MoreBrainz for Everyone! A Zombie Guide Analysis of How Neurogenesis Promises a Bright Future for Zombies in Public Speaking

               If you are like most people, public speaking makes you groan like a zombie.  You slowly walk to the front of the room in the typical zombie cadence with one bedraggled leg dragging behind you. When you look out into the audience, you see half dead expressions on everyone’s zombie-like face as they think about all the other things they would rather be doing than listening to another lifeless speech.  But it doesn’t’ have to feel like this for you or the audience.  In fact, S. Vrooman (2015) uses examples such as this in his MoreBrainz project synthesizing complex theories of public speaking in a fun, relatable way.  In The Zombie Guide to Public Speaking, Vrooman outlines seven components that deliver content in an engaging format building credibility for the speaker and making the experience more enjoyable for everyone, including you.

Let’s unpack seven components of a speech: introduction, delivery, visual aids, support, argument, organization, and conclusion through analysis of Sandrin Thuret’s TED Talk, You Can Grow New Brain Cells.  See what I did there with the brains reference in the video? I know it’s corny, but you’ll learn more about engaging audiences with figurative language in a few paragraphs below.

               First, watch Sandrine’s presentation discussing Neurogenesis.  Observe how she introduces complex scientific analysis, transforming it into consumable information for the audience in a dynamic presentation.

Figure 1: Example of the impact of antidepressants on neurogenesis.  Thuret, S. (2015). You Can Grow New Brain Cells. Here’s How In TED. https://youtu.be/B_tjKYvEziI?si=c3oAYCK0-QcDykkx

 

Introduction

The introduction should be brief, arouse interest and clarify the idea. Remember, you are not just introducing your topic, you are introducing yourself as well (Vrooman, 2015). How do you want to be perceived? This may be the first time your audience meets you and you want to make a lasting impact. Allow simple information to be conveyed through visual aid: topic, your name, and job title or credentials. I have even seen this done effectively where the slide is made visible prior to the speaker’s appearance so the audience can provide their full attention to what is being said after they have already engaged with the slide. 

The introduction should grab their attention, making them lean forward wanting to hear more because you just shared a question, fact, or antidote that astounded them.  Sandrine uses a question to draw her audience in.  She extends the hook further putting her audience at ease with their unfamiliarity with neuroscience as she shares that the oncologist, was unaware of neurogenesis in adults (Thuret, 2015).     

Neuroscientists conducted research on the neural systems involved in first impressions and believe that the audience makes eleven assumptions within seven seconds (Schiller et al., 2009).  Leverage this to your advantage with your introduction. My title is an example of how you can use creative framing to introduce your topic and yourself. If I introduced this discourse as, “The Seven Essential Components of a Speech Performed Through the Observation of Neurogenesis at TED,” would you have been curious to learn more? Probably not.  And despite not knowing about neurogenesis, the MoreBrainz Project, or the Zombie Guide, the figurative language and the intrigue of how neurogenesis could aid zombies in public speaking makes you curious to learn more (Vrooman, 2015).                

Delivery

Presenting the information, also known as the delivery, must engage the audience through authenticity, dynamic energy, physical animation, and vocalization (Vrooman, 2015). This is where being your most authentic self pays off. Now, I can already hear you saying, “But Tamara, I am authentically freaked out about speaking publicly.”  What your audience seeks is similar to how you would engage with a small group of friends using eye contact, gestures, and intonations, presented with energy that is authentically sincere.  Audiences like to feel connected to speakers that appear human through personal narratives relevant to the topic. They also understand small mistakes but struggle to ignore the elephant in the room when you stare at them blankly and then move on as if that never happened. If you have technical difficulties or lose your train of thought for ten seconds, own it! Vrooman's (2015) chapter on humor states that humor reduces people's ability and desire to argue with your ideas.  I liked some of the examples that he shared showing that humor doesn’t need to be complicated. A little self-depraved humor goes a long way and allows them to identify with you.   

Sandrine appears authentic in her video.  She does not exude high energy or overt animation, but her soft cadence is broken at two points with small jokes.  When she broches the topic of sex and red wine driving neurogenesis, the audience volume increases, and she jokes to take all things in moderation (Thuret, 2015).  Sandrine has a soft, slow, melodic, tone that works for her topic.  A presenter with a fast-paced or high-pitched voice would’ve had difficulty conveying these complex ideas to an audience.       

Visual Aids

Using visual aids properly will manage the focus of your delivery in a professional manner that does not distract from the primary visual aid, which is you (Vrooman, 2015).  

Figure 2: Example of the impact of antidepressants on neurogenesis.  Thuret, S. (2015). You Can Grow New Brain Cells. Here’s How In TED. https://youtu.be/B_tjKYvEziI?si=c3oAYCK0-QcDykkx

 

Look at Sandrine’s slide above.  It is eloquent in its simplicity.  There are no words to distract while Sandrine explains how antidepressants enable neurogenesis in cancer survivors whose neural regeneration is inhibited by cancer medications (Thuret, 2015). The picture accompanies her narrative instead of distracting from it.   This is how she simplifies a very complex idea for a general audience to maintain their ability to stay focused.   

When choosing your visual aids, ask yourself, “How is this aiding my presentation? Is it enhancing or distracting from what I have to say?”   Simplicity goes far beyond the images you choose for the slide.  A crisp white background allows images to speak boldly for themselves. 

