The document summarizes key points from a presentation by Dr. John Medina on how to improve presentations based on brain science. It discusses 3 of Dr. Medina's 12 brain rules: [1] Exercise boosts brain power, audiences have short attention spans so moving and interacting helps learning; [2] We don't pay attention to boring things, avoid multitasking and keep things engaging every 10 minutes; [3] Vision trumps other senses so use images over text for better memory retention. The document encourages applying these rules to make presentations more effective and memorable.

1. kea ways & Quotdenss
Ta
les
i a’
Ru
nM e
from Dr. Joh
Br
Wh
ain
at all presenters n eed to kno
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t ion (of sort
A presenta s
by Gar r Reynold

2. These takeaways and quotes are based
on three of Dr. Medina’s 12 rules
>
just
Here they are...

3. Rule #1
Exercise boosts brain power.
Rule #4
We don’t pay attention to boring things.
Rule #10
Vision trumps all other senses.

4. “ If you are in education,
you are in the business
of brain development.
If you are leading a
modern corporation...
you need to know how
”
brains work.
— Dr. John Medina

5. owerP oint is
Death -by-P
mon that it ’s just
so com
d “nor mal.”
con sidere
normal...
Yeah, ab

6. “ Toss your PowerPoint
presentations.
— Dr. John Medina
”

7. So stop doing this:

9. Which leads to this:

11. Which costs this:

12. Time
Money

13. 12 Brain rules
t #1, #4, and #10.
We ’ll look a

14. Brain Rule #1

15. Rule #1 brain power
cise boosts
Exer

16. What are some examples
of perfect “anti-brain”
environments today?
according to
Dr. Medina

17. the
L e c t u re
h all
Classroom pic

18. “
There is no greater anti-brain
environment than the classroom
”
and cubicle.
— Dr. John Medina

19. Sure, you know exercise
is good for you...

20. But exercise is not just good
for general health, it actually
improves cognition.

21. ore b rain b enefits:
M
EF ITS
BEN
ion
Reduce s depress
a
dementi
Treats
reasoning
Improves
m
Improve s long-ter
memory
d
Imp roves flui
in telligence
lzheimer’s
Reduces A % 0
risk by 5
lems
solve prob
Helps you .
A nd more..

22. What’s this have to do
with presentations?
Two things...

23. 1 Passively sitting is a very
unnatural thing. Audiences
have no patience for tedium.
Think of the presentation
from your audienceʼs
point of view.

24. 2 During the preparation stage,
if youʼre struggling with an
idea, if youʼre stuck, then go
for a walk, a run, just move...

25. ...we were born to move.
Evidence suggest we may
even think better if we toss
the couch-potato lifestyle.

26. ...we were born to move.
Evidence suggest we may
even think better if we toss
the couch-potato lifestyle. ..
otato.
H m mm...P

27. Brain Rule #4

28. Rule #4
do n’ t pay
We
ntio n to
atte ngs
ing thi
bor

29. “
Multitasking, when
it comes to paying
”
attention, is a myth.
— Dr. John Medina

30. “
We are biologically incapable of
processing attention-rich inputs
”
simultaneously.
— Dr. John Medina

31. People who are interrupted:
Take 50% longer to complete a task.
Make 50% more errors.

32. “ When you’re always online
you’re always distracted.
— Dr. John Medina ”

33. “ So the always online
organization is the always
”
unproductive organization.
— Dr. John Medina

34. Yet, most presentations are put
together while doing other things...
Is this you?

35. Johnson!
Where’s
that pres
entation
I asked f
or?!!!!

36. Try “going analog” and focusing only
on the presentation in the prep stage.
Is this you?

37. “ If you want to get the particulars
correct, donʼt start with the details.
Start with the key ideas and, in
hierarchical fashion, form the details
”
around these larger notions.
— Dr. John Medina
Good advi
ce, but ho
pay attent w long can
ion to you people
r talk?

