In this episode, Kristi gets honest about procrastination—and reframes it through a neuroscience lens. Drawing from the work of Anne-Laure Le Cunff, she unpacks the idea that procrastination isn’t laziness or lack of willpower, but rather a signal from the brain that something isn’t aligned. Using the “Head, Heart, Hand” triple-check system, she walks through how to diagnose what’s actually causing resistance so you can respond with curiosity instead of shame.

In the communication tip, she shifts to cognitive load in the courtroom—specifically the hidden danger of practicing oral arguments like you’re reading written text. Kristi explains why listeners process language differently than readers, how working memory limits impact jurors, and why intentional pausing is essential for comprehension, retention, and engagement. If you’ve ever wondered whether you pause enough—the answer is probably no.

LISTEN HERE...

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why procrastination is a signal—not a character flaw
• How to use the Head, Heart, Hand framework to diagnose resistance
• The difference between misalignment, dread, and lack of resources
• Why curiosity dissolves shame and creates forward movement
• How written language and spoken language are processed differently
• What cognitive load is and why it matters in trial advocacy
• How working memory limits affect juror comprehension
• Why pauses are processing space—not empty space
• Practical ways to chunk spoken language to reduce fatigue

Key Takeaway:

If you’re stuck, don’t shame yourself—diagnose the signal. And in the courtroom, remember: jurors aren’t reading your argument, they’re processing it in real time. Serve their brains with shorter phrases, clearer chunking, and more pauses than you think you need.

Favorite Moment:

The side-by-side sentence example demonstrating how the exact same content can either overload working memory or create clarity—simply by adjusting pauses and vocal structure.

Links & Resources:

Article: Procrastinating isn’t a sign of laziness or ‘lack of willpower,’ neuroscientist says: How to ‘get unstuck’

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/29/a-neuroscientists-3-step-strategy-for-overcoming-procrastination.html

Pace & Pause FREE guide: www.fostervoicestudio.com/paceandpause

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If this episode helped you rethink procrastination—or rethink how you rehearse your openings—share it with a colleague preparing for trial. And if you download the Pace & Pause guide, let me know what shifts for you in your delivery.

Until next time, keep fostering your voice.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hellooo! Hello Foster Fam! Hope you're doing well. Welcome back to today's episode.

Before we get to our discussion about cognitive load and why it's SO IMPORTANT that you're strategizing around it, it's Confession time...My name is Kristi Foster and I am a procrastinator ("hi Kristi"). I'm never delinquent, but I definitely wait til the last minute for things. I always have. The proactive, organizer in me loves having a deadline to work to, and...I always meet it. But, I always WANTED to be one of those people who would get the assignment at the start of the term and just do it right away; get it over with, and be able to move onto other stuff. But...nooooo. That's just not how I'm wired. I'm totally on top of things, but I procrastinate like nobody's business.

If I’m honest, I’ve used that knowledge about myself as evidence that I’m lazy or undisciplined. That story feels convincing in the moment, doesn’t it? Have you done that too? I know i'm not the only one. So, be sure to let me know if this resonates with you.

Anyway, I was really interested when an article came across my desk entitled "Procrastinating isn’t a sign of laziness or ‘lack of willpower,’ neuroscientist says: How to ‘get unstuck’". I've put the link to the full article in the show notes.

The article circles around PhD neuroscientist Anne-Laure Le Cunff, author of the book “Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.” And, I'M goal obsessed, so...perfect.

Anyway, she says that, procrastination is "just a signal from your brain that something is not working quite right at the moment," and doesn't need to be a source of shame. Instead, it's time to get curious about that signal. My coach says that to me all the time — "Let's just get curious about that." Cause she knows that curiosity removes shame. Judgment is what keeps you stuck.

Try to discern if that signal, that procrastination lives in the head, the heart, or the hand. This is Le Cunff's "triple-check system."

If it's stemming from the HEAD, that means that your rational self is questioning if the task is even important or worth doing in the first place. Sometimes that pause to question gives us a chance to identify a "fake goal"—one that is just a social pressure, or something we think we should do based on extrinsic factors but we don't really own it for ourselves and don't actually even WANT to do the thing. For these head-moments, maybe it's time to go back to the drawing board; retool a few things and get to a better defined vision that truly aligns with you.

A HEART-signal is tapping into the realization that the task probably isn't going to be exciting or fun. I mean, let's face it, some things we just have to do even if we don't like to do them. But the brain is wired to seek pleasure, avoid pain, and conserve calories. So, of course we would procrastinate when our heart senses the obligation of it all. The solve? Change up your environment; make that part enjoyable. Maybe go to a coffee shop or a different "third place" to get a little work done.

Quick aside, you know about "third place" right? So there's home (first place), there's work/your office (second place), and then you need to have a third place just to mix things up, jolt your concentration, create community & socialization, and generally promote mental well-being. So think cafes, libraries, parks. Use your third place to get unstuck from the procrastination that comes from those tasks that you just have to do that aren't particularly fun, or sexy. You just have to do them, so make your environment exciting and fresh. Or, grab a colleague or create a co-working session over zoom. Zhuzh it up!

