Use Left-Right Brain Theory To Understand People
This weekend , on Facebook, I was exposed to a marathon discussion on Leftism ( Read Communism), and Rightism ( The Conventionalism ) . The people were clearly divided on the two sides which can be better described as following :
“I am the right brain. I am creativity. A free spirit. I am passion. Yearning. Sensuality. I am the sound of roaring laughter. I am taste. The feeling of sand beneath bare feat. I am movement. Vivid colors. I am the urge to paint on an empty canvas. I am boundless imagination. Art. Poetry. I sense. I feel. I am everything I wanted to be.”
"I am the left brain. I am a scientist. A mathematician. I love the familiar. I categorize. I am accurate, Linear, Analytical, Strategic. I am practical. Always in control. A master of words and language. Realistic. I calculate equations and play with numbers. I am order. I am logic. I know exactly who I am.”
As expected , it could not be decided who was better !
On first impression, it may suggest that the above debate is meaningless and endless but there is a scientific evidence to suggest , why we think as leftists or rightists.
What does it mean to be left brain dominant or right brain dominant?
Scientists have explored theories about the two hemispheres of the brain and the ways that they differ in function and control of the body. According to recent research, people who are right brain dominant and those who are left brain dominant, process information and respond in different ways.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LEFT-BRAINERS
Left-brainers are logical and analytical. They thrive in structured environments. They smoothly articulate what they wish to communicate to others. They may even enjoy a 'good argument'. They perform well under stress, as in job interviews, laying out the answers to the questions, in a sequential and orderly way.
Left-brainers easily rise to the top of office management. They coolly and clearly look at the facts and make unemotional decisions. They are leaders who are not afraid to tell others what to do and how to do it. To them, there is only one way to do things and that's the right way - the way that makes the most practical sense. Trying out new ways of doing things can seem like a waste of time.
Key left-brain functions
Uses logic in decision-making
Detail oriented
Facts rule
Prefers words and language
Present and past oriented
Math and science
Comprehension
Knows
Acknowledges
Order/pattern perception
Remembers an object's name
Reality based
Forms strategies
Practical
Prefers safe course of action
Rule conscious
CHARACTERISTICS OF RIGHT-BRAINERS
For right-brained people, following a regimented, rigidly prescribed office routine is deadly. It goes too much against their creative Free Spirit. They like to imagine new possibilities, and enjoy looking at the many different angles of a problem. Inevitably, they want to try new and different ways of doing things. And this can clash with the lefties sense of orderliness and practicality.
Right-brainers visualize the big picture, ignoring the details of how to get there. If they are being interviewed by left-brainers, the right-brainer may appear to speak in generalities. They can even seem to be off point and scattered at times. They like to respond emotionally during interviews, laughing or telling stories to illustrate a point. Left-brainers, who are looking for a direct, concise, structured and unemotional answer, are unimpressed.
Key right-brain functions
Uses feeling in decision-making
"Big picture" oriented
Imagination rules
Prefers symbols and images
Present and future oriented
Philosophy and religion
Gets the "general meaning"
Believes
Appreciates
Favors Spatial Perception
Remembers an object's function
Fantasy based
Presents possibilities
Impetuous action takers
Risk Taking
Following exercises will definitely help your communication skills when you need to get through to a person who functions using the opposite brain preference than you. You will know or have a feel for how they think.
If you are a Left-Brainer, try these Right-Brain Exercises to see how it feels
Pay more attention to how you say things vs. what you say. Right-brained people are more influenced by the tone, pitch, and rhythm in the sound of your voice when you are telling them something.
Try to feel how the other person is responding to you. Right brained people are more emotionally expressive and intuitive. The right brain tells them when something "feels" right.
Look more at the big picture, the possibilities, the broad vision with as much sensual information as possible. The right brain wants to see, feel and experience what is being said.
Ask more open-ended questions: "Why?" and "How?"
When you go on vacation, try going with the flow, and just let things happen, without planning it out beforehand.
If you are a Right-Brainer, try these Left-Brain exercises to see how it feels :
Become more detailed, and present your points in a clear, concise, logical order when you are trying to convince others.
Challenge your mind with new ideas, such as learning a foreign language, doing crossword puzzles, or solving brainteasers.
Focus more on what you are saying rather than how you are saying it.
Try to see the linear sequence of events rather than going for the whole picture first.
Before going on vacation, try planning it out in detail, so each day you know what you'll be doing.
Where You Fit at the Workplace :
Left-brainers love keeping records, doing calculations and working with the facts. They are in the minority in the expressive and performing arts, involved in discovering inventions, designing, or in creative marketing.
The arena of right-brained thinkers is any work that requires long range visionary or exploratory thinking, and motivating others. Left-brained scientists and engineers also need these qualities to shine in their fields.
In this predominantly left-brained world, we need both of these types to thrive. Without right-brainers, we wouldn't have most of the exciting innovations in the world.
And without the left-brainers behind the scenes, cooly directing and managing, organizing and controlling all the administrative details, that drive right-brainers batty, things wouldn't run as smoothly.
Keep this in mind the next time you are tempted to pass judgment on your opposite type!!!
And at the end , the great paradox : The Right side brains controls the left side body organs and the left side controls the rightside organs in body.
This reversal is true in Leftist-Rightist theory also. The so-called leftists are actually Right-Brainers and the Rightist are Left-Brainers, as you can see from above discussions !
