angela Meyers decided to begin an F-list to highlight education bloggers. Angela noticed that few educators link out, extending the conversation. So by linking to EduBloggers, bloggers can bolster good ideas educators share in blogs. "The intent is to recognize the unsung blogger and model the power that linking to one another can bring," Angela says.

By giving to others, we actually build more dendrite brain cells in two of our own multiple intelligences. You see, our brain has great plasticity and the more we actively do something, like giving, the more dendrites we build for that activity.

Here's more about the two intelligences you'll strengthen:

Interpersonal Intelligence - This is our social intelligence and researchers have located a specific area in your brain which activates and can be observed using MRI's. In fact, the New York State Standards for Education, list the social standard as one of the most highly important indicators of learning. When you process an idea and can discuss it, relate it to your experience, and ask and answer questions on it with a group, shows that you have learned a concept well. Interpersonal intelligence works well for students who may have difficulty in reading but are more highly gifted in processing ideas as they communicate with others. When we as bloggers, exchange ideas and information with others in many different fields, we build more dendrite brain cells.

Intrapersonal Intelligence - Deep emotional, spiritual and mental well-being resides in this intelligence. In fact, when we give more of ourselves rather than grasping more for ourselves we build many dendrite brain cells for intrapersonal intelligence. In addition, every time you do something positive for others, you release serotonin in your brain, a brain chemical of well-being. I'm hoping to rewire for more dendrites in this intelligence than ever this year... Want to target that along with me?

Incidently, Dr. Howard Gardner of Harvard University, originator of multiple intelligences, names Dr. Ellen Weber's work with the MITA learning and assessment model in his book, Intelligence Reframed.

Angela has listed the following bloggers on the F-list for educators:

Are We Doing Anything Today?
Timely Teacher Talk
Three Standard Deviations to the Left
Eide Neurolearning Blog
Speaking of History

I'm naming:

Mindset Matters: Leading and Teaching with Smart and Heart
The Principal's Office
Curious Cat: Science and Engineering Blog

Here are instructions to add to Angela Meirs' F-List:

"What YOU can do is simply create a new post on your blog, but CUT AND PASTE the list above, and then ADD any blogs you feel aren't getting their due either. It can be one blog, or a hundred (or none if you simply want to repost the same list), but the idea is, find those great blogs that, for whatever reason, you feel aren't getting their due, link-wise.

Then after you leave your post, the next blogger will do the same thing, cut and paste YOUR list, and add THEIR blogs to the list, then repost it. Add the same instructions in your post that the next blogger should cut and paste YOUR list, and add any blogs they feel should be on it to THEIR list. The list will get increasingly long, and all the blogs will get a sort of reverse 'pyramid-affect' of link-love."

Join me and step up to Angela's challenge... Who would you like to add?

Overcome Stereotypes and Fear of Math!

Actress Danica McKellar's probably not the person who comes to mind when you picture a mathematician. Danica's displayed high mental acumen in the field by proving her own theorem. And, she graduated summa cum laude in math though she first intended to study writing and directing in college.

And because of her influence as an actress, McKellar's changing a stereotype that prevented many girls from success in math. Interestingly, young men are more likely to have higher opinions of their abilities in math and science than women. Added to that, men hold four times the number of full-time university faculty positions in math, science, and engineering. To illustrate this, "As McKellar sat in a sea of male classmates in her advanced classes," according to a recent article in Good Magazine, "she realized she was living the direct repercussions of these early gender inequalities."

What's the difference then? Educational researcher Patricia Campbell, who evaluates math and science programs for the National Science Foundation says, "We've gotten girls to take math. We've gotten girls to use math. But, we haven't gotten them to love it."

Myths about intelligence The problem's multifacted... On one hand it's related to myths gals may hold about their brains... If gals believe guys are smarter at math, they set up self fulfilling prophecies, since the brain picks up that message. The more you feed your brain that perception the less you'll calculate math with ease. To overcome this, if women understand their brains have equal potential and that the more they think they can do math, as Danica McKellar models, the more success they'll experience as they build new confidence.

Fear Danica goes so far as to say that, "Girls fear math." For some, fear leads to lower test outcomes. Recent research at Michigan State University reveals that "while under pressure those most likely to succeed will most likely fail." That's because "individuals higher in working memory capacity are more likely to be negatively impacted by performance pressure on math tests than those lower in working memory capacity." We've all experienced testing pressure and know of some friends who failed because worry incapacitated them. But anybody can bust the fear barrier and turn it around.