38. The brain
needs a
break .

39. “ If keeping someone’s attention
in a lecture was a business, it
”
would have an 80% failure rate.
— Dr. John Medina

40. After 10 minutes,
audience attention
steadily drops.

41. The 10-minute rule
High
Attention
Low
10 20 30 40 50
Minutes of class time
Source: www.brainrules.net/attention

42. Dr. Medina suggests
changing gears every
10 minutes in your
presentation (lecture,
etc.). Tell a relevant
story, show a relevant
video, do a relevant
activity, etc.

43. We’re wired to
notice patterns

44. Chunking example
IRSYMCAWTFIBMKGBFBI
At first those letter won’t make sense...
But eventually yo
u’ll recognize
chunks you’ve see
n before.

45. Chunking example
IRSYMCAWTFIBMKGBFBI
Of course, graphic design can help you see the chunks...
Adapted from: www.brainrules.net/attention

46. “
The brain pays
attention to patterns.
Remembering some-
thing we’ve seen
before (like quick-
sand) is a useful
”
evolutionary trait.
— Dr. John Medina

47. What’s the most common
communication mistake?
to Dr. Medina
ac cording

48. “ Relating too much information,
with not enough time devoted to
connecting the dots. Lots of force
”
feeding, very little digestion.
— Dr. John Medina

49. “
The brain doesn’t pay attention to
boring things, and I am as sick of
”
boring presentations as you are.
— Dr. John Medina

50. Brain Rule #10

51. ule #10
R
trum ps
Vi sion
sen ses
a ll o ther

52. Hear a piece of information,
and three days later you’ll
remember 10% of it.

53. Add a picture and you’ll
remember 65%.

54. Rule of thumb
Oral 10%
3x 6x
Visual 35%
Oral &
Visual 65%
Source: Najjar, LJ (1998) Principles of educational multimedia user interface design (via Brain Rules by John Medina, 2008)

55. Pictures beat text

56. Recognition soars with pictures
“ Various studies show that recognition
doubles for a picture compared with text.
— Dr. John Medina
”
pictures only
text only
0% 50% 100%
source: www.brainrules.net/vision

57. “ Pictures beat text...because
reading is so inefficient for us. We
have to identify certain features in
the letters to be able to read them.
”
That takes time.
— Dr. John Medina

58. Rule #1
Exercise boosts brain power.
eview✓ Our brains were built for walking/moving!
R
✓ To improve your thinking skills, move!
✓ Exercise gets blood to the brain, bringing
it glucose and oxygen.
✓ Aerobic exercise 2x/week halves the risk
of general dementia, reduces risk of
Alzheimer’s by 60%.
✓ Exercise is just about the best thing you
can do for yourself says Dr. Medina.

59. Rule #4
We don’t pay attention to boring things.
iew✓ No multitasking. When it comes to
ev attention, it’s only one thing at a time.
R
✓ We are better at seeing patterns,
abstracting meaning than recording details.
✓ Tapping people’s emotions helps them learn.
✓ People start to fade after 10 minutes. Get
them back by telling stories, examples, and
targeting their emotions.

60. Rule #10
Vision trumps all other senses.
iew
ev ✓ Vision is our dominant sense, using half of
R the brain’s resources.
✓We learn/remember best through pictures
compared to text or spoken words.
✓Try to communicate more with pictures.
✓Toss your current PowerPoint slides.

61. Question: or the
3 rules mean f
What do these ? And f or the
of presentation neral?
world and sch ool in ge
world o f work
All 12 rules at a glance

62. John Medina’s 12 Brain rules
>>
PDF
ist in
this l
nload site:
a n dow e s web
You c in Rul -rules
th e Bra t/the
from es.ne
br ainrul
www.

63. John Medina’s 12 Brain rules
>

64. Includes a
great DVD
too!
Want to learn more?
Then get this book...
And go to this website:
www.brainrules.net

65. out these slides
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All imag es from w ina which
of Dr. Med
xcept f or images es media
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ar rules.net/
kit here: www.brain

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