How to Use A Key Learning Technique to Make Speeches Better

The “spacing effect,” first discovered by psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus in the late 1800s, shows that we learn new material best by taking breaks, to allow the brain to consolidate what it has learned, rather than trying to cram too much in all at once. And yet teachers still try to pack a lot into their lectures, and students still try to study for the test the night before. And speakers still try to jam as much as possible into a 45-minute speech. Why do we humans perversely pay so little attention to how the brain works in our attempts at learning and speaking?

Partly it’s because old learning models have persisted despite the research, and partly because information overload is a real thing, and we’re all racing to stay in the knowledge game. Who has the time to ‘space’?

We speakers have to figure out how to stretch time for our audiences, and it’s here that virtual tools can turn out to be a boon for us all. A lot of knowledge workers are currently reporting ‘Zoom fatigue’ and feelings of isolation and loneliness are on the rise, thanks to the endless pandemic and the need to keep our distance. Many are no doubt looking forward to a return to face-to-face working and so the current thinking about using video conferencing or other such tools may not be wildly enthusiastic.