Chapter 7

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 7 Attention, Memory, and Curiosity

We will begin this chapter with what most of us recall about miniature golfing (and what probably influenced me not to become a golfer): the windmill, the drawbridge, and the clown's mouth. The task was to putt the ball down the path before the windmill blade got in the way, the drawbridge went up, or the clown's mouth closed. (Just thinking about it still makes me anxious.) What does that have to do with persuasion? Timing! You must wait until your listener's brain is most open to receiving information. If you present the same information too early or too late, it might be ignored, forgotten, or worse, rejected.

After all, since the brain makes the decisions, shouldn't we try to present our arguments and our evidence so that the listeners' brains are receptive? Stated another way, it's best to walk through a door when it's open, not closed. Before there can be persuasion, the listener must be willing to accept information; therefore, it is essential to prepare the listener to be receptive. Then you can present the information in a context that is so memorable that it sticks and forms the basis of the conclusions you want your audience to reach. How the brain functions is science, and scientific researchers have studied how the brain works. John Medina is one such scientist. He is a developmental molecular biologist who is the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research in Seattle and an affiliate Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His fascination of how the mind reacts to and organizes information resulted in his book Brain Rules.¹ Medina's book discusses the science behind the brain's acceptance of information, and then translates it in simpler terms, such as "The brain doesn't pay attention to boring things." And what does he believe are the most common communications mistakes? "Relating too much information, with not enough time devoted to connecting the dots. Lots of force-feeding, very little digestion. This does nothing for the nourishment of the listeners, whose learning is often sacrificed in the name of expediency." Many of his theories are based on how long his students would pay attention to his lectures. His observations are relevant and valuable to those who are persuaders. I have tried to apply Medina's discussions about the science of the brain to what we do as trial lawyers.

Timing: The Ten-Second, Ten-Minute Rule

Everyone's brain is remarkably similar regarding when it is most receptive to information and how long it is inclined to pay attention. The first ten seconds of a message find the most fertile soil for impact. That's when the brain decides whether to pay attention. John Medina explains that this is probably the result of early humans who had to be alert if they wanted to avoid being killed. In other words, those who were alert avoided danger and had lunch that day; those who weren't alert were the lunch of a hungry carnivore. There are no descendants of early humans who...