Laughs, Lies & Learning Myths in a Post-Truth World

We’re living in a time where facts feel at best optional, conspiracy theories go viral, and half the internet is quoting Einstein, even when it’s just Chad from Reddit. There’s even a name for it -  “post-truth era” – which is to my mind a little bit of a misnomer. Something is either true or isn’t – and between those absolutes is fascinating scale from mostly twaddle to probably certain. 

So here’s some mostly truths. “No one likes a clever clogs” is the saying. Well, I’m about to clomp in, clogs and all, and joyfully debunk a few popular learning and communication myths you’ve probably heard, and maybe even seen shared in a motivational meme.

Myth 1: “Kids laugh 400 times a day, adults only 4. What went wrong?”  

This stat gets rolled out like clockwork in keynotes and LinkedIn posts. While writing my book Why So Serious? (coming soon—yes, this is a plug), I wanted to include it as it would have been the perfect introduction to a whole chapter. But then I thought, although it’s convenient, it feels a little unlikely, and so I checked it.

Turns out, it's based on a 1989 observation by a stress relief guy who claimed kids smile 300 times and laugh 100. Adults? Also laugh or grin about 100 times daily. And when researchers studied mums and their kids? No major difference, except kids laughed more when their mums did. Cue more guilt for Mums if your kids tend to be serious. Therefore laughter is contagious, not age-restricted. There is no “we grow up and forget how to laugh” story which is a bugger for my book but worth sharing.

Myth 2: “93% of communication is non-verbal.”  

I heard this one attending a presentation training session as a student 20+ years ago. It’s based on Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 rule: 7% words, 38% tone, 55% body language. Which sounds profound until you realise even Mehrabian said this only applies when verbal and nonverbal cues don’t match—like someone saying “I’m fine” while clearly dying inside.

It doesn’t mean words don’t matter. If someone runs into a room yelling “THERE’S A FIRE,” we’re not stopping to assess their power pose.

Myth 3: “Everyone has a unique learning style.”  

...  we’ve all heard those – you might have even heard it today or shared it.? I first queried this with the late great and massively lamented educationalist David Price.  “Visual, auditory, kinaesthetic…? Is that a real thing.” He gave me a world weary sigh, “Nah it’s absolute rubbish. No evidence for it at all.”

Despite being deeply embedded in education culture, research shows little to no evidence that tailoring teaching to “learning styles” improves learning. In fact, some studies suggest it can make things worse.

Even if like me you don’t quite believe in “post truth world”, I do believe it’s never been more important to question the “truths” we take for granted. Got a pet myth you’re suspicious of? 

Don’t want to answer that Linkedin click bait? Then answer this… Why are clogs so clever – apart for purposes of alliteration? Why not cleanser or club biscuits?  

Check out our FREE Presentation taster "AI v Authenticity" https://standupanddeliver.co.uk/taster-sessions