Read articles on how the latest insights from the world of neuroscience and behavioural science can make a difference to your organisation.
Around the world, teaching professionals have to turn to virtual platforms to teach their students. While some online learning is seen as a poor substitute for in-person teaching, it doesn't have to be. Because when it comes to online learning, then a shift in mindset...
In our busy world, we are continually bombarded with sights, sounds, and even smells that overwhelm our senses and stretch our brains. But while we are busy making sense of what’s there, have you ever stopped to think - to have curiosity - for the opposite? For what...
Can you trust what you know? It might seem like a strange question, but what I mean is, do you think you have a clear insight into what you know and what you don’t know? Alternatively, are you being tricked by your brain into thinking that you know something well when...
A curious word. Interest - the idea of being “interested” in something - plays a fundamental role in human nature. In fact, to some, it signals a cornerstone of human development - an inner drive that motivates us to seek out novelty, to learn something new, or to...
Learning information, so that is sticks in your brain can be a real challenge. So often the facts, figures and names that we hear or read seem to go in one ear and out the other without leaving any lasting impression on our memory. And although everyone has their own...
The brain can generate completely new brain cells in adulthood...or can it? Neuroplasticity is a wonder of the brain. It is the process by which you can learn new skills or improve existing ones. It allows you to build a bank of knowledge that can be flexibly updated...
Whether or not you like surprises, they are useful to your brain. Do you like surprises? Some people do. Others most definitely do not. But despite these differences at an individual level, there are some constants with surprise - like the fact they are usually very...
Is being an expert in something always a good thing? In his seminal publication “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” (1936), the English economist John Maynard Keynes stated the following: ‘‘The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping...
Every moment of our life, we are forming new memories. Good ones. Bad ones. Detailed ones. Hazy ones. And although people often describe the way we remember these memories as being like a movie reel (re)playing out in our mind’s eye, this is in fact incorrect. Memory...
There you are, standing in front of the audience and you suddenly feel a wave of stress rise up inside you. An array of physiological sensations like a racing heart, sweaty palms and a churning in your stomach start to uncontrollably manifest themselves. And all...
Social Plasticity Your social skills are sometimes called your “soft skills”. A way to differentiate them from the “harder”, more measurable side of your intelligence and ability. But just because you can’t easily measure them, doesn’t mean that they aren’t important....
Brain training. Does it work? Brain Training. It is a multimillion dollar industry but it is also plagued with controversy. Many people swear by it. A way of keeping your brain active. Staving off cognitive decline. Maybe even preventing or delaying the appearance of...
Developing successful working relationships with clients. Fostering a sense of openness and intimacy. Being able to confidently get your point across when contributing to group discussions. No one would disagree that these are all core skills for running a successful...
Walking into a room of young L&D professionals last week was an unusual setting for me to find myself in. Normally I’m the youngest in the room by a fair margin. It was even more of a surprise to see someone I’d been in the same form at school with! However this...
Recently we’ve been asked by a couple of organisations to come and work with the L&D team. What we’ve seen has been really encouraging. There is some awareness of ways to make learning ‘sticky’ – it just often is implemented at the surface level and could go much...
I’ve been asked this question on several occasions now. The response I normally give is along the lines of suggesting that it is only relevant for people with brains. What makes me so sure? Neuroscience is the scientific study of the brain. There are some arguments...
How do we learn? Recently we were approached by an organization to help them understand how people learn and how they could be more innovative and impactful. There are experts around the world researching and revealing deeper...
“Do not worry about your difficulties in Mathematics. I can assure you mine are still greater. “ Albert Einstein. A recurrent theme here is Behaviour Change. Not just a focus on what determines our behaviour, but the processes...
In this article we are going to dive into a purely neuroscience topic that is key for leadership training. We’ll start with why we’re going to learn about it. I believe that leaders need to be in brilliant shape for leading themselves before they lead other people....
Picking up my saxophone this week got me thinking again about how the great performers do it (for modeling purposes not because I am one!). Granted they usually have 10,000 hours practice under their belt but they also have mastered something else very important in...
This week I thought we’d hear from one of the great observers of our time, Amit Goswami: “ Every observation can be looked upon as a quantum measurement, because quantum measurement produces brain memory. These brain memories are activated every time we encounter and...
Average neurons in your brain form around 1000 synaptic connections. Many receive up to 10,000 inputs while some cells in the cerebellum receive up to 100,000. To put it mildly, your neurons are well connected! If Coaching really does enable you to increase your...
How much of your true potential is determined by the genes you do or do not have? How much is down to your environment? Or the education and experiences you had before you were 7? Anders Ericsson may hold the answer to this question. He has spent the last 20 years...
About a year ago I had the privilege of meeting a grand champion chess player who was supporting the initiative in Belize teaching children to play chess. They were finding it had a dramatic impact on the behaviour of the children inside and outside school. Years ago...
How do we learn new things? How do we remember old things? How do we easily achieve our goals? The answer to all these questions lies partly in mental maps. As you know, we have lots and lots of neurons in our brains. These neurons communicate with one another using...
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