Lastly, procrastination that checks the 3rd box, the hand, means "that at a practical level, you don’t believe that you have the right tools, the right skills, or the right support network in order to get the task done,” Le Cunff says.

This is when you have to resource yourself. You have to get creative and brave. Ask for help. Cultivate the support you need. "Support could involve coaching, mentoring or asking your company or firm to sponsor an online course or bring in some training or send you to a conference or CLE."

"The triple-check system helps circumvent the ‘shame’ component of procrastination," Le Cunff says. When you know you're procrastinating, get curious. Approach it like a scientist. Ask the questions. Is this head, heart, or hand? Do I not align with the task? Am I just dreading it so I'm delaying? Or do I really not know how to do it and could use some resources?

No shame. Just data. Get curious. Diagnose it. Then move.

—COMMUNICATION TIP—

I wanna just talk about something, or give a reminder, about something that keeps coming up in my coaching sessions with clients.

Now, there's some debate about writing out your opening and closing. I'm not against that as a discipline. I know for myself, I really benefit from writing a script. Even with these episodes, I have a script. It helps me SO much in just keeping my ideas flowing, and making sure I stay on track, and limits the amount of editing I have to do to get the episodes published. So...go for it. I'm a big fan of writing things out for your own clarity and being able to lock in your message.

But that script is for you — not for them. The problem is that after you've planned everything out in writing, you then start to use that written script to practice your oral presentation and you make the mistake of speaking the same way you read.

When you read, your eyes take in symbols. Your brain translates them into sound and meaning. Reading is a VISUAL process. And the reader controls the speed; they instinctively skim ahead, and also, regressively look back. Punctuation dictates the information chunks. Plus, there's white space that visually reduces load and give the brain a chance to pause whenever it wants.

Your audience doesn't get the benefit of ANY of that though. When you read your opening or closing, you are catering to YOUR brain and YOUR visual processing. You are supporting YOUR learning, not theirs.

As a listener, working memory does the heavy lifting because with spoken language, the signal disappears. The listener can't skim ahead, and they can't rewind a live speaker. Instead, the brain holds phrases in working memory. Then, it segments the speech stream into meaningful units, then it has to integrate tone, emphasis, rhythm, and emotional cues.

There are no visual paragraph breaks. No commas to see. No bold text or italics to cue emphasis.

The listener must provide the structure and meaning for themselves, through the sound that the speaker offers.

If you deliver long, clause-heavy sentences without pauses, neurologically, you are overloading their working memory, and straining their prefrontal cortex (which is where decision making happens). Their comprehension and retention starts dropping off dramatically. Their brains start to conserve energy, which means for you, they start decreasing their emotional engagement. It’s not boredom. It’s cognitive fatigue.

This is why I preach the necessity of pausing. It's not for dramatic effect. Well, it's not JUST for dramatic effect. They DO provide that, but ALSO, pauses function as reset points for working memory, windows of space where integration happens and brains can do some mild prediction to stay engaged and not feel threatened and shut down. You've heard me say this before: A pause is not empty space. It’s processing space

In 1956, George Miller wrote a paper on "chunking theory" that suggested the working memory can hold 7 +/- 2 items at a time. More recent research suggests that 4–5 items is more realistic, especially in today’s attention environment, with the impact of social media. Attention spans are limited.

When reading, chunks are visually marked by punctuation.

When listening, chunking has to be created with:

1. Pauses

2. Changes in pitch

3. Slowed pace before key points

4. Volume shifts

5. Breath resets

Let me give you an example and see if you can feel the difference for yourself.

“On the morning of April 14th, after reviewing the internal safety memo that had been circulated to management but never addressed, the company moved forward.”

Versus:

“On the morning of April 14th—

after reviewing an internal safety memo—

that management never addressed—

the company moved forward.”

It's the same content, but it's a different cognitive load.

So, feel free to write things down and organize your thoughts with written language. But when you start to practice your oral presentation, completely divorce yourself from your written visual cues. Instead, start asking:

1. Is this a new image?

2. Is this a new actor?

3. Is this a new time frame?

4. Is this a new emotional turn?

5. is this a meaningful contrast of details?

Pause there. Infuse something different vocally to signal a concept shift. And keep your phrases SHORT. Short short. THAT's how you can prevent overload and fatigue for your jurors.

Remember: If your pausing mirrors written punctuation, you’re serving the page.

If your pausing mirrors cognitive load, you’re serving the brain. And in a courtroom, you serve the brain.

Jurors don’t need good punctuation. They need good chunking strategies and more pauses than you think necessary.

Now, I DO have a free guide for helping you figure out how to Pace and Pause as you're preparing your openings, or closings. You can download it at fostervoicestudio.com/paceandpause. I'll put the link in the shownotes too.

Until next time, keep fostering your voice.