Great book

I teach art and design to large groups of students. I have put lots of the ideas in this into practice to great effect. I will be listening to this book again.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Brilliant brain food

The passion of the author brings this audiobook to life in your head and makes the concepts stick, he's a remarkable narrator. For me the sign of a good book in this category is just how practical it is to apply and that's the frame of my review.

As a corporate trainer and facilitator I found the practical tips in this book, and demonstrated throughout by the author in the way to book is written, powerful and easy to apply. For me the most useful ideas that I now apply daily are:

- People don’t pay attention to boring things. You have to grab attention, this gives you 10 minutes to get your point across and at ten minutes grab their attention again but how...

- With something emotional and relevant! The idea is to use emotionally competent stimulus every 10 minutes to grab the attention. The author does this in, often funny, visual descriptions of the scientists he references and the stories he tells. See if you can forget the story about the burglary, the trainee surgeon or the walk to nursery after listening to this book. These simple stories are burned on my memory.

I'm in the process of looking at all the training presentations I write and deliver. I was still working under the notion of 20 minute attention span and now I can see why some of my sessions are successful - those with a big enough hook and relevant stories within - and the others well they were less effective.

There is so much more goodness in this book, for example the exercise chapter provides so much motivation to get moving. I liked being able to see the author in the follow up videos (which confirmed his genuine passion and belief in his message) and the chapter summaries at brainrules.com are an excellent reminder of the main points.

Now I wonder if I can incorporate the 26 minute afternoon nap (for a 34% performance gain) into what we do?

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

Great book

As a clinical psychologist this book is a must read. A well presented book which was easy to follow and made lots of sense.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Mind.. your body!

John Medina???s ability to speak passionately and engagingly makes this book a real treat! And hey! Mind and body are NOT two separate ???bits???. Just a small investment in getting a bit more oxygen upstairs will make all the difference. As someone once famously said, ???It???s not rocket surgery!??? But it is brain science ??? delivered in a chatty, sometimes mischievous but always accessible way. So do your body and your brain a favour ??? it beats la dolce viagra any day!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

A fabulous listen!

If you could sum up Brain Rules in three words, what would they be?

Insightful
Challenging
Clear

What did you like best about this story?

Brain Rules is extremely well written; it flows and has delightful, personal analogies to maintain its delight (and of course reinforce the point of the brain needing to regularly refocus its attention. This is an audiobook that you can dip into and out of since there are separate brain rules. Use the accompanying web materials and you have a brilliant resource for how we think. And why children can trick us!

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I most enjoyed the seen with John and his son. 'Danger!' was the word quietly uttered but it wasn't heeded. Ouch!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me smile and want even more to put the words into action.

Any additional comments?

A must-listen for anyone interested in how the brain works. It should be compulsory training for psychology courses but it's so well written and so tangible for the 'person in the street' wanting to better their brain.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!