I often write about neuroscience and its affects on project management. So I spend a lot of time scouring academic research, trade journals and even LinkedIn for new information on the topic. That’s how I came across this recent Business Insider article about what makes a good speaker.

Neuroscience is the very first thing mentioned in the piece, which makes the cognitive case for storytelling. It argues that understanding how our brains work can make us better speakers.

According to the article, you have about 15 seconds to grab your audience—and the average attention span is about 5 minutes. So how do you keep people engaged?

By using stories, says Princeton University researcher Uri Hasson. Mr. Hasson and his colleagues used fMRI machines to measure blood flow to regions of the brain of a speaker and the audience while a story was being told.

This research “found that the brains of a speaker and his or her listeners ‘exhibited joint, temporally coupled, response patterns.’ Simply put, the listeners' brains mirrored the speaker's brain—only when the speaker was telling the listeners a story.” The implication? Our brains are wired for story.

While I was in the Navy, stories were often used as a learning tool. And as a university professor, I’ve seen this approach work with students, as well. But what does this mean for people working in project management?

Relate and Resonate

Project professionals need to be storytellers. We may not all be on a large stage speaking to a big audience, but we’re always presenting, whether it be to stakeholders, sponsors, senior executives, etc. And think about the mundane information we often have to report.

An effective presenter is able to tell a story that will resonate with his or her audience and make mundane information more interesting.

Recently, I was a speaker for the Human Capital Institute (HCI). I used stories to make neuroscience resonate with the audience. I was delighted with the feedback I received. Each person that approached me remembered one of my stories that stuck with them and even resurfaced previous memories.

So when it’s your turn to talk to the C-suite, interject stories. You will be remembered by your ability to relay the information well—and that may serve you well when the next difficult assignment comes up.

What’s one of the best presentations you’ve ever heard? Did the speaker use stories to illustrate his or her presentation?

Originally posted on PMI's www.projectmanagement.com 

Project Management on the Brain

By Wanda L. Curlee

Could neuroscience be the next big thing for the project management profession?

Today, there are many theories about leadership, management, and psychology, yet, no one is quite certain how the brain works in concert with these theories—or even if it does.

In the pursuit of more information, neuroscience—including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) —is being used to study what the brain activity of business-minded individual’s looks like during thought and during motion. (This technology can map new neural pathways as they are created—pathways that can be created until death.)

Already this scientific field is creating new fields of study across the business landscape. Neuroeconomics, for example, is “the application of neuroscientific methods to analyze and understand economically relevant behavior such as evaluating decisions, categorizing risks and rewards, and interactions among economic agents,” according to Dr. Zainal Ariffin Ahmad, a professor in the Business Research for Applied Innovations in Neurosciences (BRAIN) Lab at the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Graduate School of Business.

There’s also neuroaccounting, neuroethics, neuroleadership and neurogoernance.

With portfolio management still in its infancy, neuroleadership and neurogovernance could potentially assist portfolio managers. By extracting knowledge from the sciences of neuroleadership and neurogovernance, PMI could differentiate itself and its body of knowledge from the various other project management associations and standards.

By using cutting-edge knowledge about how the human brain works to help create standards, PMI could move project management closer to a profession such as medicine. When the standards of the profession are based on empirical scientific knowledge, rather than good practices done on most projects most of the time, project management could become even more science than art.

What do you think? Can and should neuroscience be part of the future of project management?

Originally published on PMI's projectmanagement.com

Neuroscience and Teams

On September 21, 2016, I had the privilege to present at the Human Capital Institute’s Conference in Boston, Mass.  My topic was on neuroscience and enhancing team performance through change. This is quite relevant to the project management community. The study of the brain is still in its infancy but the strides that have been done in understanding how we are wired is amazing.

For example, researchers have found that new neural pathways continue throughout a person’s life. However, it does not occur just by doing your normal routine. You need to learn something new and become proficient in the new skill. Last year, I decided to do a triathlon. I had not done one in over 25 years. This was a goal but it was also learning new skills. Sure I knew how to swim, cycle, and run. However, I needed to learn to swim in open water, not a pool, shift gears appropriately on my bike, and pace myself to have enough energy to do the run. I succeeded in the meantime created new neural avenues in my brain.

This year, I plan to learn drawing techniques. You need to understand, I can barely draw a stick figure. What made me think to do this new skill? I recently went to an establishment called Painting with a Twist. A group of six strangers or a group of friends are led by a skilled painter. I was convinced I would paint the Eiffel tower in a starry, starry night motif, in a Picasso cubism rendition. Much to my surprise, the painting was half way decent.

So why am I advocating to learn something new? As we build these new pathways our minds become more innovative and creative. This is what a project, program or portfolio team needs! Creative, inspired and innovative individuals will develop creative solutions to problems, issues, and designs. Think about the Post-It note. The product was a failure. The Post-It note was not created to be a little note that you could stick almost anywhere as a reminder. However, a creative and innovative person on the team was able to look outside of the constraints of the project and see a valuable use.

As neuroscience continues to grow and we further understand how the brain is wired for motivation, for work, and for creativity, there will be great potential for the project management industry to flourish. Let’s face we are all about people!