Archive for the 'Attention spans' Category

The Engaging Speaker is aware of the changing energy in the room

Published on in Attention spans, Deliver with Style and interaction. Closed Tags: attention span, Deliver with Style, engage, executive presence, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

Surviving an Ironman race needs control of your energy

I’ve completed the grueling Ironman Triathlon which is a race involving a 3.8km open water swim, 180km bike ride and finishes with a marathon, back to back all on the same day. The race has a cut off time of 17 hours and I finished my last one in around 12 hours 30 mins. Needless to say, it’s a long day and your energy levels change throughout the day. Nervous excitement before the swim. Steady rhythmic effort to complete the swim. A burst of energy on the bike before settling into a long ride with ups and downs, trying to hold on to your pace in the final 60km while holding back enough for the run. The marathon starts at a lively pace. It’s the final segment and if everything falls apart, you can always walk. You hold a pace, keep it ticking over. Everything seems good until half way through, muscles start to cramp, pain comes. Your pace drops a bit, you fight it to keep going. From 30-38km, you’re in complete pain, you think about quitting or walking. Somehow you keep your body moving forward quietly encouraging yourself and feeding off the energy of the crowd’s cheers. Finally you hit 38km, you realize that in 2km it’s only 2km to go. You perk up. Your pace rises. You find a new wind. You’re going to finish. The final one kilometer, you’re hitting euphoric levels as your endorphins kick in. You finish the marathon practically sprinting, fall over the line and break down into a heap. Before standing up with a warm painful glow of completion. Success.

Energy levels change through a presentation

The Engaging Speaker is aware that energy levels change through a presentation. Shorter presentations are easier to plan. Longer full day sessions require more detailed mapping. Remember people are fresh in the morning so get right into the content. Keep things moving along. Set the tone for starting and ending breaks on time. Plan your afternoons particularly carefully. Participants energy levels tend to dip around an hour to two after lunch, especially if they’ve had a big hotel buffet lunch. During this time period, move towards more physical exercises. Add higher impact team activities. Move things around. Shift venues. Keep things moving, changing and adapting. Finish strong. Have a clear conclusion to the day. Keep a couple of short energizers in your pocket in case the energy plunges. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Ask the participants what they’d like to do to pick up the energy.

Be aware that you create the energy in the room, not the audience

If you looked at your last talk or upcoming presentation in terms of creating energy, what would your energy chart look like? Would it be high at the start and then gradually falling away to nothing? Would it be low at the beginning, peak in the middle and drift off? Or would it look like a read out of a healthy heart with regular peaks and troughs. A good presentation should start and finish strong but should allow time to reflect, time to pick things up and a time for interaction.

What energy map are you creating?

Map your presentation’s energy chart. Is it in line with your message? A rallying sales meeting will start high and finish higher. A senior management crisis talk will have moments of low before building up momentum towards the end. The Engaging Speaker sets the tone for the talk and creates the energy, the enthusiasm, the experience for the audience.

The Engaging Speaker delivers a message slowly and clearly

Published on in Attention spans and produce your message. Closed

A message is that part of your talk or presentation that you’d really like the audience to remember. It’s sometimes called a soundbite, a tagline or a takeaway message. It’s really a very concise way to sum up the whole presentation. When Steve Jobs announced the iPhone launch in 2007, he concluded his opening with the phrase, “Today Apple reinvents the phone.” This was the big picture message. It sums up the whole campaign. It was used in press releases, on Apple’s web site and through the tremendous amount of reporting that followed the launch. It announced a strong statement and positioned Apple as new player in the emerging smartphone market. All in five words.

However, a message is not a message unless it is repeated. That was the real power behind such a simple message. It’s easy to repeat and pass on. It’s an idea virus, made popular by marketing guru in his ebook Unleashing the Idea Virus, which claims to be the most downloaded ebook ever.

