When I looked up the word break as a noun, the best definition that I could find was actually the definition for the word pause - a temporary stop or rest. That best describes why we take a break in the classroom or during working session. Breaks are invaluable for keeping interest up in the classroom, especially if you lecture. The Navy did a study on how long someone could listen to someone else talk. The study indicated that the average individual can maintain focus for 17 to 18 minutes while listening to a presentation. After that it’s off to la la land. The Navy’s study was in the ‘70s so you can probably bet that the twenty-somethings have a shorter focus window today. In his presentation book, author Granville Toogood calls it the “18 Minute Wall”. If you are speaking for longer than 18 minutes, the presentation should be either interactive or activity oriented.

In a classroom setting, breaks are generally scheduled for a single break in both the morning and afternoon. While this is standard practice in many workshops that I’ve seen, breaks should be considered organic. By this I mean that, depending on the content being delivered, breaks should be strategically placed based on the flow of the program. If you are delivering a heavy content piece or emotionally charged module, a break may be required to let the participants digest what has just occurred, even if they just had a break 45 minutes ago. That’s because the brain can only take in so much before you begin to get diminishing returns. Think of it as a time out in a timed sporting event. Although many timed sporting events are divided into periods where play stops, time outs are added at strategic places throughout the event based on how the event is proceeding. Like timed ...