Plasticity of the Brain If girls knew more about their brain and how it works, it might help overcome these past stereotypes and fears. According to Barry Conners of Brown University, the plasticity of the human brain impacts its ability to change. So as young women begin with the premise "I think I can..." more positive outcomes they'll see. With positive outcomes, they'll build more dendrite brain cells for calculating math. And as they do, the more confident they'll become. Do you sense that gals may find a love for math as Danica has?

Taking Stats after 40 years When I was recently attending university, I was required to take statistics. Quite frankly I was scared because I had not taken a math course in 40 years. There were many things that influenced my "A" outcome at graduate level. The teacher used new approaches that drew from spatial intelligence. Don't forget that Einstein developed the theory of relativity because he visualized the curve of the arc. I began to understand stats because of the teacher's methodologies. And the more I began to use statistics in my research, the more confident I became. Women and men can grow new smarts, when they open their mind to learn... even when they're older!

Test taking tactics By practicing on sample tests, women and men learn strategies that help build confidence and more dendrite brain cells are built so that test tactics can be summoned when needed. In this way, people can overcome "fear" that could lead to failure at test time.

I'm glad Danica's a "Math Wonder." I anticipate we'll soon see more women engineers and mathematicians as they overcome former stereotypes and fear.

If stereotypes or fear have prevented your success in any area, good news is that you can bust the barriers.

Thoughts?

Why Do It Today?

At times, I have problems buckling down to start work on major projects. The immediate begs for attention and I let go of the bigger picture. Do you experience this, too? Procrastination is a problem that plagues many... Unfortunately there's consequences to pay, just as in the fable, "The Grasshopper and the Ant." Here's a closer look..

Hall of Procrastinators
Just look at this lineup! Note any patterns?

Perfectionists Sense that if a task can't be done perfectly, there's no great incentive to even start.

Peter Pans (Never grow up) Syndrome Seek to maintain a childlike world without responsibilities or unpleasant tasks. You're only young once, but you can remain immature indefinitely.

Adrenaline Addicts Like the rush of meeting last minute deadlines. They're thrilled by putting their all into a project that must be completed by midnight!

Bit Players fear success since they will be in the limelight and will be called on to accomplish and beat past records. Thus, success should be avoided.

Baby Boomers expect much. The Boomers had much given to them and many were raised without personal obligation. They sense they're owed.

Buck Passers hope someone else will do it. And if someone else does not take charge, maybe it doesn't need doing after all. Many of these folks let outside circumstances dictate their lives. They're not at the helm of life.

People Pleasers can't say "no." Pleasers have an overbooked calendar and they just can't do all they've committed themselves to do.

Cowardly Lions fear criticism, embarrassment and disapproval. Their nonassertive behaviors perpetuate procrastination through lack of confidence and activity.

No American Idols pull back so they don't damage self worth. Many people see self-worth in the ability to perform well. Procrastination provides an out - so they don't have to perform.

Try this...Keep track of how you spend time...how much you daydream, talk on the phone or converse with others at work during a day. Results reveal where minutes fly away.

How do proscrastinators bust barriers that halt them? Procrastinators've programmed their brain over a lifetime to let tasks go 'till near deadline. Changing a lifetime habit isn't easy but it can be done...Consider recent research about the brain...

Our brain has amazing plasticity. And just by practicing different approaches, people form new routines. How? Each time folks use one of the strategies listed below, for instance, they rewire their brain differently. And potential's here to become the person you really want to be...

Plan Backwards and set starting times Use a planner and jot down times and tasks for each day as you take on bite-size pieces.

Check off Daily Tasks When Complete There's satisfaction to cross off tasks accomplished.

Select Work Space with Ambiance and No Distraction Create an environment to work alone...where others can't bug you. Maybe that means turning off the phone and deactivating computer games and email. Fix surroundings so they are pleasant and tidy.

Use a Time Clock Try to work really hard for 20-30 minutes at first. That's not too long and you will be surprised at what you accomplish when you put your all into the project for that short space daily. Sandy Renshaw recommends working with a time clock.

Reward Yourself at Increments When you reach "milestones along the way," buy that sports jersey, game ticket, new shoes or spa treatment as a reward.

Discuss Specifics with Others Share progress with others and capture new insights and perspectives.

Let Mistakes Go So you miss a day. Don't beat up on yourself. Let it go and forge ahead as if it didn't happen.

Just Do It As NIKE and athletes proclaim! Begin. And like the Little Engine that Could, give your brain new self-talk, I think I can, I think I can...and before you know it, you will complete it - on time.

At times, I battle procrastination. And writing this post was great review to put myself on the right path. I'm about 85% there. You?