Once you’ve decided on your message, don’t rush through it. Plan where you will use it throughout your talk. Place it on your slides or on posters around the room. When it comes time to say the message, slow down your pace a touch and articulate each word clearly. I’ve heard many business speakers, rush through an important message so that the audience can’t catch the full impact. A good message should stick as-is in everybody’s head. If you asked individuals leaving the room after your presentation what the main message was, 90% of them should be able to recite it word-for-word. The other 10% should be able to catch the main idea. If not, you missed your chance.

In contrast to the iphone launch, the 2011 launch of the ipad used the tagline “iPad is a truly magical and revolutionary product.” This is less impactful. Eight words versus five. 9 syllables versus 17.

Make your message as tight as you can. Then deliver it slowly and clearly.

Way of the Future? How to cure short attention spans!

Published on in Attention spans, digital natives and interaction. Closed Tags: attention span, brain waves, digital natives, technology.

: Computer Mouse CLose Up from Crestock Creative Photos

An article worth reading if you are interested in how technology is being applied to help overcome short attention spans.

Now all you have to do is convince your audiences to wear them!

How are you using technology to engage with your audiences?

Why Invest in Face-to-Face Meetings? Look to Neuroscience.

Published on in Attention spans and Events. Closed Tags: meetings, multitasking.

Based on a recent research report, three business goals that are best met through face-to-face gatherings:
1. Capturing attention
2. Inspiring a positive emotional climate
3. Building personal networks and relationships

Learn more with a summary of these findings at Corporate Meetings & Incentives or ask me for a copy of the original whitepaper.

How to handle mobile phones during presentations Part 1 of 3: Set Ground Rules

Published on in Attention spans and Manage all Interruptions. Closed Tags: distractions, ground rules, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

For anyone who has run a meeting or given a presentation to a group, the sound of a mobile phone going off is one of those annoying but common interruptions. What can business presenters do to minimize these distractions?

This article will look at setting ground rules.

Ground Rules
Although you may never completely stop the use of mobile phones in larger meetings, you can let the audience know what the meeting’s expectations are. This can be done by the host or MC of the meeting, written on a flipchart or computer slide. A simple ground rule can reduce the number of distractions.

At the beginning of the presentation, take out your mobile phone, show it to the audience and ask them to switch it to vibrate or silent mode. Explain that when an important call is received, they should step outside the room to take the call.

Good presenters also take this opportunity to explain that the purpose of this ground rule is not to stop the audience conducting their important business but to show respect and politeness for the other audience members. This not only reduces resistance to your ground rule but also elevates the audience to a higher place where they show respect and courtesy for other participants.

Explain to the audience that there will be a ten minute break every hour, and so they can take calls and call back then. This will also reduce the need for immediate calls.

RESOURCE BOX

Warwick John Fahy is the international executive speech coach for senior executives, business leaders and entrepreneurs who need to influence clients, investors, shareholders and team members. His highly practical approach and deep cross cultural intelligence have made him a sought-after business presentation coach throughout the world.

Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter – 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Product Launch like an Executive – Memorable product launches Part 1

Published on in Attention spans, Memory and Visual presentations. Closed Tags: product launch, successful business presentations, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

New product launches can cost your company millions of dollars from concept to launch. While many companies use rigorous product development processes they often skimp on the most public aspect – the product launch presentation. As product life cycles shorten, tangible differences with competitor narrow and margins become wafer-thin, an impactful presentation pitch can make the difference in cutting through the noise to attract and engage with clients, shareholders and media.

We can all learn from the master of product launches over several decades – Mr Steve Jobs. As the face of Apple, Jobs has launched products since 1984 using a high stakes, high pressure keynote address to large audiences of stakeholders and media. Three key lessons we can learn from Jobs are less is more, tagline with word pictures and rehearse rehearse rehearse.

Less is More

A Jobs presentation is intended to inform, educate and entertain. While most presentations focus on the first two objectives, only by being entertaining can you keep the attention of your audience fully during a 30 or 40 minute presentation. One way Jobs achieves this is with a very visual approach. He once said “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” In his presentations, he mainly uses pictures with key slogans. Think of many presentations you have sat through recently. Chances are they were very data and text heavy. In Brain Rules, Mr John Medina reported how new studies have shown that text only information have a very low recall (10%) while adding visuals can push retention up to 65%. We have all heard the expression, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ and now it’s been proved through these memory tests. Slides with thirty or forty words on it are not memorable. Let’s face it, you didn’t need a brain study to know this, did you? Take a look through your slide deck and see how many pictures you are using to express your message. Visit Slideshare.net to see a collection of visual presentations.

