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Next time you’re
giving a speech and you see people yawning, you don’t need to be
offended. It may actually be a compliment, a sign that your
listeners are so fascinated that they’re trying extra hard to pay
attention.
That’s the conclusion of State University of
New York at Albany researchers Andrew C. Gallup and Gordon G. Gallup
Jr. in a study outlined in the May 2007 issue of Evolutionary
Psychology.
The
psychologists, who studied yawning in college students, concluded
that yawning is a way of cooling the brain and making it operate
more effectively. The brain burns up to a third of the calories we
consume, and as a consequence generates heat. According to Gallup
and Gallup, our brains, not unlike computers, operate more
efficiently when cool. Yawning enhances the brain's functioning by
increasing blood flow and drawing in cooler air.
"Since yawning occurs when brain temperature rises, sending cool
blood to the brain serves to maintain optimal levels of mental
efficiency," the authors wrote. “So the next time you are telling a
story and a listener yawns, there is no need to be offended -
yawning, a physiological mechanism designed to maintain attention,
turns out to be a compliment."
On
the other hand, if your audience is actually snoring, you probably
need to come to Speechworks.
At Speechworks we
help our clients learn how to communicate in a way that connects and
persuades. If you’re interested in becoming a great communicator
give us a call at 404-266-0888 or check out our website at
www.speechworks.net. |
