Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019 - 44

and application and reinforcement.
Furthermore, this article aims to assess
the value and necessity of human
interaction during all three components
as it pertains to the strength of the
memory each are designed to ensure.

Component 1: Predisposition
We've learned a lot about learning.
Neuroscience and our own human
experience have given us enormous
insight into what it takes to learn a
new skill, method or behavior correctly,
so that the learner can effectively
implement it into his or her working life,
even when the shortcut of falling back
into old habits is ever so tempting.
This is especially true in sales training
where the sales professional, whether
a novice or veteran, comes to the table

Emotions are
contagious, and they are
profoundly relevant to
the learning process.
with a lifetime of already learned and,
often, deeply embedded methods and
styles of sales skills (i.e., communicating,
listening, asking questions, managing
resistance, negotiating, etc.).
The greatest obstacle to learning
something new is replacing - or
unlearning - the familiar and habitual.
Therefore, a learner's attitude about
learning going into the process is crucial
for success.
An adult learner must feel personally
incentivized. In "Writing and the Brain:
Neuroscience Shows the Pathways to

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Learning," neuroscientist and educator
Judy Willis explains, "...that is when
the brain predicts pleasure and applies
efforts to achieve the desirable goal."
To this end, the value of a powerful
and relevant predisposition cannot be
underestimated. Learners need to hear
from a human who has walked in their
shoes, who can empathize with the
discomfort of setting aside old ways
and share their experience of the value
of learning the new ways. More than
anything, learners need an answer to
the questions, "Why do I need to learn
this?" and even more, "Why would I want
to learn this?"
Managing learners' expectations and
attitudes about the value of the learning
is the first worthwhile investment,
and an empathetic human can have
considerable influence over the
necessary attitude and enthusiasm of
learners prior to the learning event.

Component 2: The Learning Event
In Andrea García Cerdán's article, "Mirror
neurons: The most powerful learning
tool," Cerdán asserts, "humans are social
beings programmed to learn from others."
The human brain is hardwired to learn
through observation and mimicry; wired
with mirror neurons, it cannot help itself.
When the goal is to learn a new set of
human behaviors, the best resource we
may have is a human model. It is of course
possible to have the behavior modeled
on a screen, in the form of a video
or virtual simulation, however, most
learners must be able to continue to ask
the questions: "Why?" or "What if?" Some
brains simply cannot learn until those
fundamental questions are answered
- and then answered again, and again,
to the learner's satisfaction. They, of
course, must have the opportunity to
practice the new behavior, with a pair
of human eyes and ears watching to

Making Learning Stick
We forget half of what we learn within
days! To make it stick, consider these
human factors:
* The learning must be relevant to the
learners! Predisposition to the value
before training makes a difference.
* Emotions matter: the better the
feelings, the stronger the learning.
* Social settings create more opportunities
for dopamine (good feelings) to be
released and multi-sensory learning,
strengthening the neural pathways
created in the brain.
* Use it or lose it: learning must be
applied immediately and consistently
with a coach to ensure it's being
applied correctly.

correct, coach and advise. They must
have the opportunity to continue asking
questions, to express doubt and share
the excitement when something clicks.
The same mirror neurons that create our
aptitude for observation and mimicry
also give empathetic teachers the ability
to influence learners' emotions and
attitudes during inevitable moments of
frustration and enthusiasm. Emotions
are contagious, and they are profoundly
relevant to the learning process.
Research shows that the limbic system,
the emotional part of the brain, can
either open or shut down the learning
process entirely. Stress and frustration
can make it physiologically impossible
to learn something new; conversely,
the release of dopamine, the "feel
good" sensation, motivates the brain,
allowing it to create more connections
and activate more neural pathways,
increasing and enhancing the learning
process, leading to longer-term memory.
https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3555 https://blog.cognifit.com/mirror-neurons/ https://blog.cognifit.com/mirror-neurons/ https://blog.cognifit.com/mirror-neurons/ https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3555 https://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3555
Training Industry Magazine - May/June 2019

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