What else should a good product launch presentation have? Leave your comments and stay tuned for Part 2 shortly.

To arrange presentation skills training or coaching to build your executive presence visit this web site.

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Poll shows university students attention span is 10 minutes

Published on in Attention spans. Closed Tags: attention span, engage.

While I am coaching senior executives, I often mention that an audience’s attention span is around 10 minutes. This means that when you deliver a business presentation you need to continually engage and interact with the audience.

Here is an article in the Times of India that shows another reason why younger audiences’ suffer from short attention spans. Read more.

How can you improve your attention span?

Published on in Attention spans and You the Presenter. 1 Comment Tags: attention span, concentration, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

Meditation can improve your concentration

With the need to multi-task and sift through a never-ending flow of information, we have adapted – with the help of technology – to become more skillful at darting our attention spans from point to point. From an email, to the mobile phone, to a web site, to a download, to a conversation. And so on.

While this adaption is an important part of being productive in a digital information age, it also impacts our ability to focus on one thing for a long period of time. Switching attention between tasks reduces effectiveness and hampers our ability to get things done in one sitting.

I recently attending a workshop and received a 25 minute meditation recording which I use at the end of the day to relax, unwind and calm my mind. One thing that surprised me was how difficult it is to focus for the complete 25 minutes. While listening to the guided meditation (basically someone’s voice), I noticed that my mind was drifting onto other thoughts. Even after pulling my attention back to the recording, my mind kept darting onto other topics.

Gradually, the more I meditate with the recording the longer I am able to focus my attention entirely. As we continue to plough through life with our numerous distractions, it’s good to remember that we can also “work out” our concentration and focus from time to time. Turn off the devices and just relax for 25 minutes. Your mind and attention span will appreciate it.

Anecdote to Long PowerPoint Presentations : Ignite

Published on in Attention spans, digital natives, Events and Visual presentations. Closed Tags: attention span, digital natives, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

5 minute presentations

I am sure you have all sat through many teeth-grindingly long presentations with 89 PowerPoint slides. But what if the presentation was only 5 minutes long, with 20 slides and each slide automatically rotated after 15 seconds. Sounds great!

There are a number of new events springing up which ‘force’ presenters to be concise. I think this is a great thing. It is much harder to be concise and still remain compelling, but the philosophy of The One Minute Presenter is just this. With today’s short-attention span audiences, it is becoming more and more important to be concise.

If you cannot get along to one of Ignite’s events (Wiki page) – try this method when you are preparing for your next presentation. It will help you deliver a to-the-point message and finish on time.

Adapt your presentation schedule to fit your audience’s body clock

Published on in Attention spans, Deliver with Style and digital natives. Closed Tags: attention span, digital natives, The One Minute Presenter, warwick john fahy.

Understanding your audience is essential to successful business presentations. Especially if you are presenting to audiences with short attention spans. Digital natives are regarded as having less patience for (traditional) presentations, so what can you do to adapt yourself to your audience?

Well a clue lies in a school in England whose headmaster claim that all teenagers need a lie-in and that classes should start at 11am. The claim is based on the way the teenage body clock is functioning which results in students falling asleep in class. In tests so far memory has improved and received (not surprisingly) good response from the students.

While you may not be faced with a teenage audience, business audiences today are just as distracted and likely to tune out if you cannot capture their attention. If it’s within your control think about the timing of your presentation. Just after lunch most people are sluggish and likely to drift off. Later in the afternoon people’s brains become tired and attention spans drop off. Mid to late mornings usually work well for most audiences. Also, be aware of spacing your content so that you don’t overload your audience with information. Add breaks every 10 minutes or so to allow your message to digest and for a different format of presenting like a video, a story or an activity.

See the article in full here at the Guardian.