<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change in response to experience.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">When we learn, synapses (tiny connections between neurons) are formed.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Repetition strengthens these connections, making skills and information more robust.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Children are naturally more plastic; however, adults can activate neuroplasticity through intentional strategies.</li></ul>

Neuroplasticity: The Foundation of All Learning

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">The brain can only focus on one thing at a time; multitasking creates measurable attention deficits.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Social media and digital distractions significantly reduce our sustained attention span.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Enhancement Strategies:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Focused attention meditation.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">20 minutes of moderate exercise before studying boosts cognitive performance for ~2 hours.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Sensory focus exercises (e.g., noticing the pressure of your shoes) train attention.</li></ol>

Attention: The Gateway to Learning

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Learning requires an alert, engaged brain—driven by activation of the sympathetic nervous system.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Tactical Boosters:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Short bursts of exercise.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Wim Hof breathing.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Cold showers.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Caffeine (moderately and strategically).</li></ol><ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Alertness follows a 90-minute ultradian rhythm with 8–30 minutes of peak alertness.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Avoid learning post-meals or during dips in alertness.</li></ul>

Alertness: Maximizing Peak Cognitive States

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Sleep resets the immune system, metabolism, emotional control, and brain detox.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">It is critical for memory consolidation:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Short-term memories (hippocampus) are transferred to long-term storage (cortex).</li></ol><ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Before learning: Sleep enhances alertness and encoding.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">After learning: Sleep is essential for memory stabilization.</li></ul>

Sleep: The Cognitive Reset Button

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">One exposure is not enough; the brain needs multiple inputs to prioritize learning.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Repetition signals importance at the cellular level, triggering investment in neural architecture.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Best Practices:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Repeat learning tasks multiple times in a session.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Use spaced repetition across days.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Emotional salience (fear, joy, surprise) can trigger "one-trial learning."</li></ol>

Repetition: Reinforcing Neural Pathways

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Post-learning breaks facilitate subconscious memory replay at up to 20x speed.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Breaks prevent retrograde interference, where new learning disrupts old memories.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Recommendations:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">10–20 minutes of quiet downtime (no phones) after learning.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Wait at least one hour before learning something similar.</li></ol>

Breaks: Leveraging Subconscious Replay

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">Errors trigger release of acetylcholine, sharpening focus and opening neuroplastic windows.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Mistakes also release dopamine upon correction, reinforcing the right action.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Learning Design Strategies:</li></ul><ol><li class="ql-align-justify">Set up controlled failure (e.g., self-quizzes, harder tasks).</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Lean into anxiety—it’s your brain signaling growth.</li><li class="ql-align-justify">Avoid walking away after mistakes; re-engage to embed the lesson.</li></ol>

Mistakes: Neurobiological Catalysts for Growth

By understanding how your brain learns, you can architect your environment, schedule, and habits to unlock your full cognitive potential.The six learning levers—attention, alertness, sleep, repetition, breaks, and mistakes—are not just tactics; they are biologically optimized tools for sustainable, high-performance learning.

Final Thought

Sharing the secrets to productive learning, backed by neuroscience. Dr Lila Landowski explains the methods which can be used to allow us to learn faster.  Dr Lila Landowski is a multi-award winning neuroscientist and lecturer that expertly arms people with an understanding of how their brain works, to help them make better choices in their lives. She is also a Director of the Australian Society for Medical Research, a Director of Epilepsy Tasmania, as well as a regular guest expert science communicator for the ABC. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

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TEDx Talks

Brain Hack: 6 secrets to learning faster, backed by neuroscience | Lila Landowski | TEDxHobart

Effective speaking is not just about words but how we deliver them. In his TED Talk, How to Speak So That People Want to Listen, Julian Treasure shares key techniques to make communication engaging and impactful. He explains how we can avoid common speaking pitfalls and use our voice effectively to ensure our message is heard and valued.

Speaking So That People Want to Listen

<ol><li>Gossip – Speaking negatively about others erodes trust.</li><li>Judging – Constant criticism makes people defensive.</li><li>Negativity – Focusing on problems without solutions drains energy.</li><li>Complaining – Frequent complaints create a toxic environment.</li><li>Excuses – Avoiding responsibility weakens credibility.</li><li>Exaggeration/Lying – Distorting facts reduces trust.</li><li>Dogmatism – Forcing opinions as absolute truths limits open discussion.</li></ol>

Avoid the "7 Deadly Sins" of Speaking.

<ol><li>Honesty – Speak truthfully and with clarity.</li><li>Authenticity – Be yourself and express genuine thoughts.</li><li>Integrity – Stand by your words and be trustworthy.</li><li>Love – Communicate with kindness and empathy.</li></ol>

Use the HAIL Principle:

<ol><li>Register – A deeper voice can convey authority and confidence.</li><li>Timbre – A warm, rich tone makes speech more pleasant.</li><li>Prosody – Using rhythm and variation in tone avoids monotony.</li><li>Pace – Speaking too fast can overwhelm, while too slow can bore listeners.</li><li>Pitch – Modulating pitch helps convey emotions effectively.</li><li>Volume – Adjusting loudness ensures emphasis on key points.</li></ol>

Master Vocal Techniques:

<ol><li>Think before speaking – Ensure your words add value.</li><li>Be present – Focus on the conversation without distractions.</li><li>Listen actively – Understand before responding.</li><li>Use pauses effectively – Silence can add emphasis and clarity.</li><li>Practice mindful speech – Speak with intention and purpose.</li></ol>

Practice Conscious Speaking:

Julian Treasure suggests warming up the voice before speaking to ensure clarity and confidence. <ol><li>Arms up, deep breath in, and sigh out. Repeat to relax and prepare your breath.</li><li>Warm up your lips by saying “Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba.”</li><li>Loosen your lips by making a “brrrrrrrr” sound, like a child imitating a car engine.</li><li>Exercise your tongue by repeating “la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.”</li><li>Roll an R by saying “Rrrrrrrrr” to engage your tongue and improve clarity.</li><li>Stretch your vocal range by saying “we” in a high pitch and “aw” in a low pitch: “Weeeaawww, weeeaawww". </li></ol>

How to Warm Up Your Voice:

Speaking So That People Want to Listen – Insights from Julian Treasure

Visit http://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

Have you ever felt like you're talking, but nobody is listening? Here's Julian Treasure to help you fix that. As the sound expert demonstrates some useful vocal exercises and shares tips on how to speak with empathy, he offers his vision for a sonorous world of listening and understanding.

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The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You're welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com

Read Next Videos

Brain Hack: 6 secrets to learning faster, backed by neuroscience | Lila Landowski | TEDxHobart

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Read Next Videos

Brain Hack: 6 secrets to learning faster, backed by neuroscience | Lila Landowski | TEDxHobart

How to speak so that people want to listen | Julian Treasure

It's time to Read like a Pro.

It's time to
Read like a Pro.