Most importantly, give credit where credit is due.  Cite your sources and credit images to their creators.  As you credit your sources, ensure that you are fact-checking.  The last thing you want to do is misquote or provide inaccurate data.  That will destroy your credibility. 

Support

Providing support for your presentation comes in two forms; your personal narrative as an expert on the matter and citing other sources that corroborate your narrative (Vrooman, 2015). This connects the authenticity of your experience providing credibility to your narrative beyond your professional credentials.  Sandrine leveraged several advantages to support her presentation.  The first is that she is a neurologist.  People will unconsciously attribute authority bias to her narrative because she is a scientist.  Her title provides her argument more weight in the minds of the audience because she is a professional in that field. The storytelling of the oncologist visiting her lab allows the audience to draw the conclusion that her information is sought after (Thuret, 205).  This gives even more credibility to her narrative even though his interest is a loose assumption being made by the audience based on her story.     

The strongest supporting element is the rat brain sample before running and then depicting neurogenesis after running.  The evidence on the slide, along with her cited source, supports her argument (Thuret, 2015). 

The relatability of the information she simplifies into everyday activities promoting neurogenesis made it believable that as adults we can promote our own neurogenesis.  Empowering the audience, especially those over fifty that she said had depleted all their brain cells present at birth, was another fabulous coup winning their support (Thuret, 2015).    

During your presentation, narrate your story so that the audience will think, “Yes, I can see that.”  The goal is not to have them agree with your perspective; you need them to identify with your perspective through humor, figurative language, and relatability. 

Argument

Establishing your argument requires your claim to contain two premises; specific observable evidence, known as the grounds, and agreements that support logical transitions in the argument, known as the warrant (Vrooman, 2015). Passion for your topic can blind you to the commonality that exists between your position and the audience.  The bridge connecting your positions can be the most direct route to aligning your views. Move beyond existing assumptions by asking questions to understand their system of values and shift the attitudes of their hierarchical allegiance through a different lens so that you can impact their ability to be open minded to your argument. 

Sandrine leverages her argument with specific observable evidence in the brain sample of neurogenesis after the rat has been running.  This supports her transition to how the human brain can achieve the same goal through running as well as other activities associated with neurogenesis (Thuret, 2015).     

Organization

The organization of the speech should provide the audience with the ability to digest the content in its simplicity and connect it in a meaningful way (Vrooman, 2015). Sandrine accomplishes this beautifully as she: lulls you in with a simple question, puts you at ease for not knowing the answer by sharing that the oncologist did not know the answer either, provides a simple visual overview of neurogenesis, and then makes neurogenesis relatable through everyday activities you can achieve on your own (Thuret, 2015).  The dynamics of the presentation elegantly transitions the audience to the next phase of the journey and decisively engages their attention in meaning that is easy to digest.  Notice that although this presentation was on neurogenesis, the scientific process was a minor portion of the overall presentation.  Her focus was to make the narrative relatable to an audience that was likely filled with people who were not neuroscientists. If her audience had indeed been filled with neuroscientists, her presentation would have been crafted much differently with them in mind.         

Think about your audience.  What external factors will impact their ability to follow transitions: time of day (pre or post lunch), familiarity with the topic, or size of the audience?  Even the most interested audience struggles to follow a topic if the external factors are working against you.  Remember, transitions add variety that snaps them back to attention when you create a dynamic connection with the audience.  At the end of your presentation, you want them to think, “Was this worth my time, yes!”

One final thought regarding the impact on your audience as you close your presentation.  The lovely and sophisticated Maya Angelou profoundly impacted audiences through her presence and words.  Her most famous advice tells us to keep the audience thinking about our presentation long after it ends, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”  How do you want the audience to feel?  Are they confident in their understanding of your content and can apply it in small doses to their life?  Do they feel your information impacted their life in a meaningful way?             

Conclusion

The conclusion should be reflective of the information you just shared and provide clarity as to what this information means moving forward (Vrooman, 2015). You want the audience to take what you taught them and be productive.  You need to embolden and empower them with a small task or first step when they leave so your presentation has a lasting effect. 

Sandrine utilizes these tactics as she concludes her presentation by giving the audience hope for the future, empowering them to take action today.  She does this by describing the new goals for neuroscientists, elaborating on how they hope to help people in the future.  She then empowers the audience to help themselves by taking ownership of healthy decisions they can make today improving their own neurogenesis (Thuret, 2015).   

Now that you have heard from Vrooman’s (2015) guide to public speaking, how will you put it to use?  Start small.  Use some of the skills when you are trying to convince a friend to watch The Walking Dead with you.  Then gradually work your way up presenting your argument to a group of friends to watch a Walking Dead marathon.  And don’t forget what you learned about neurogenesis.  You are generating new neurons every day, so put them to good use and build a few to help you become a better public speaker.         

References

 

Schiller, D., Freeman, J. B., Mitchell, J. P., Uleman, J. S., & Phelps, E. A. (2009). A neural mechanism of first impressions. Nature Neuroscience, 12(4), 508–514. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2278 

Thuret, S. (2015). You Can Grow New Brain Cells. Here’s How. [Video You Can Grow New Brain Cells. Here’s How. ]. In TED. https://youtu.be/B_tjKYvEziI?si=c3oAYCK0-QcDykkx

Vrooman, S.S., (2015). The Zombie Guide to Public Speaking. Createspace. https://www.amazon.com/Zombie-Guide-Public-Speaking