Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Speaking science: train your aging brain

Did you come late to wanting to learn public speaking? Worry not--picking up speaking as a new skill could be among the ways you can keep your aging brain in shape. Even better if public speaking is beyond your normal range of behaviors and skill sets. In "How to Train the Aging Brain," New York Times reporter Barbara Strauch talks to scientists who suggest that you need to challenge your tried-and-true knowledge base in middle age and beyond to boost your brain power and create new neural connections. From the article:

I've found this to be true in my own experience, having just taken up guitar lessons at age 50--it's an experience that really pushes me into new and unfamiliar territory, and had led me to more creative thinking. (I even find it helps me with training, as it's a situation in which the roles are reversed and I'm a beginner student.) If public speaking is a skill you've avoided until now, or put off trying to learn, you've now got a new reason to try. The article busts a few myths, like the thought that you lose brain cells as you age, and offers some insights into how your brain works when you're trying to remember something on the tip of your tongue, another useful insight for speakers.

Hunting speaker resources for women

I'm excited about the new Amazon-powered Eloquent Woman store, because it gives me the chance to share new books, presentation tools and electronic resources with readers, all in one place. Included is a special section just for books about women and public speaking, and I'll be expanding all the sections in the days and weeks to come. (If you have a recommendation you'd like to see here, please leave it in the comments.) Disclosure: I receive a small fee for products you order through this store. I welcome your feedback in this new resource!