As human beings, we have the amazing machinery in our brains that allow us to develop abilities through training and practice. Mastering any skill requires practice. Practice is the repetition of an action with the goal of improvement, and it help us to perform with more ease, speed and confidence. But how is the mechanism in our brains? Brain is a complex organ that is dynamic, flexible, efficient and adaptable to the changes in the environment. This capacity is called synaptic plasticity and refers to the capacity of our brains to change their structural and functional organization in the presence of different stimulus, as information you acquire in order to learn something (1). Neurons are one of the types of the cells in the nervous system that connect with others called synapses building functional circuits where are represented through their activation behaviors, emotions, thoughts, etc. When we learn something new, our neurons build circuits in specific zones of our brain cortex, however, to maintain this circuits they need to be reinforced.So how does practice or repetition affect the inner workings of our brains? |
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When we learn something, at first, we build a circuit, however, the connections are weak and to maintain this knowledge is fundamental to strengthen the connections. Practice allows these connections to establish and change their properties like building new connections and maintain them in the long term. One famous study looked at the effect of practice on the brains of London cab drivers preparing for the fiendishly difficult test of the city’s geography known as the ‘Knowledge of London’. It found that the posterior part of the hippocampus (an area especially important for spatial memory) was enlarged in these drivers in comparison with a bus driver (2). |
There are many theories that attempt to quantify the number of hours, days, and even years of practice that it takes to master a skill and strength our neural circuits. While we don’t yet have a magic number, we do know that mastery isn’t simply about the number of hours of practice. It’s also the quality and effectiveness of that practice. Effective practice is consistent, intensely focused, and targets content or weaknesses that lie at the edge of one’s current abilities. So, learning a new skill can be hard at first, but the more we do something, the stronger the neural pathways associated with that skill become, and the task becomes easier. If we practice our actions becoming automatic and unconscious. Our brains are amazing! Do you want to become a better seller and communicator? Well, it is time to PRACTICE. If you have the best tools to practice, your learning process will be easier. RolPlay gives you the tools to practice your communication skills in the most effective way. Ready to reach your goals? |